Man abused by Hastings paedophile urges others to speak out

His abuser, Dennis Raymond Norman, 57, was jailed for 12 years last week after he admitted six charges of non-recent indecent assaults on two boys.

Norman, formerly of Quantock Gardens, Hastings, but latterly of Windmill Street, Brighton, was also issued with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register.

One young victim was abused in the late 1980s, while the other fell victim to Norman in the 1990s.

One of Norman’s victims, now in his 20s, described how the abuse he suffered as a child affected him growing up.

The man, whose anonymity is protected by law, said: “It made me really cynical of people.

“I’m always wary of their intentions.

“It made me not have very many friends. I did not want to socialise.

“And also with my own children as well, I do not like them staying out overnight, even with family members.”

The man decided to come forward after another victim summoned up the courage to report Norman to the police.

He said: “For years and years I did not come forward because I thought it’s my word against his and I had a fear of not being believed or being called a liar.

“But with all the things that have happened recently, I felt a lot more confident to come forward.”

The man had to go into great detail about the abuse when he was interviewed by police, a process which he found difficult.

But he praised the way police dealt with his report.

He said: “I was surprised how seriously the police took it and it all got dealt with very, very quickly and professionally.”

Norman had previous convictions for sexual assault, and his victim believes there could be more out there.

He said: “If he has abused other people and they see his name in the paper then it would encourage them to also tell the police what happened to them.”

Speaking about the recent prison sentence, he said: “It’s a lot more than I thought he would get.

“I thought he might get three or four years.

“I’m happy that he’s going away for a long time.”