A CHURCH youth group leader, who was once "respected and admired", has been jailed for 13 years for repeatedly sexually assaulting a teenage girl in Newcastle 20 years ago.
Brett Edward Sorby's victim, a woman who cannot be named for legal reasons, confronted him in a powerful victim impact statement during his sentence hearing in Newcastle District Court on Monday.
She looked directly at 60-year-old Sorby as she said she had been waiting decades for the chance to be heard.
"A chance to fight for the one no one else could fight for, a chance for that broken 15-year-old girl's screams to be heard," the woman said.
The court heard Sorby was leader of a church youth group designed to help children having issues at home, before he repeatedly sexually abused and indecently assaulted a vulnerable girl in 2004 and 2005 while he was 40.
The court heard the teenager was 15 years old when the offending began, and it continued for almost two years.
"What I wouldn't give to have never met you," the woman told Sorby.
"The so-called man that everybody adored, the man that had everybody fooled.
"I didn't just lose trust in you, I lost trust in myself, and everyone else in the world."
The victim said Sorby had stolen from her, from her future, her will to fight and to be the best version of herself. She detailed her ongoing trauma.
"I felt disgusting, used, worthless, broken and the most helpless I had ever felt before," she said.
"Every time you cried and said sorry and promised to stop, and I forgave you. I shouldn't have."
The court heard Sorby had been a firefighter, church leader, had given talks on the effect abuse had on people's lives and assisted the homeless.
His defence lawyer argued that while his community contributions had been "overshadowed" by his "heinous crimes", they did not disappear. He submitted that Sorby was genuinely remorseful.
Judge Peter McGrath sentenced Sorby in Newcastle District Court on Monday to 13 years in jail, with nine years non-parole.
With time served, Sorby will be eligible for parole in December 2032.
He said the teenage victim was "particularly vulnerable" when Sorby preyed on her, and had tried to get away from him and make excuses to escape his abuse.
"He prioritised his sexual gratification over her wellbeing," Judge McGrath said.
The court heard confronting details about the sexual acts Sorby forced the girl to engage in across a period of 20 months.
Sorby was arrested in January last year, and ultimately pleaded guilty to six counts of sexual intercourse with a person aged between 14 and 16, and a string of other charges.
