Morecambe paedophile jailed for sexual abuse of young boy

A car boot stall holder at a leisure park who showered young boys with gifts before sexually abusing them in his caravan has been jailed for seven years.
Preston Crown Court.Preston Crown Court.
Preston Crown Court.

One of Adrian Gartshore-Taylor's victims was just eight when he indecently assaulted him at the Great Birchwood Country Park and Equestrian Centre on Lytham Road, Warton, near Preston.

The paedophile was jailed for four and a half years in 2005 for 10 criminal charges relating to some of the boys, one of whom was just eight.

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But on Thursday, the 66-year-old, now living in West End Road, Morecambe, was jailed for four further counts of indecently assaulting another youngster from the Freckleton area at around the same time, nearly 20 years ago.

Adrian Gartshore-Taylor.Adrian Gartshore-Taylor.
Adrian Gartshore-Taylor.

In an unusual step, the victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, bravely addressed the court as his abuser watched from the dock. He told the court that at 10 he had a bright future with a loving family - but Gartshore-Taylor's abuse had led him down a different path. His torment had culminated in him crashing his car deliberately in a bid to take his own life.

In an emotional statement, he described Gartshore-Taylor as an "opportunistic serial sexual abuser" and said all the good memories his family had built up were "pushed out" by memories of the abuse.

He added: "As a 10-year-old boy I had too much love to give and life to live.

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"By forcing himself upon innocent young, pleasant boys such as myself and those mentioned before me - and all those who fell victim to his sexual abuse - my childhood was stripped away from me."

"I still suffer from that abuse daily.

"He bought me not only a phone, but the best phone, the best trainers, cinema tickets, sweets, chocolate, all as a tactic for grooming.

"These gifts were not just presents for helping out, they had a much deeper meaning than this - they were used as grooming tactics to buy my innocence and buy my silence."

The victim said as a teen he couldn't stay at his friends houses because he would wet the bed.

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He felt he couldn't tell his family, his perception of relationships were affected and he was "trapped inside his own head".

In 2015 he wrote a suicide note to his loved ones, before having a car accident, and read the court an excerpt from it, which said: "Please don't be upset. I needed to escape this world.

"I have so much pain every day and I can no longer go on."

He also told the court: "I didn't want to die, but I didn't want to live."

Miraculously, the court heard he escaped the crash without a bruise. He finally reported the abuse in October 2018 when he informed the police.

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Prosecuting, Charlie Brown said: "He, as a child, visited the site frequently.

"Having met him there on a Sunday the defendant asked him if he would help him out, which the child accepted.”

The court heard the youngster was given permission to stay at his caravan.

While there Gartshore-Taylor showed him how to play computer games, then sat next to him and started to assault him.

The next day he gave him some money.

The abuse continued, and sometimes other boys were present.

As well as the prison sentence, Gartshore-Taylor was also placed on the sex offenders' register for an indefinite period.