A man indecently assaulted by a teacher as a child has spoken publicly for the first time about the impact the abuse has had on his life.

Geography teacher Richard Gaines abused his position of trust to indecently assault teenage boys while working at St Martin’s Preparatory School in Moor Park Road, Northwood.

Gaines was jailed for five years and two months in November 2019.

The then 74-year-old from Swindon admitted seven counts of gross indecency with a boy under the age of 14 which dated from the 1970s. The charges related to six boys in total.

Olivia Ball, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said last year that Gaines carried out indecent acts against young boys, often in a cupboard and Isleworth Crown Court heard Gaines offered to teach them "sex education" and showed them pornographic magazines.

One of the victims, now aged in his 50s and cannot be named for legal reasons, is still coming to terms with what happened to him, but after opening up about his experiences, he is now urging those who have experienced similar abuse to speak out.

The man said: "It remains incredibly difficult to talk about and the ordeal I’ve been through and the effect it had on me.

"For years I couldn’t bring myself to speak about what happened. Being sexualised by a man robbed me of my innocence. I felt angry and disgusted at what happened.

"I had issues trusting people and being able to make new friends or form relationships."

The victim only decided to reveal what happened to him when the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse, led by Professor Alexis Jay, was set up.

The man spoke to the Truth Project which offers survivors the chance to share their experiences and is part of the wider inquiry.

He was also approached by police who were already investigating Gaines in connection with alleged offences against other teenagers around the same time.

The man continued: "It wasn’t until the Jay inquiry started that I could see a way of offloading what happened to me. I knew the inquiry would pass on details to the police.

"It was only after speaking to the police that the gravity of what Gaines had done started to sink in.

"I just hope that by speaking out others who have been abused feel that they don’t have to go through what happened to them alone.

"Issues like abuse are under the spotlight more than ever and people can be confident that others will listen to their concerns."

The man has instructed lawyers Irwin Mitchell to help him access the specialist support he requires to try and come to terms with what happened.

Tom Fletcher, a specialist lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, said: "Once again this is another terrible case in which a person has abused their position of the trust in the worst possible way for their own gratification.

"While the crimes that Gaines carried out may have been many decades ago, the impact of his actions continue to impact upon our client today.

"Now that the criminal case has concluded we are determined to help our client access the specialist support he requires to try and overcome his ordeal."

Survivors of child sexual abuse can share their experiences with the Inquiry's Truth Project in writing, over the phone or by video call. Visit www.truthproject.org.uk for more information or email share@iicsa.org.uk