NIGHTMARES, insomnia, suicide attempts, homelessness, anxiety, depression, shame and guilt.
These, and so many other deeply ingrained issues, are the impacts of the serial sex crimes of Daniel Hanson, who styled himself as "Jimmy Beloved", the frontman of Newcastle screamo/electronica band Falling for Beloved and used his status as a musician to meet, groom and then sexually abuse more than a dozen girls, almost all aged between 12 and 16, over a nine-year period.
Six of the 14 young women who were manipulated, exploited, groomed or coerced into a sexual relationship with Hanson courageously read victim impact statements in Newcastle District Court on Friday, outlining the effects of his crimes.
Hanson, now 34, would typically approach underage girls at his gigs, ask for their phone number, tell them they were "the most beautiful girl in the room" and then begin a text message exchange that gradually became more graphic and sexual in nature.
He would lie about his age, always telling the girls he was also underage or years younger than he was. In reality, from the time he was about 18 until he was 24, Hanson "showed a sexual interest in young women under the age of 16".
"He began grooming me after a music gig and persuaded me to skip school one day when he took me to a stormwater drain and raped me in my school uniform," one victim said.
Other girls spoke of deep emotional scars, social isolation and worthlessness.
Hanson, who sat in the dock while the six victims wept as they re-lived their trauma, pleaded guilty to 23 counts of sexual and indecent assault against 14 girls aged between 12 and 22. The offences occurred between 2005 and 2014. The most serious charges are two counts of persistent sexual abuse of a child and relate to two girls aged 12 and 14, who Hanson sexually abused while he was aged between 18 and 20.
Once charged with more than 100 offences after media attention triggered a flood of complaints and allegations, the DPP ultimately withdrew dozens of charges.
A letter penned by Hanson was read to the court, in which he apologised for the "pain and humiliation" he caused the 14 women.
"The reason for my letter is to take full responsibility for my actions and behaviour," he said. "I am extremely ashamed and embarrassed by everything that I did."
Hanson will be sentenced in Sydney next week.
