DETECTIVES have branded Melksham child abuser Dennis Donnithorne "a wicked bully" for ruining the lives of three young girls.

DS Dave Martin, of Trowbridge CID, said 48-year-old truck driver Donnithorne had systematically destroyed, bullied and humiliated his three Melksham victims during a five-year reign of sexual abuse.

Donnithorne, formerly of Somerset Crescent, Melksham, was convicted on 11 counts of indecent assault on three girls, at Swindon Crown Court on Friday, May 10, He had denied all charges.

Told by Judge John McNaught he faced prison for his crimes, Donnithorne will have to wait until July to learn his fate, while pre-sentence reports are prepared.

DS Martin, who led the investigation into Donnithorne's past, said all three victims aged between 12 and 15-years-old at the time they were abused had suffered cruelly at the hands of a "bully-boy" paedophile.

He said: "Donnithorne has blighted the lives of three young girls.

"They have my utmost respect for having the courage to stand up to him having suffered his abuse and intimidation for years.

"He is a pervert and a bully, but I hope that they can now somehow put this case and the abuse they suffered to the back of their minds and live their lives out of his poisonous shadow.

"The jury deliberated for eight hours before returning their verdicts and I am very pleased that they took such a long and careful look at the evidence before deciding that Donnithorne was guilty."

It was claimed that Donnithorne often supplied his victims with drugs and alcohol during the offences, which were committed between 1987 and 1992.

Donnithorne, allowed to return to Melksham until his sentencing hearing in July, was the target of a paedophile hate-campaign.

Windows at a pub in Semington were smashed in December, after Donnithorne used the premises as a bail address.

He will reappear at Swindon Crown Court at a date to be set after July 1 for a sentencing hearing.