A SADISTIC sex offender who spent two years on the run has been jailed for what a judge described as the worst case he had ever heard.
Robert Bruce Sullivan, 68, was jailed for 16 years at Chester Crown Court for subjecting two schoolgirls to horrific sexual and physical abuse lasting seven years.
The Recorder of Chester, Judge Elgan Edwards, said: “I have been sat in this court for a considerable period of time and have never presided over a case like this.
“This is a dreadful case. Anyone who has heard the facts of the case shuddered from what you did. You abused them sexually for your own perverted lust.”
Sullivan, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to 25 counts of sexual abuse including multiple rapes, attempted rape and numerous indecent assaults.
The abuse took place during the 1970s and 1980s but only came to light two years ago when the victims built up the courage to come forward.
But Sullivan skipped court and fled in September, 2010 prompting Cheshire Police to launch a nationwide manhunt.
Officers said he had an extensive knowledge of the network of canals in Cheshire and links to Blackpool and Northumbria.
He was eventually tracked down last summer and found to be living in Cornwall where he was in a relationship with a woman.
John Wyn Williams, prosecuting, said Sullivan initially denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty before changing his plea and admitting a “catalogue of horrific sex attacks”.
Mr Williams said the victims’ lives had been destroyed by what Sullivan had done with some of the abuse taking place in a disused cement factory where the girls had been handcuffed and bound.
Judge Edwards told Sullivan he would deservedly spend most of the rest of his life behind bars and made him the subject of a sexual offences prevention order banning him from contacting his victims.
He said: “This is a long sentence and it is in my judgement amply deserved and it’s not a day too long.
“They will never recover from what you did to them.”
Speaking after the hearing, Det Cons Caroline Brophy from the Chester Public Protection Unit, said: “Sullivan is a sexual predator who committed a string of depraved offences against children almost 30 years ago and believed he could evade justice.
“Detectives have worked tirelessly in tracing Sullivan using all means at their disposal, including a nationwide public appeal.
“Today’s sentence reflects the serious nature and severity of the offences he committed.
“I hope the knowledge that Sullivan is behind bars and facing the consequences of his criminality will bring about a degree of closure for his victims.”