A PERVERT who carried out the sexual abuse of a schoolgirl three decades ago has been jailed for more than five years.
Royal Mail lorry driver Alfred Marshalsey (61), of 2 Easthall Farm Cottages, Cupar, admitted two charges of indecency against the woman in the 1970s.
Marshalsey was sentenced to a total of five years and three months in prison when he appeared at the High Court in Edinburgh on Wednesday.
The judge, Lord Kinclaven, said the accused had behaved in a shameful way towards a young and vulnerable girl.
He told Marshalsey that if he had not pleaded guilty the jail term would have been seven years.
Advocate depute, Graeme Jessop, told the court that the victim had been 11 or 12 at the time of the offences.
He said she had been “surprised” by Marshalsey when he was baby-sitting at a house in Fife and she had just had a bath.
As she dried herself in front of the fire he snatched her towel, rubbed her chest and told her: “We’ll keep doing this. We’ll make you into a big girl.”
On another occasion he became much rougher, the court heard.
Years later, she walked into a police station to tell them of the abuse she had suffered.
“She states that she does not want to be seen as a victim any longer,” said Mr Jessop.
He said the 42-year-old woman had suffered from the eating disorder bulimia and had flashbacks about what Marshalsey had done to her.
Her marriage broke up and she had to see a psychologist for counselling, the court heard.
“She has progressed, is stronger and prepared to face the accused in court and feels that this will help her move on with her life,” said Mr Jessop.
Marshalsey’s name has also been placed on the sex offenders’ register and the court made a move to ensure he is never allowed to work with children.
