A Beckenham man who was sexually assaulted as a schoolboy has spoken of the horrific ordeal he suffered at the hands of his attacker 37 years ago.

Barry Rosamond, from St Martin in Cornwall, was sentenced to three years in prison at Croydon Crown Court on November 20.

The 48-year-old was earlier found guilty of four counts of indecent assault, indecency with a child and another sexual offence dating from 1978 to 1981.

The victim, who was eight when the attacks began, suffered several serious sex assaults while alone with 15-year-old Rosamond at an address in Upper Elmers End Road, Beckenham.

Once the victim realised the way Rosamond was treating him was wrong, he never returned to the address and managed to avoid his attacker altogether.

The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told News Shopper he found the courage to come forward to police after coming face to face with Rosamond again five years ago.

He said: “I walked past him years later after he had parked outside my mum’s house. He looked at me and smiled. He just got into my head.

“Last year, I finally reported it to the police and I tip my hat to them. They dealt with it really well and they kept me involved.

“I hope this will encourage other people to come forward. You are believed and you are treated with respect.”

Rosamond, who denied the charges, encouraged his victim to visit him alone to play Scalextric and other games but then sexually abused him.

The victim said: “He knew I didn’t have any games like that to play with and he took advantage of that. He knew I knew nothing about sex.

“He led me to believe that that was how you learned as you grow up. He was starting to get more aggressive. I was always crying.”

The victim, now in his 40s, did not tell anyone about the abuse until he was in his first serious relationship 17 years later but it just made him feel more vulnerable.

He said: “I started taking drugs, drinking and I did things I’m not that proud of. He has ruined my life completely.

“You only get one chance in life and he took that away when I was eight years old.”

The victim said he felt Rosamond, who must sign the sex offenders register for life, should have been handed a longer jail sentence.

He said: “His sentence is far too short considering how long I was being assaulted for; he is probably going to serve less than that.

“It has affected my whole life; all my relationships, all my jobs. My ability to trust anyone was annihilated.

“You can’t be close to someone in the way you want to be. You always feel detached from them. All I really wanted was an apology but I never got that.”