THE former husband of a paedophile says he was so upset when he found out about his partner’s history that he scrubbed himself with bleach.

Sam Clayton said he changed his name and even considered living full time as a woman after discovering his ex-husband Jonathan Barclay had been convicted of downloading sick child abuse images.

The 24-year-old, previously known as William Underwood, said he has been crying himself to sleep after years of abuse including daily ridicule on the street and a targeted group attack in Croydon this year.

He said: “Do people really think I would marry a paedophile? When I found out I poured bleach over myself after thinking about what he had done.

“I started dressing up as a girl and I wanted a sex change because I didn’t want to be me any more. I wanted to escape.”

Mr Clayton wed 49-year-old Jonathan Barclay from Brighton in 2013 when he was just 19 and they lived together in the city.

The pair had met on gay social media platform Tagged and married three months later.

During their one year together, Mr Barclay was on bail for numerous child sex offences – a fact Mr Clayton was unaware of until 2015 when he read it in The Argus.

He said “I was in an absolute state when I found out and I didn’t speak to anyone for weeks – I’m still on antidepressants to this day.”

Mr Clayton, who now lives in Croydon with his grandfather, says he was attacked by a group of six men this year who recognised him.

He said: “They kicked me to the ground and smashed me over the head with a bottle shouting ‘you’re as scummy as your husband’.

“They filmed the whole thing and put it online. I was so lucky to escape but I still have flashbacks.”

Almost five years after the pair broke up, Mr Clayton now thinks the whole relationship was a sham and described his ex-husband as “vindictive” and “nasty”.

His grandfather has looked after him and is helping him recover.

Mr Clayton said: “When I moved in with him, I was vulnerable teenager and had just been kicked out of a care home.

“He gave me a home in return for sexual favours, but this turned into a relationship.

“The whole thing has ruined my life, if it wasn’t for my grandad I would have killed myself. My grandad saved my life.”

Factfile

IN JUNE 2015 Jonathan Barclay pleaded guilty to downloading images of child sexual abuse. Barclay, then 51, of Chadborn Close, Brighton, was given a 24-month community order and was made to sign the sex offenders’ register for five years.

He pleaded guilty to five counts of downloading indecent images of children and one count of distributing an indecent image of a child.

He had been arrested in October 2011 but was not charged until January 2015 due to what police described as a “very exceptional series of complex legal and technical issues”.

His case was used by Sussex Police chief constable Giles York as an example of why a cap should not be put on the length of time people could be on police bail.

He argued that some cases were too complex.