'I can never forgive you for stealing my childhood' - victim of depraved Dudley paedophile tells court
The brave victim of Dudley paedophile Joshua Smith stood in court and told her tormenter how he wrecked her life by forcing her to send him depraved intimate videos.
She said: "I was 14 when this case started. Now I am a young lady whose childhood, confidence and happiness have been stripped by you.
"This man used a little girl to his advantage and he did. I now find it hard to maintain friendships, I started isolating. I could not concentrate at school. My teachers noticed my work suffered.
"My family have had to live with me, every time I broke down. They feel they are walking on egg shells around me. My sisters do not want to see me sometimes because of the moods I can have."
She added: "They have told me they do not recognise the person I have become, that breaks my heart."
"I have never felt the same since this happened to me. The five stages of grief are denial, anger, depression, bargaining and anger. I spent months denying this was my life, I'd spend months feeling every bit of rage inside me, I went months trying to get help, I've harmed myself many times, I've begged and pleaded to get help. Those are my stages of grief.
"One thing I can never do, is accept the hurt and trauma the accused of put me through."
Smith, 27, found his victims on Snapchat, an app which he had multiple profiles pretending to be a child. After gaining their confidence pretending he would send them a list of sexual positions he wanted them to perform for him.
After being arrested by West Midlands Police in 2021, officers found evidence of more young girls he had met online and other disgusting videos including a toddler being tortured and 20 minute compilation of sickening videos showing children being violently sexual abused.
Another victim's mother said: "I can never forgive him for what he did. I can never get an image of my daughter which she sent him out of my mind. I have now stopped her online usage to only people she knows. He knew she was a child and yet carried on."
Smith also in contact with other paedophiles, and even had a manual giving instructions how to groom and abuse young girls.
Smith, of Robert Street, Lower Gornal, was sentenced for 18 various sex crimes at Wolverhampton Crown Court including engaging in sexual communication with a 12-year-old, two 13-year-olds and 14-year-old girl, the penetration of another child and possessing category A, B and C child pornography.
Smith was sentenced to 11 years in prison.