By . Daily Mail Reporter . Two women who were sexually abused as children by their stepfather have spoken out in a bid to help other victims after his crimes went unpunished for nearly two decades. Katie Shortman, 24, and Dellisa Shortman, 25, have bravely spoken out after Paul Ward was jailed for four years when he admitted two counts of indecent assault. Ward, 50, of Sale, Greater Manchester, began abusing his two stepdaughters in the early 90s, when they were aged just five and six. Katie Shortman (right), 24, and Dellisa Shortman (left), 25, have waived their anonymity to speak out in a bid to help other victims of abuse . He was left to groom the girls with . sweets at their home and abuse them over a two-year period, despite . having a conviction for abusing a four-year-old boy and being known to . social services, the police and the CPS. The two sisters have now waived their right to anonymity, granted under the Sexual Offences Act 1992, and spoken out in a bid to help other victims of abuse. Katie, 24, said: 'He used to buy me sweets . and take me places which was something me and my sister rarely had when . he wasn’t around. I would plead with him to stop, crying, telling him he . was hurting me. My sister would try to fight him off. We both would be . screaming but nothing would stop him.' The . girls were taken into care aged seven and eight. Both spent the first . three years at a children’s home. But their bond was broken when they were separated. Katie became addicted to cocaine at the age of 12 and fell pregnant at 14, while still in the care system. She had three children by the age of 19 - two have been adopted and one was stillborn. Paul Ward, 50, began abusing his two stepdaughters in the early 90s, when they were aged just five and six . She . said: 'I used to take drugs, I’d run away and go into men’s houses. I . felt like I should be abused - I was conditioned in that way. I was . confused and alone, I had to grow up fast, I used to run away from . foster placements because it felt like I was being punished.' Because of her mental health problems, she lost custody of both her children. She . said: 'It kills me inside that I can’t hold my children, have a family, . and can no longer have the bond with my sister I once had. It feels . like everything has been taken from me because of this man’s disgusting . actions. He has ripped my life apart. While he has lived a free life for . the past 17 years, I have suffered in silence.' She said she feels the authorities failed her as a child - but has praised the police work after the case was reopened in 2011. She said: 'The police this time have been incredible, if it wasn’t for them I would still feel like nobody cared. 'I . hope no little girl or boy ever has to go through what I went through. All those people who should have protected us failed us greatly. Anybody . who is aware of a child being abused and does nothing about it is as . bad as the abuser. More needs to be done so agencies can work together . and get closure. I feel like Paul stole my innocence and social services . stole my potential.' She . went on to say: 'I won’t allow him into my heart. My life’s too . precious to have something so sick and twisted in it. What he did to me . impacted on how I saw life but I’m no longer a victim, I’m a surviving . victim. Even if I can help one child in the same predicament as me, I’ll . die happy.' She now plans to write a book about her experience in order to help others. She . said: 'I want for other children not to have to wait 17 years to get . someone to listen - give them the courage to come forward about their . abuse.' Sisters Katie and Dellisa Shortman have spoken out in a bid to help other victims of sexual abuse. Paul Ward (right), 50, began abusing his two stepdaughters in the early 90s, when they were aged just five and six . Dellisa, 25, . also has depression, anxiety and other mental health issues. She was . Ward’s first target and later, when he began to abuse her little sister, . Dellisa would try to protect her from their stepfather. After they were sent to different children’s homes they met only once a year. Dellisa . had a girl when she was 21 but she was adopted because Dellisa, who has . mental health and learning difficulties, was unable to care for her. She now lives in Oldham in a flat on her own. She said: 'I can’t forgive him, I feel like he should have got a lot longer. He took nearly 20 years of our lives.' She . went on to say: 'My child was taken off me. I’ve never had the right . support and it’s had such a big impact on my life. I don’t have the . close relationship with my sister that I should have.' The judge said there were a number of missed opportunities to stop Ward, who was convicted in 1993 of abusing a four-year-old boy . Jailing . Ward at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court, Judge Maurice Greene . told him: 'These two girls during the 1990s were let down by social . services, by the police, and by the Crown Prosecution Service. 'Had their case been dealt . with properly, it’s highly likely that you would have been before the . courts many, many years ago and some form of closure may have been . available to these two young women a long time ago.' The . judge said there were a number of missed opportunities to stop Ward, . who was convicted in 1993 of abusing a four-year-old boy, including a . police surgeon examination of Dellisa when she was a young girl which . showed evidence of abuse. Other missed opportunities . included a police interview with Katie in 1998 in which she told . officers her stepfather abused her; a police interview with Dellisa in . 1999 when she again complained of abuse; and reports from school that . the girls were showing symptoms of abuse. In each of these cases no action was taken. He . said: 'It really was not until 2011 when they were interviewed as . adults that prosecution followed. This was an indication of the change . in the prosecution authorities. That can only be for the better.' He added: 'What is clear is . that you abused your position as their stepfather. You abused the . position of trust you had in that family. Your abuse has had a . considerable effect on both these girls. You have ruined a large part of . their lives.' Earlier, the court heard how Ward would send his wife to the shops to have time alone with the girls, grooming them with sweets. Katherine . Pierpoint, defending, said Ward had shown genuine remorse for his . actions. She said he appeared a ‘rather pathetic character’, adding that . he had alcohol and cannabis addictions and that the period of abuse was . during a time of particularly heavy drinking. 'I won’t allow him into my heart. My life’s too . precious to have something so sick and twisted in it' - Katie Shortman . He was put on the sex offenders’ register for life. Greater Manchester Police said in a statement: 'These two girls who are now women reported the abuse to Greater Manchester Police and Trafford Council social services in 1998. 'A decision was made to take no further action against Paul Ward in 1999. 'The recommendation to discontinue the case came from a specialist who advised against the inquiry going further and this was considered at the time to be in the best interests of the victims. 'If such a recommendation was made to officers today, it would be challenged before an investigation was finalised. 'When the abuse was reported again in 2011 the case was immediately re-opened and a full investigation commenced. This investigation has led to the successful conviction of Paul Ward. 'GMP has changed the way it investigates crimes against vulnerable people and officers who investigate child abuse and domestic abuse now have a clear structure with dedicated lines of responsibility and ownership.' Trafford Council said that it would not be appropriate for it to comment on individual cases of this nature . It stated that safeguarding children and vulnerable young people has always been a key priority for the Council. A spokesman said: 'Current policies and procedures, together with the strength of its multi-agency working and information sharing continue to ensure Trafford’s effectiveness in helping protect local young people.'
Paul Ward began abusing his stepdaughters in the early 1990s .
He was left to groom the girls despite conviction for abusing boy, 4 .
Ward was jailed yesterday for four years after admitting indecent assault .
Katie and Dellisa Shortman have bravely spoken out in a bid to help other victims of abuse .
By . Daily Mail Reporter . Two women who were sexually abused as children by their stepfather have spoken out in a bid to help other victims after his crimes went unpunished for nearly two decades. Katie Shortman, 24, and Dellisa Shortman, 25, have bravely spoken out after Paul Ward was jailed for four years when he admitted two counts of indecent assault. Ward, 50, of Sale, Greater Manchester, began abusing his two stepdaughters in the early 90s, when they were aged just five and six. Katie Shortman (right), 24, and Dellisa Shortman (left), 25, have waived their anonymity to speak out in a bid to help other victims of abuse . He was left to groom the girls with . sweets at their home and abuse them over a two-year period, despite . having a conviction for abusing a four-year-old boy and being known to . social services, the police and the CPS. The two sisters have now waived their right to anonymity, granted under the Sexual Offences Act 1992, and spoken out in a bid to help other victims of abuse. Katie, 24, said: 'He used to buy me sweets . and take me places which was something me and my sister rarely had when . he wasn’t around. I would plead with him to stop, crying, telling him he . was hurting me. My sister would try to fight him off. We both would be . screaming but nothing would stop him.' The . girls were taken into care aged seven and eight. Both spent the first . three years at a children’s home. But their bond was broken when they were separated. Katie became addicted to cocaine at the age of 12 and fell pregnant at 14, while still in the care system. She had three children by the age of 19 - two have been adopted and one was stillborn. Paul Ward, 50, began abusing his two stepdaughters in the early 90s, when they were aged just five and six . She . said: 'I used to take drugs, I’d run away and go into men’s houses. I . felt like I should be abused - I was conditioned in that way. I was . confused and alone, I had to grow up fast, I used to run away from . foster placements because it felt like I was being punished.' Because of her mental health problems, she lost custody of both her children. She . said: 'It kills me inside that I can’t hold my children, have a family, . and can no longer have the bond with my sister I once had. It feels . like everything has been taken from me because of this man’s disgusting . actions. He has ripped my life apart. While he has lived a free life for . the past 17 years, I have suffered in silence.' She said she feels the authorities failed her as a child - but has praised the police work after the case was reopened in 2011. She said: 'The police this time have been incredible, if it wasn’t for them I would still feel like nobody cared. 'I . hope no little girl or boy ever has to go through what I went through. All those people who should have protected us failed us greatly. Anybody . who is aware of a child being abused and does nothing about it is as . bad as the abuser. More needs to be done so agencies can work together . and get closure. I feel like Paul stole my innocence and social services . stole my potential.' She . went on to say: 'I won’t allow him into my heart. My life’s too . precious to have something so sick and twisted in it. What he did to me . impacted on how I saw life but I’m no longer a victim, I’m a surviving . victim. Even if I can help one child in the same predicament as me, I’ll . die happy.' She now plans to write a book about her experience in order to help others. She . said: 'I want for other children not to have to wait 17 years to get . someone to listen - give them the courage to come forward about their . abuse.' Sisters Katie and Dellisa Shortman have spoken out in a bid to help other victims of sexual abuse. Paul Ward (right), 50, began abusing his two stepdaughters in the early 90s, when they were aged just five and six . Dellisa, 25, . also has depression, anxiety and other mental health issues. She was . Ward’s first target and later, when he began to abuse her little sister, . Dellisa would try to protect her from their stepfather. After they were sent to different children’s homes they met only once a year. Dellisa . had a girl when she was 21 but she was adopted because Dellisa, who has . mental health and learning difficulties, was unable to care for her. She now lives in Oldham in a flat on her own. She said: 'I can’t forgive him, I feel like he should have got a lot longer. He took nearly 20 years of our lives.' She . went on to say: 'My child was taken off me. I’ve never had the right . support and it’s had such a big impact on my life. I don’t have the . close relationship with my sister that I should have.' The judge said there were a number of missed opportunities to stop Ward, who was convicted in 1993 of abusing a four-year-old boy . Jailing . Ward at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court, Judge Maurice Greene . told him: 'These two girls during the 1990s were let down by social . services, by the police, and by the Crown Prosecution Service. 'Had their case been dealt . with properly, it’s highly likely that you would have been before the . courts many, many years ago and some form of closure may have been . available to these two young women a long time ago.' The . judge said there were a number of missed opportunities to stop Ward, . who was convicted in 1993 of abusing a four-year-old boy, including a . police surgeon examination of Dellisa when she was a young girl which . showed evidence of abuse. Other missed opportunities . included a police interview with Katie in 1998 in which she told . officers her stepfather abused her; a police interview with Dellisa in . 1999 when she again complained of abuse; and reports from school that . the girls were showing symptoms of abuse. In each of these cases no action was taken. He . said: 'It really was not until 2011 when they were interviewed as . adults that prosecution followed. This was an indication of the change . in the prosecution authorities. That can only be for the better.' He added: 'What is clear is . that you abused your position as their stepfather. You abused the . position of trust you had in that family. Your abuse has had a . considerable effect on both these girls. You have ruined a large part of . their lives.' Earlier, the court heard how Ward would send his wife to the shops to have time alone with the girls, grooming them with sweets. Katherine . Pierpoint, defending, said Ward had shown genuine remorse for his . actions. She said he appeared a ‘rather pathetic character’, adding that . he had alcohol and cannabis addictions and that the period of abuse was . during a time of particularly heavy drinking. 'I won’t allow him into my heart. My life’s too . precious to have something so sick and twisted in it' - Katie Shortman . He was put on the sex offenders’ register for life. Greater Manchester Police said in a statement: 'These two girls who are now women reported the abuse to Greater Manchester Police and Trafford Council social services in 1998. 'A decision was made to take no further action against Paul Ward in 1999. 'The recommendation to discontinue the case came from a specialist who advised against the inquiry going further and this was considered at the time to be in the best interests of the victims. 'If such a recommendation was made to officers today, it would be challenged before an investigation was finalised. 'When the abuse was reported again in 2011 the case was immediately re-opened and a full investigation commenced. This investigation has led to the successful conviction of Paul Ward. 'GMP has changed the way it investigates crimes against vulnerable people and officers who investigate child abuse and domestic abuse now have a clear structure with dedicated lines of responsibility and ownership.' Trafford Council said that it would not be appropriate for it to comment on individual cases of this nature . It stated that safeguarding children and vulnerable young people has always been a key priority for the Council. A spokesman said: 'Current policies and procedures, together with the strength of its multi-agency working and information sharing continue to ensure Trafford’s effectiveness in helping protect local young people.'
have spoken out in a bid to help other victims Shortman, 25, have bravely spoken out after Paul Ward was jailed for four years when he admitted other victims of abuse . He was left to groom the conviction for abusing a four-year-old boy and abusing his two stepdaughters in the early 90s, Sisters Katie and Dellisa Shortman have spoken