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Bristol Post
Bristol Post
National
Geoffrey Bennett

Kingswood man had secret "wicked side", court told

A Kingswood man described as an exemplary worker had a secret "wicked side", a court heard.

For, behind his likeable persona, Marcin Szwed was sexually abusing a girl aged under 13 by groping her.

The 43-year-old, of Crates Close, denied wrongdoing and had a trial.

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But a jury at Bristol Crown Court convicted him of three sexual assaults and an attempted sexual assault.

Judge James Patrick sent him to prison for 11 years.

He told Szwed: "People who know you speak well of you.

"As with so many sex offenders there are two sides to you; the side you present to others and the wicked side that committed the offences."

The judge ordered that Szwed be prohibited from contacting or living with children aged under 16, indefinitely.

He was also banned from unchecked internet use, barred from working with children and vulnerable adults for life and told to register as a sex offender for life.

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Christopher Smyth, prosecuting, read an impact statement from the victim in which she outlined the trauma of her "disgusting" abuse and how some people had not believed her when she reported it.

She was thankful for the jury's guilty verdicts, which immediately gave her a sense of release.

She said: "I was overcome with emotion.

"I was crying happy tears of joy that I had got justice and finally been believed by people.

"A sense of closure came over me and I hope his prison sentence will enable me to move forward and become a better and stronger person.

"The jury listened to me, the jury believed me and the jury supported me."

Emma Martin, defending, said: "He is a very hard working, family man.

"He has found it particularly hard to bear being convicted of serious matters."

Mrs Martin said her client was a skilled worker described as an "exemplary" employee in the field of fabrication,

She said Szwed was of hitherto good character and, as a non-native speaker, would feel isolated in prison.

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