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A victim of child sexual abuse has said that she “can finally smile again” after her abuser was sentenced to more than a decade in prison for his crimes against her and another young girl today.
The comment came from one of Jason Mark Le Chevere's (43) two child victims after learning that he would be spending the next 15 years behind bars.
Now a convicted paedophile guilty of two counts of rape and 11 counts of indecent assault, Le Chevere – who still denies committing the abuse – was handed his sentence in the Royal Court today.
Pictured: Jason Mark Le Chevere (43) was sentenced to 15 years in jail for his crimes.
Reacting to the news of his sentence, one of his victims said: “This whole journey has created a tremendous amount of anxiety and fear. I am relieved and pleased that my truth of what has happened to me has been taken seriously.
“I am very much thankful for the amount of effort and work put in. I feel as though I can finally smile again, and a big boulder has been lifted from me. My anxiety has decreased, and I finally took my smile back.”
Both of Le Chevere’s young victims testified at trial, before a jury of six men and six women convicted him on all counts.
In a statement following Le Chevere’s sentencing, the Police said that the 43-year-old “subjected the children to many forms of abuse over the space of many years".
Pictured: Both of Le Chevere's victims testified against him during the trial.
"The victims should have felt safe and been able to trust this man, but instead were treated abhorrently and he gave no consideration to the impact his actions would have on their lives," a spokesperson said.
Acting Detective Inspector Cathy Davison explained: “These young victims have shown immense courage in reporting the abuse that they suffered. They have demonstrated great strength and resilience throughout this long and complex investigation. Hopefully the sentence handed down today will go some way to helping them rebuild their lives.”
During Le Chevere's sentencing hearing, Crown Advocate Thomas detailed the impact of the abuse on both girls, saying that the older of the two victims feels bereft of her innocence.
“As far as she is concerned, he has taken away her childhood. Sadly, she fears that this has destroyed her ability to ever have a proper relationship with a man and that this will mean she cannot have children,” the Crown Advocate said.
Video: Le Chevere leaving the Royal Court after being sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment.
“The experience has coloured her view of men in general and she feels nervous even speaking to them.”
In the younger girl’s victim impact statement, she says that Le Chevere “tried to break her” and that “she will never forget what happened to her”.
Handing down the Jurats' sentence, Royal Court Commissioner Sir John Saunders said: "[Having] read and considered statements from both [victims]... it is clear from the contents of both statements that they have both suffered greatly as a result of these offences."
The Commissioner added: "These two... have been severely damaged by the abuse that they have suffered at the hands of [Le Chevere]... and that will almost certainly affect them to some degree for the rest of their lives."
Pictured: Le Chevere was sentenced in the Royal Court.
"There can be no doubt that these are very serious offences and it is accepted that a long sentence of imprisonment will have to be imposed to properly reflect their gravity and impact," the Commissioner added, before informing Le Chevere that he is to be jailed for 15 years.
Le Chevere crossed his arms and shook his head as he learned of his sentence.
The Court also decided that, as he "poses a threat of serious sexual harm to public", Le Chevere will stay on the Sex Offenders' register for a minimum of 15 years and imposed a restraining order for the same length of time to restrict Le Chevere's contact with girls under the age of 16.
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