Child rapist threatened to kill victim with knife

A child rapist who held a knife against the throat of one of his victims and threatened to kill them if they reported his abuse has been jailed for 24 years.

Martin James Jackson, also known as Wake, raped one child and sexually abused another before using "extreme measures" to control them through fear, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

The child he raped and threatened said they regularly considered suicide because of his actions, with a judge praising them for their "extraordinary" bravery.

Jackson, 46 and from North Shields, had denied wrongdoing but was found guilty of multiple offences including raping a child.

After the rape, Jackson pushed a kitchen knife against the child's throat and threatened to kill them if they told anyone what he had done, Judge Julie Clemitson said.

"You managed to use fear to ensure [their] compliance and silence," the judge said.

The victim "never felt able to tell anyone because of your threats", she added.

Judge Clemitson said the victim had been "extraordinarily brave" in reading their own victim impact statement to the court and Jackson should live with the guilt of his actions.

"What you did haunts [the victim] still every day and [they are] unable to escape it," the judge said.

The judge said Jackson "used extreme measures" to control his victims through fear.

"That level of sexual deviancy and drive indicates a clear risk that, given the opportunity to do so, you would [offend] again," the judge said.

Having been ruled a "dangerous" offender, Jackson will also have to serve a further year on extended licence upon his release from prison.

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