‘He would sneak me into the house and into his wardrobe’ - Brave man speaks out after predatory paedophile who groomed him is sent down for historic offences

A man who escaped the clutches of a ‘predatory’ paedophile after years of abuse has bravely spoken out to help other survivors know they can get justice.
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Paul Anthony Timmis is starting a 14-year jail term after being found guilty of rape and assault charges at Preston Crown Court.

Evil Timmis gained such a hold of his young victim that he persuaded him to live with him, so he could abuse him at will.

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But today Wayne Pilsworth has spoken out about he found the strength to tell police about the ordeal he suffered over years of his childhood - resulting in Timmis being locked up.

Sexual abuse survivor Wayne Pilsworth outside Sessions House Court with wife Teresa, moments after his abuser Paul Timmis was jailed for 14 yearsSexual abuse survivor Wayne Pilsworth outside Sessions House Court with wife Teresa, moments after his abuser Paul Timmis was jailed for 14 years
Sexual abuse survivor Wayne Pilsworth outside Sessions House Court with wife Teresa, moments after his abuser Paul Timmis was jailed for 14 years

He also shared unusual pictures of the artistic tattoos all over his upper body which he says highlight his journey and tell his story.

They include the face of the judge who presided over Timmis’ first trial, forever etched close to his armpit, and a lone wolf ‘looking back’ on his life.

The court heard how Timmis met Wayne when he was 11, and groomed the vulnerable schoolboy with cigarettes, alcohol and money, trips to gaming arcades, and lavished attention on him that he didn’t have from his parents.

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Wayne, who has waived his right to anonymity, recalls: “He used to sneak me into his parents’ house and hide me in his wardrobe.”

Sexual abuse survivor Wayne Pilsworth reveals tattoos of his journey outside Sessions House Court, moments after his abuser Paul Timmis was jailed for 14 yearsSexual abuse survivor Wayne Pilsworth reveals tattoos of his journey outside Sessions House Court, moments after his abuser Paul Timmis was jailed for 14 years
Sexual abuse survivor Wayne Pilsworth reveals tattoos of his journey outside Sessions House Court, moments after his abuser Paul Timmis was jailed for 14 years

The youngster came from a challenging background, and when his parents were evicted from their home in Manchester, Timmis forced him to move in with him.

Timmis went on to repeatedly rape and indecently assault his vulnerable victim in various locations that they moved to including Kirkham, Freckleton, Blackpool, and Greater Manchester, between 1987 and 2000.

But in 2000, Mr Pilsworth refused to move to Scarborough and fled his attacker.

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He got a job at Tiggis restaurant in Guildhall Street in Preston, but unknown to his colleagues, he was sleeping rough on benches in the city.

Wayne recalls: “(Timmis) had been in control of me, I had never paid a bill or obtained credit - I didn’t know how to live.

“He had moved me away from my friends. I couldn’t go home because I didn’t want anyone to know about what was happening to me.

“But to the outside world I was a working, functioning man.

“I still had girlfriends while all this was going on.”

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Eventually, he obtained shared accommodation off Fishergate Hill.

In 2004, he met his wife Teresa in Blackpool, and the couple, who now have three children, moved to Morecambe.

But it wasn’t until he became suicidal that he realised he had to report what had happened to him.

In 2017, he disclosed his ordeal to police. Timmis, 54, of Springfield Avenue, Bacup, denied the allegations but was found guilty - following a retrial - of a string of rapes and assaults.

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Wayne was in the public gallery supported by family and friends as Judge Graham Knowles QC, sentencing, said: “The effect on him has been catastrophic.

“In nearly a decade of dealing as a judge with sexual cases, and 15 or more years both prosecuting and defending at the bar, I have never come across a case where the effects have been worse.

“You are a predator - you hoped that the jury would find Wayne Pilsworth’s evidence to be the most extraordinary lies, but his evidence was the most extraordinary truth.

“In his evidence to police and to the court, he was utterly raw - he spoke his mind and he spoke his heart without varnish, without holding anything back, without trying to impress anybody, without trying to suggest he was anybody other than he truly was.

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“As a boy he was in your power. You knew it and you had planned it and brought it about. You raped him when and where you liked over a period of three years.

”You knew from when you first met him exactly how vulnerable he was.”

Timmis must sign the Sex Offenders’ register for life.

Wayne has sought support from many organisations and attracted a high profile social media following by sharing his plight.

He also supports the Purple Friday movement which raises awareness of abuse.

Lancashire police said they did not have a photo of Timmis on file.