A Portslade barman has been jailed for 16 years after a jury found him guilty of 11 counts of abusing two girls.
John Guile, 49, also known as John Gosling, was given a 17-year sentence to include an extra year on licence at Lewes Crown Court yesterday (Thursday 14 September).
Guile will be expected to serve more than 10 years before he can be considered for parole.
He abused an 11-year-old and a 13-year-old girl some years apart over a period stretching from July 2009 to April 2019. Neither girl knew the other.
During his trial at Hove Crown Court in May, the jury was told that one of the girls targeted by Guile was now 26 and the other was still in her teens.
The former barman worked at two Southwick pubs – the now-closed Pilot and the Romans – and befriended one of his victims while at work.
He groomed and abused the first girl at a number of locations in Southwick, Portslade and Brighton. The other he abused while he was living in the Patcham area of Brighton.
After leaving the Pilot pub, which closed in 2010, he went on to work at the Romans although the management has since changed. Later, he was a window fitter and cleaning contractor.
He lived at the Romans pub, in Manor Hall Road, as well as in Abinger Road, Portslade, in Old Shoreham Road and in Midhurst Rise, Brighton.
The jury returned unanimous guilty verdicts on a series of charges including five counts of sexual activity with a child.
At Lewes Crown Court, Sarah Lindop, prosecuting, read a victim personal statement prepared by one of the girls, Louise.
She said: “Not only did he take away my innocence, but my teenage years and adult years. I still have nightmares and flashbacks because of what he did to me.
“John started abusing me when I was a young teenager. I was at a vulnerable age and at the weakest point in my life.”
Louise spoke of having been scarred and how Guile had changed her life forever, leaving her feeling panic and humiliation at times and with mental health problems, social phobia and emotional numbness. At times, she had even had suicidal feelings.
She said: “Emotionally the abuse has torn me to pieces. You made me feel like a piece of meat. You decided to make me your prey.”
She also said: “I ask to be given the gift of knowing exactly where John is at all times so that I can truly live – and I ask that the public be given that gift as well.
Great news. I hope that the victims take comfort that this man is now locked away and can’t harm any other females.
That lot at it again