A BLACKWOOD woman says she feels free after the man who sexually abused her as a child was convicted of indecent assault.

Rachel Shovelton, 42, from Fleur-De-Lis, has bravely waived her right to anonymity to speak in a bid to encourage other victims of sexual abuse to come forward.

Her abuser, Derrick Evans, aged 85, of St Deinols Close, Pengam, was found guilty of three counts of indecent assault of a girl under the age of 16 by a jury at Newport Crown Court last week. He previously pleaded guilty to a further indecent assault charge at Newport Magistrates' Court.

He will be sentenced next month.

The abuse happened when Ms Shovelton was 13-years-old and Evans was in his 50s.

The former senior aircraft woman with the RAF said she didn't feel strong enough to tell her family about the abuse until last year.

Ms Shovelton, who now lives in Spain, said she wouldn't come home to see her parents very often due to the close proximity to the defendant's house.

She said: "I moved away at 18-years-old and never came back very often because he lived so close. Having had depression for years, it's always come back to this and I haven't been able to come home because I hadn't told my family - it was too much.

"My parents were both very sad and angry when I told them, not because I hadn't told them because they understood why. But they were sad I had to do it by myself for so long and that they had missed out on me coming to visit."

She said she is pleased the trial is over, and feels 'liberated' with the result.

"I have nothing to hide - the reason I have come forward is I have no secrets and if anybody else had any problems at least maybe now they will feel brave enough to come forward. It really does help - it's worth it," she said,

"The hard bit was telling my parents. That was harder than going to the police. All these years it has been about protecting them."

Ms Shovelton said her mother and Evans were members of the same church.

She also said the abuse has impacted her intimate relationships as an adult, but said she hopes she can now move forward following the conviction.

She said: "He has certainly ruined a lot of momentous moments which should have been wonderful and joyous. Hopefully now he won’t have the chance to ruin any more. It's all me now - I've done all I can I can't allow him to keep having power."