A west side man who told investigators that he molested as many as 30 children over a 20-yearperiod was sentenced Monday to 12 years in prison.
Wilfrid Creighton turned his face in court as one of his victims -- a man who is now in his 30s-- explained how the abuse he endured has affected his life and relationships, 10TV's Maureen Kocotreported.
The victim, who requested anonymity, said Creighton's mother was his baby sitter. He said ittook a couple of years for him to understand something very bad was happening to him.
He also said he grew scared watching his friends run off to "the dungeon," which was a nicknamefor Creighton's basement.
It was Creighton's basement where sheriff's investigators said they found about 3,000 diskscontaining commercial and homemade child pornography, Kocot reported. Creighton later toldinvestigators that he molested as many as 30 neighborhood children spanning two decades.
The victim told 10TV News that knowing so many other children were abused left him with afeeling of guilt.
"I know it's not my fault, but I have a lot of guilt because I feel like I could've, you know,because I feel like I could have saved these other kids, sort of," he said.
The man said victims of sexual abuse should never be afraid to speak out.
"You have to step up, eventually," he said. "No matter how strong you are, what color you are,all kids are victims that don't deserve to go through this."
In addition to his prison sentence, Creighton will be classified as a sex offender and berequired to register his address with local authorities every 90 days for the rest of his life,Kocot reported.
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