A MAN on trial for child abuse survived a 100ft fall from the Humber Bridge in a botched suicide bid, a court heard.
Trevor Harness tried to commit suicide two days into his trial at Sheffield Crown Court earlier this year after changing his pleas to guilty.
But he survived the fall and has been left needing to use a wheelchair.
This week he was jailed for eight years at Grimsby Crown Court.
The court heard Harness, 66, of Dam Road, Barton, had admitted six counts of indecent assault, one of indecency with a child and one count of attempted rape.
The allegations only came to light after the victim – who is now an adult – told her partner what had happened and Harness was confronted.
He confessed what had happened to a family member, but later denied the allegations to police, claiming the woman had acted in a "sexually provocative manner" towards him.
However, two days into his trial – before his victim was cross-examined – he changed his pleas to guilty.
At this point, he attempted to commit suicide, but instead was left with damage to his spinal chord and multiple serious
fractures, when the rope he had intended to hang himself with snapped and he fell 100ft on to
mud flats beneath the Humber Bridge.
Judge Kate Buckingham said his injuries would affect his mobility for the rest of his life, adding that his cell had had to be adapted for wheelchair use.
She also said the court accepted his suicide attempt had been a "genuine attempt" to take his own life, which gave an indication of his feelings towards what he had done.
She said: "The complainant said you 'took away her childhood' and that his attentions left her full of fear and 'self-loathing'."
Judge Buckingham added the woman had suffered from anxiety and depression, which had been compounded by Harness's suicide attempt.
Harness has also been ordered to sign the sex offender's register indefinitely.
