Swindon rapist turned teenage victim into ‘a fraction of a man’

The victim of a man who raped him as a teenager said he was left with “only a fraction of the man” he could have been.

Sam Powers, 28, from Swindon, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being found guilty of raping a child in a trial at Gloucester Crown Court.

The former teaching assistant had also admitted to 44 cases of sexual abuse of children.

In a statement read to the court during sentencing on Friday, his victim said: “Powers destroyed me. I am nowhere near the man I could have been.”

The court was told that Powers abused 17 identified victims, but there may be more.

Judge Rupert Lowe said Powers had “selected vulnerable boys who he instinctively knew would be easy to manipulate”.

If you are affected by any of the details described in this report, you can find help and support at BBC Action Line.

The court heard that Powers gave the teenager alcohol before raping him.

The victim’s statement continued: “It has fundamentally changed my life. The trauma has affected my mental health and led to anxiety and depression.”

“All my relationships suffered from trust issues.

“I knew what he did was wrong. I thought I was fine, but I’m not.”

After the verdict, another victim told the BBC that Powers was a “monster, extremely calculating and manipulative.”

“He didn’t show the slightest hint of remorse,” he said.

He had met Powers online and said he made him feel “appreciated by someone.”

“He said some really despicable things and I went along with it because it made me feel less ugly in the moment,” he said.

“He pushed the right buttons and said the right words to get what he wanted.”

He said he now feels a “sense of freedom and hope.”

“He’s in prison now, and although things were heinous and inhumane, I feel the ball is in my court,” he said.

“I hope the other victims feel the same way I do.”

The court was told that Powers had also worked at a gym in the city.

The crimes occurred over a period of two years and included voyeuristic crimes and internet-based crimes.

Powers had paid some victims money for pictures and videos showing them engaging in indecent sexual acts and also secretly filmed this in various locations.

One of his victims wrote in his statement that Powers spoke of “violent sexual fantasies.”

He added that Powers persuaded him to take and send pictures of himself engaging in sexual acts and stated that Powers saved those images in a folder on his computer.

“I had blind faith in him. I thought he had my best interests at heart. But he didn’t and he used his power and authority to abuse young people like me,” said the victim.

“I feel enormous guilt. I had to go to therapy to deal with my feelings of guilt and shame.”

Another victim statement said: “I trusted him completely and he abused that.

“I’m scared I’ll never be able to trust people again, even if I know they tried to help me. When I hear people talk about him, it makes me so angry.”

Another victim testified in court that he felt his heart pounding every time Powers touched his upper arm.

“Even today, I get irritated or angry when someone says they can trust me – that’s what they always used to say to me.”

Det Insp Gareth Kitchener of Wiltshire Police said Powers was a “superficially charming man”.

Det Insp Kitchener said that in addition to the 17 victims identified by name, there were others whose identities had not yet been established.

“Mr Power kept records of his crimes and this enabled us to identify many of the children,” he said.

“We may never know exactly how many people he committed crimes against or who those victims are.”

Defense attorney Alexandra Bull told the court that Powers had “freely admitted that he has a sexual interest in children.”

“He had no problems at home, he had a nice childhood. He had friends, he wasn’t bullied,” she said.

“This crime is about a sexual interest in children. We don’t know why.”

Judge Lowe sentenced Power to 20 years in prison, suspended for four years, a 25-year sexual harm prevention order and a ban on working with children.

Det Insp Kitchener said it was difficult to estimate what impact this would have on victims in the years and months to come and praised them for finding the courage to speak out about “very difficult and disturbing incidents”.