IPSWICH: A child sex victim’s mother today told of her fury at how an Ipswich man’s abuse has virtually destroyed her daughter’s life.

Michael Zablocki assaulted the teenage girl during a relationship, which the youngster revealed when she broke down on New Year’s Eve and finally admitted to relatives that he had been sexually active with her.

Zablocki, of Clapgate Lane, had groomed the girl so he could have sex with her, although to others he made it appear that they were just friends.

The 26-year-old was given a 28-month prison sentence by Ipswich Crown Court.

The girl’s mother said her daughter was under Zablocki’s spell and he manipulated her feelings to the extent that, even now, she is distraught over his loss of liberty.

The mother said: “I’m angry. I knew something wasn’t right. It’s disgusting. This has changed our lives dramatically. Our lives have been turned upside-down and it’s ruined the whole family. He’s only going to do 14 months in prison. I don’t think it’s long enough.

“My daughter’s studies have suffered. She has panic attacks and is sick every morning. She is upset he has gone to prison. He’s got that sort of hold over her. She’s still finding it very hard at the moment.

“My daughter is still blaming herself, but we are trying to get it into her head that it’s what abusers do. We are trying to get her counselling. Her confidence has been knocked. She’s still got a life, but she can’t see a future.

“My daughter was taken advantage of. It didn’t seem right, but she said he treated her like a sister.

“I was concerned why someone that age wanted to be with a child. I used to stop her trying to see him.

“They said it was like a brother and sister-type relationship, but if he phoned she would jump straight away.

“He would follow her around everywhere. Her life was focused on what he was doing. He could get her to do what he wanted her to do. She used to bunk off school.”

The mother said she was so shocked when her daughter revealed what had been going on that she burst into tears.

After Zablocki’s arrest the mother said she discovered that, at one point during the relationship, the girl had threatened to reveal what was going on if Zablocki continued to be sexually active with her.

Her mother said: “Two years before he was caught my daughter told him to stop otherwise she would either tell me or the police. He turned around and said ‘don’t do that, you know I will be sent to prison and I wouldn’t be able to cope in prison’.

“He (Zablocki) is very clever in a way. In court they said he was lacking in confidence and a shy person, but that’s not the Michael I knew.”