THE FAMILY of a girl who was sexually abused by her singing teacher says justice has not been served after he hanged himself the day before he was due to be sentenced.

The victim's mother says her daughter had been left "upset and angry" after 62-year-old Prestwich man Stephen Hallam committed suicide last Thursday.

Hallam was due to be sentenced at Bolton Crown Court on Friday July 15 after admitting his guilt on what should have been the first day of his trial in May.

He had been charged with nine counts of intentionally touching a girl under the age of 13 and pleaded guilty to four of the charges.

However, Greater Manchester Police confirmed that his body was found near Runcorn, Cheshire, at 5.30am on Thursday July 14.

The mother of one of the two victims, who were aged nine and 10 when the offences took place, said it wasn't the outcome they wanted.

She said: "We are really disappointed. This is not what we wanted to happen, we did not want him to take his own life.

"We are really upset that he has committed suicide and angry that he has decided to do that. He has not thought about the girls once in all of this.

"I am angry that the girls can’t see justice and him possibly going to prison for what he did.

"In their eyes he has escaped."

One of the victims had been having singing lessons at Hallam's Beech Tree Bank home for two years.

The girls called Childline, a private and confidential service for children and young people, to report the abuse and the service then got in touch with the police.

The mother said: "I had no idea what was going on until the police came to visit me. I was absolutely disgusted.

"You feel guilty as a parent that you haven’t been able to protect your child and angry that someone in a position of trust who you have trusted to teach your children has done these sort of things."

The incidents happened between July 2010 and October 2012.

On one of his online adverts Hallam described himself as a piano, singing and music teacher who offered one to one tuition and group sessions.

But the family of one of his victims say they now feel that they are not able to move on from what has happened because he has not been brought to justice for his actions.

The mother continued: "It has had a big impact on my daughter. She was very upset when she found out that he was dead.

"Her first thought was the impact that would have on his family and how upset they would be, because that’s not what she wanted to happen. But now she is angry because we will never get justice."

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.