A BOXER from Ystradgynlais and a friend have broken a 30-year secret of how they were systematically abused as children by a family friend, to encourage others to speak out.

Darren Morgan has waived his right to have his name protected by the courts in the hope that victims of sex crimes will have the courage to bring their abusers to justice.

Darren and the friend, who has retained his right to anonymity, broke their silence after more than three decades following the sentencing of John Mark Williams who they claim took away their “childhood innocence”.

Darren, aged 40, known as Daz, and his 41-year-old friend finally plucked up the courage to speak out after living in the same community as the “pervert” who abused them for 30 years.

“We both knew what he did to each other,” said Darren, who has lost both his father and older brother within a few months of each other and did not see Williams plead guilty to 16 counts of gross indecency and indecent assault at Swansea Crown Court. “We were part of his game.”

The abuse began when both men were just six years old. Darren said: “He was a teenager and we were little kids. He used to play football with us on the old fields, which were opposite the Ynyscedwyn Arms. It started off as groping while we played football, like he was testing the water to see if we said anything to our parents. Both our parents were friends of his, so he was someone we thought we could trust.”

But this childhood trust was repeatedly broken, with Williams, known as Mark Bung to those in the village, claiming the abuse was part of a game called ‘ghosts’. The pair recall how the molester was quite brazen in his offending, often abusing the boys in nearby woodland where scores of young children played.

“As six-year-olds we had no idea what he was doing was wrong. He played this game with us and would encourage us to hide in a bedroom. Our families had no idea what he was doing to us as he made it out to be our secret. He didn’t care where it happened,” said the 40-year-old. “On occasions he would touch us inappropriately in public. We used to watch him staring at us when we played down the river. We thought then he was a friend.”

But the secret has slowly eaten away at the men, with both carrying the psychological and emotional burden in silence, speaking only on occasion to each other.

Darren said the abuse had a marked effect on his life, attributing a troubled early adult life fuelled by aggression to the ordeal. Eventually he found an outlet for his aggression, achieving notoriety as the ‘Bonymaen Beast’ on the amateur and semi-professional boxing circuit.

“When I got in the ring, I could see him looking back at me,” he said. “All the aggression I so wanted to take out on Bung, I’d take out on my opponent. The only problem was I sometimes had problems controlling the aggression and would want to knock them out instantly. I’d fight so hard in the first one or two rounds that I’d ether knock them out or start demanding oxygen when I couldn’t take the pace.”

It was while he was training in Cwmbwrla that he confided in a fellow boxer. He said: “The guy trainer there had a room, away from the gym where the kids who came in to train could talk to him about personal issues. I felt able to open up to him and tell him what happened. It was a relief to tell someone but at the same time I wanted [Bung] to pay for what he had done. Going to the police did cross my mind but I couldn’t.”

It’s this aggression and the mixture of emotions he lived with which resulted in Darren retiring from boxing, not having lived up to his fullest potential.

He said: “I was 100% committed and was on top of my game. But, the memories were still eating away at me. It was a few years ago now when I finally told my partner at the time what had happened. Someone she knew told her about someone who was suspected of being abused. I don’t know why, I flipped out and ended up telling her what happened.”

The turning point came just under two years ago when a second victim made the decision to speak out. Darren agreed and the pair made a complaint to the police.

With the full support of their families, Darren and his friend had to endure several court appearances before Williams pleaded guilty to 16 charges of indecent assault and gross indecency. Charges against a second perpetrator, alleged to have abused the pair, were never brought.

Under British law, victims of sexual offences are automatically granted anonymity by the court, meaning they cannot be identified by the media or on social media.

Darren decided to be named, as the men fear other boys may have been abused by Williams and have never spoken out.

Darren said: “We were little kids who knew no better and he abused our trust and our parent’s trust. He was let into my home. I was allowed to visit his home. Our parents never suspected anything because they thought we were playing over at a friend’s house.

“Things like this weren’t spoken about when we were growing up in the early 1980’s, like they are now. We didn’t see the things on the TV like our children or on social media. If more people spoke about it then like we do now then maybe he would have been jailed before.

“Look at me! I’m not afraid to tell people what happened to me. We have done nothing wrong and for years he thought he had got away with it. He is in jail [he was sentenced to five years] and I can’t say I’m bothered what happens to him when he is there.”