A woman who was abused by a former chip shop owner when working for him as a teenager has spoken of her relief that he is “finally in jail”.
The woman, who is now in her thirties, was subjected to sexual abuse when she worked in Cotter’s chip shop in Ards.
At his trial last June, a jury convicted Timothy Cotter (50), from Ringhaddy Park in Newtownards, of sexually abusing two teenage employees.
On Thursday, he was ordered to serve six months in prison and a period on supervised licence afterwards.
Judge Geoffrey Miller KC said given the nature of the offences and the harm he caused “there can be no question of the custodial threshold not being passed”.
Speaking after sentencing, one of his victims said: “I am so happy he is now off the streets and behind bars, which is where he belongs.
“I have carried this around with me for 20 years. I only went to the police three and a half years ago. Part of me wishes I’d come forward sooner but I’m so glad I did finally contact the police.
“What really made me act was when I became a mum and I just couldn’t bear the thought of something like that happening to my daughter so I knew what had to be done and it just escalated from there.
“I got justice today for what he did to me and he’s now in jail. I know six months isn’t a very long sentence but I’m so happy that he’s in jail now and he’s finally paying for what he did to me all those years ago.”