A “trusted” member of a city’s Nepalese community who a judge said put his “own sexual desires first” has been jailed for abusing seven girls and a woman.

Pramod Dhakal’s position of authority in the close-knit Peterborough community “allowed him trusted access to a number of young females”, Cambridge Crown Court heard.

During his offending over 17 years, Dhakal – who carried out some religious ceremonies – raped a girl as young as eight.

The 49-year-old, of Grange Road, Peterborough, was found guilty of 25 sexual offences and jailed for 25 years, with an extended period on licence of eight years.

The offences included five counts of rape of a child under 13 and two of rapes of a child over 13.

Prosecutor Claire Matthews told the court one of the rape victims described Dhakal as a “second father”, but “remembers the feeling of helplessness” and said he “told her it won’t take long”.

In her victim impact statement, she said the “emotional manipulation silenced me for years”, adding that “he taught me the truth would do more harm than good”.

She said that “culturally, disclosing this abuse as a child felt impossible”.

“Pramod Dhakal chose to abuse me as a child. The consequences didn’t end when the abuse stopped,” she said.

Another victim said: “I thought I was the only one, we all did.”

Another said: “I wish nothing but the absolute worst for him.”

The court heard that while the majority of his offending took place in Peterborough, one victim was abused in London.

Several of his victims had reported mental breakdowns, the court was told.

Judge Mark Bishop told the court that Dhakal, who had no previous convictions, continued to deny his guilt.

“You knew these girls would not tell their parents about what they were doing,” he told the defendant.

He said a pre-sentence report found some “victim blaming” and “quite bizarrely… [Dhakal had] taken credit for the achievements of his victims in later life”.

Det Con Phillipa Mallett, who was commended by the judge for her investigation, said: “This case highlights that no matter when the abuse happened or when you feel comfortable to share your story with the police, we take reports of this nature extremely seriously.

“I hope this outcome brings closure to the survivors of Dhakal’s abuse. I commend them on their bravery for coming forward and potentially stopping further children being exploited.”

– BBC