THE harrowing tale of one of paedophile Eugene Hughes’s abuse victims in this newspaper today highlights the despicable ploy that many paedophiles exploit to their utmost advantage: the vulnerability of their chosen prey.

What is also clear is that but for a fluke encounter, together with a string of coincidental events, this man might have got away with his vile crimes.

The brave woman who shares her story on page three has understandably requested anonymity. Yet by making the initial, and most probably terrifying, first approach to police for help with her demons, she set in motion an inquiry that may have helped many other young lives.

Her story is an unpleasant one but we believe it an essential one to print.

Although measures surrounding modern day sports groups today are designed to ensure such abuse never happens again, the fact remains that this case has touched many lives.

It also shows just how easy it was for years of abuse to continue within even our small community.

Here in close-knit Guernsey we tend to feel safer than in other more impersonal places where such crimes may more easily go undetected.

But, as the Hughes crimes reveal, vigilance must always be the key.

Which is why the police should be commended for their skill at spotting the signs in this matter as well as their overall handling of what has been a difficult inquiry.

Our legal system should also be acknowledged for ruling that the age of the 80-year-old defendant should hold no bearing on the pensioner’s six-and-a-half-year sentence.

The body-blow this young woman felt at seeing her abuser during a return visit with her toddler to Guernsey several years later is, fortunately, impossible for most of us to contemplate.

Yet as parents, many readers will recognise her instinctive wish to protect both her child and others.

As this case shows, victims can wait years before feeling able or ready to start seeking out help.

But hopefully this dreadful testimony marks the final chapter in what has been a truly appalling story and one that has shocked this island.