The victim of a ‘predatory’ woman jailed for sex offences against her has revealed how her abuser took away her childhood - but said that having to relive her ordeal through a trial proved she was ‘no longer a scared little kid’.

Stephanie Shorney, 35, committed multiple sexual offences against the girl in west Dorset between January 28, 2017 and January 27, 2019 while the victim was aged between 14 and 15.

READ MORE: 'Predatory' woman who groomed 'vulnerable' underage girl jailed

Shorney, now of Hill View, Maiden Newton, was found guilty of six counts of sexual offences following a trial at Winchester Crown Court, and was described as ‘predatory and controlling’ by the judge, Recorder Michael Bowes.

After Shorney was jailed for five years, the victim - who cannot be named for legal reasons - spoke of how Shorney’s controlling behaviour completely changed her mood and character. She also accused Shorney of trying to ‘play with my mind’ during the trial in a bid to ‘get at me’.

She said: “Before this happened, I was a bubbly girl, always so confident and very social, but that didn’t stay for long. In the run up to the trial, Stephanie really seemed to be playing with my mind.

“I felt as if her pleading guilty and then taking those pleas back were once again attempts to get at me and knock my confidence, she still made me feel trapped. This felt like Stephanie trying to gain control over me once more.

"It felt like every time I managed to get out from under her spell, she would find a way to pull me back again, even by manipulating the Criminal Justice system.”

A jury heard that Shorney had initially been ‘a woman to look up to’ for the victim and that she made her feel ‘less different’ during a time she was conflicted about her sexuality.

But she felt pressured to remain in the relationship due to Shorney’s ‘intense and controlling’ behaviour and comments that she would end her life and would publicly reveal their relationship.

Shorney also sent a number of ‘highly unpleasant’ messages to the victim in January 2020, stating ‘I will hurt you’ and noted she would ‘wait outside her home’. Scared by the threatening messages, the ‘broken’ victim spoke to her parents about the relationship and the victim’s mother contacted police.

The victim, who often slept at Shorney’s home, was seen in the same bed as Shorney by one of Shorney’s children in September 2017. Despite being banned from the home by Shorney’s husband, the pair continued to see each other in secret.

The court heard details of their sexual relationship, including how the victim lost her virginity to Shorney and how she demanded the victim visited her address for ‘birthday sex’ on August 28, 2018.

After Shorney was found guilty and jailed, the victim said: “I am so grateful to the jury for the guilty verdicts. It makes me feel believed and understood.

"I was a child when I met Stephanie and she took that away from me. She then tried to take away any adult confidence I had by going through trial, but I showed her I wasn’t that scared little kid anymore.

"She has refused to accept any wrongdoing to this point. It is time she understands that she has done wrong and that justice has now been served.”

Shorney was placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely and issued a sexual harm prevention order for 15 years.