Once a happy-go-lucky confident young girl, 8-year-old Jane* now suffers night terrors and smacks herself in the head - overwhelmed by the emotions running through her mind.
The change... all thanks to a repeat child sex offender in WA, out on parole for similar crimes when he committed his latest heinous acts.
![Gildersleeve's most recent victims were girls aged just 6 and 8.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170713184706im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/p/m/p/d/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gx8rrn.png/1499814215010.jpg)
This is the case of 49-year-old repeat child sex offender Wayne Scott Gildersleeve.
Jailed last month for a string of "persistent" sex offences against two Perth children, his crimes would rank as every parent's worst nightmare.
His most recent victims were girls aged just 6 and 8.
Gildersleeve indecently dealt with and sexually assaulted the girls over a two month period in Perth's southern suburbs.
He pleaded guilty to seven charges and in the WA District Court, he was handed a jail sentence of seven years and two months.
But one of the more disturbing aspects of the sentencing hearing concerned Gildersleeve's criminal past and the shocking impact his offending has had on the once bright and bubbly young girls and their families.
The court was told the most recent set of offences meant it was the fourth time Gildersleeve had been brought to court for child sex crimes.
The court was also told how Gildersleeve had even undergone sex offender treatment programs in prison previously, but that he still failed to acknowledge his sexually deviant interests in young girls.
A psychological report tendered to the court conceded he "struggles to identify himself as a sexual offender."
"I accept that you have shown some remorse, although it is limited because of the fact that you have failed to openly acknowledge your sexually deviant motivations and your sexually deviant interest in pre-pubescent girls," Judge David Parry said.
"Despite imprisonment...and despite a treatment program, you actively engineered situations in which you would have the opportunity to offend against these victims."
The court heard that in 1995 Gildersleeve was convicted of sexual penetration of a child under the age of 13.
Incredibly, the sentence he received for that crime was just two years probation with 200 hours of community service.
"Thankfully there's been a significant increase in penalties for offences of this type since then," the prosecutor told the court.
In December 2002 he was found guilty of indecent dealing with a seven‑year‑old girl and jailed for two years.
In 2003, he was further found guilty of sexually penetrating the same victim and imprisoned for a further two years, but that term was made concurrent with the earlier two year sentence.
The court heard Gildersleeve remained "an above average risk of sexual re-offending."
Victim impact statements written by the mother's of the two most recent victims were read out in the court room.
"They describe for me the truly devastating effect your offending has had on these two young vulnerable victims," Judge Parry said.
The mother of one of the girl's said her daughter used to be a "really happy, helpful, outgoing child."
She used to have a really positive sleep routine, but now can't go to sleep unless her mother is sitting at the end of the bed.
When she eventually gets to sleep, she frequently wakes up because so many things are going through her head.
She's tired and cannot concentrate at school.
She is cautious and worries how she's perceived by others.
Her parents too, are now also very cautious of people around them.
"We've lost our sense of trust in the community," the mother said.
"We're always second guessing people around us."
The mother of the second girl described a very similar, dreadful set of circumstances.
"She (the victim) tragically now smacks herself in the head because she's overwhelmed by the emotions that go on in her young head," Judge Parry said.
"Her sleeping has been terrible. She suffers night terrors."
Most upsettingly, the girl says she "takes responsibility" for what happened and blames herself for the impact it has had on her family, the court was told.
"You have hurt her heart," the mother's victim impact statement read.
Gildersleeve will be eligible for parole in 2022. He will be 54.
One can only hope his victim's hearts have had a chance to heal by then.
*Not the victim's real name.