Relate sex therapist who raped a teenage girl and forced her into a sex act with his pet dog is jailed for 20 years

A sex therapist has been jailed for 20 years after being found guilty of raping a teen during a prolonged period of abuse which began when she was under ten.

Andrew Iveson, 48, started sexually abusing the girl in Darlington, County Durham, and it continued over a period of years until she moved away and reported his crimes to police.

Teesside Crown Court heard Iveson was a relationship councillor for Relate – the UK's largest provider of relationship support, which offers counselling for individuals, couples, children and young people and families, as well as mediation and sex therapy.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, the teen, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said she feared she would never get over what happened. 

She said: 'I would engage in sexual activity, it made me think that was how you please men.

'I felt ashamed about what I did. I wanted to end my life, I had to start a new one away from my past.'

The court heard how Iveson also forced his pet Old English Sheepdog onto his victim.

Iveson denied nine counts of child sex offences, eleven counts of rape, three counts of assault by penetration and two further counts of causing a person to engage in sexual activity but was found guilty after a trial. 

He was also convicted of a further count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity on a separate victim, who awoke to find herself engaged in another sex act with his dog.

Matthew Bean, prosecuting, told the court on one occasion the defendant bribed his victim to be his 'sex slave' for three hours and would not let her leave until she had performed sex acts on him.

The court heard the victim eventually moved away from the area and reported the abuse to police in August 2013.

Recorder B Gateshill sentenced Iveson, of Anchorage Hill, Richmond, North Yorkshire, to 20 years behind bars and ordered him to sign the sex offenders register for life.

He told him: 'You systematically abused your victim for many years.

'She has been severely damaged and I fear she may never recover, but I hope in time she will feel less traumatised by your behaviour.'

Daily Mail