Suffolk stepfather who forced girl to lick dog poo off shoes put behind bars by Court of Appeal
Miriam Lake speaks to ITV News Anglia's Natalie Gray about her experiences
A woman who was abused for years by her stepfather said she would have the best Christmas ever knowing that he is now spending it behind bars - after Court of Appeal judges intervened to beef up his lenient sentence.
Miriam Lake said Michael Egan, 77, forced her to lick dog poo off his shoes, burnt her with a lit cigarette, threw cold water over her while she slept and kicked her repeatedly in the ribs.
Now, decades on from the abuse, Ms Lake has finally seen justice served as Egan was put behind bars for four years following an intervention from top judges.
Ms Lake, now 45 and living in Bradwell in Norfolk, said abuse started when she was just nine, and it went on for years.
"He used to watch me in the shower and tell me that my 14-year-old body was disgusting, and laughed at me as I was going through puberty.
“He broke my ribs and I was coughing up blood.”
She added: “His next attack was smashing a cup in my face, resulting in stitches and lacerations to my eye.
“He also used to play this game where he would burn me with a cigarette to test my pain threshold."
Egan, from Lowestoft in Suffolk, was initially given a two-year sentence, suspended for two years, at Norwich Crown Court after pleading guilty to one count of assault and two charges of child cruelty in October.
However the Court of Appeal found his original sentence to be unduly lenient and increased it to four years’ imprisonment.
“I just wanted justice for that little girl who lost out on her childhood," Ms Lake, who agreed to waive her anonymity, said.
She added that she had waited to report her abuser to the police until her mum died.
“I didn't want her to be reminded of the evil man that was in our lives," she said.
“So when she passed away in 2017 I thought that's my chance now to make peace with my past."
Ms Lake, who now has four children and a one-year-old grandchild, said she wanted that to be a message to all child abusers - that the past would eventually catch up with them.
"Those little children that you abused will one day grow up and they will hopefully one day be strong independent people who will be able to speak out about the cruelty they've faced," she said.
“They will get justice."
Solicitor General Michael Tomlinson KC MP said: "Egan’s cruel and unspeakable physical and mental abuse have left a significant and lasting impact on his victim’s life. "Child cruelty is never acceptable so I welcome this increased sentence showing that those that commit such cowardly crimes will face significant punishment as a result."
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