An Edmonton man who was taunted and sexually abused has won his battle against his abuser and is urging others to open up about their mistreatment.

John Lake was 13 when he was first sexually abused in 1989 by his mother’s friend, Allison Robinson, 24, at the time, after she coerced his parents into taking him back to her home after a family barbecue.

The torment would last for 12 months with Mr Lake, formerly of Edmonton, too afraid to reveal what was going on.

Following Robinson's conviction, Mr Lake has waived his anonymity. He described to the Enfield Independent how the abuse began.

He said: “She had come round for a barbecue we was having and that is when it started.

“She began making sexual contact with me at the house and then persuaded my parents for me to go back to her home.

“This happened a lot during the next year; camping holidays or trips away and I couldn’t say anything because she would threaten to get me expelled from school and tell everyone I was adopted.

“I began to self harm; there was no escape from what was happening. When she left the area, I told my parents and they didn’t care about what happened.

“They just said ‘so you lost your virginity at 13, big deal’. I haven’t made contact with my parents since then.

“I was desperate to get expelled from school and get away from the area so I could start again.”

After rebuilding his life away from the area, Mr Lake returned to Edmonton in 2012 where, by chance, he encountered Ms Robinson.

Mr Lake recalls the moment he saw her again and revealed the consequences of their meeting.

He said: “I was in a kebab shop and she came up to me from behind and said ‘I told you I would get away with it’.

“When I heard it was her, it sent me into a negative spiral and brought back everything I had forgotten when rebuilding my life.

“I started to drink heavily. I separated from my wife and I haven’t seen my children in two years, it’s been very hard for me and when I saw her again I was determined to bring her to justice.”

Mr Lake has now rebuilt his life once more and is due to be rehabilitated for his alcoholism.

He said: “I want to thank all the police officers that helped me get through this and help win my case. I am very relieved about everything and I can now put this behind me and build my life again for good.

“I would love to see my children again now this is over. A lot of people have experienced a similar incident and I hope that this can help people step forward and bring those who abused them to justice.

Ms Robinson was convicted of two counts of gross indecency with a child under 16 and indecent assault on a male under 14 and will serve 18 months in prison.

She has also been placed on the sex offenders register for the next ten years.