THE son of convicted child sex abuser Rodney Knowles has spoken of the living hell he endured as a child growing up under the control of his domineering and violent father.

To the outside world Knowles presented the portrait of the perfect family man. He was a caring dad, a hard worker and a churchgoer.

But behind closed doors he presided over a reign of terror.

His desire to control every aspect of his son's life and maintain psychological dominance meant nothing in the boy's life was as it appeared to outsiders.

Now an adult and no longer frightened of the man who inflicted psychological, physical, but not sexual abuse on him, the son, who does not wish to be named, has spoken out.

Rodney Knowles, a former HGV driver of Buckland Brake, Newton Abbot, was convicted of sex offences against girls, some dating back more than 30 years, by a jury at Exeter Crown Court. He was jailed for 20 years.

Knowles' unpredictable mood swings cast a shadow over his son's life.

The father he knew was a controlling 25-stone bully, prone to violence, for whom the slightest word out of place would trigger a storm.

"It was pure, militarised control he wanted," he says of his early years.

"He would give something — but only at Christmas — and then take it away. There was never a Santa at our house.

"If you had a TV he would take away the aerial.

"I had a bike which he padlocked and then took away.

"He would give me something so I was grateful then take it away to show his control.

"He would also try to ridicule me in public — buying me pink NHS glasses to wear so that I would be taunted by other children. He would also train a dog to attack and find me.

"He had very big temper issues and there was a heck of a lot of violence.

"The worst thing about his rages was the unpredictability of it.

"If I said something wrong at the dinner table the food and crockery would go flying.

"The milk would be in the fridge and if I drunk too much or too little I would be beaten up. I just couldn't do anything right."

The son says Knowles will never change.

"Some people are just evil," he says.

"We would go to church every week. I was even an altar server for the church.

"Again it was all about image so it looked like the pretty perfect family.

"But the neighbours must have heard the screams.

"None of my friends were ever invited home, nobody came to the house.

"I had one birthday party but that ended with the usual punishment and I never had one again.

"Everything that happened was normal for me. I just thought all kids got beaten up."

Knowles, who worked as an HGV driver and at Centrax in Newton Abbot, never gave up on the pretence, even when his son had left home at 18.

His son said: "For some stupid reason I thought you could not leave home until you were of age, I guess my suffocated, sheltered upbringing prevented me from fully understanding the outside world.

"As soon as I was 18 I left.

"I know he still put up birthday cards from 15 years ago so everyone would think it was still a happy family."

Knowles' behaviour became even more eccentric over the years.

After staying out of his son's life for many years he appeared again at his home and hid in bushes watching the property.

"My faith in the police stopped me from doing anything, having just spoken to them one hour before." the son says of the confrontation.

"That is what he wanted me to do.

"He was almost goading me and I think he was scared at that point.

"I was now thinking my own wife and kids were a target

"He said to me calmly 'No, not now. This is not how it ends, not here like this'."

Knowles came to the attention of police due to heavy drinking and threats he made to others.

On one occasion he milked the sympathy of the public when police arrested him for possession of a bladed article.

The story made front page headlines and drew attention around the world — an innocent grandfather persecuted by police for having a fruit knife, claims the son.

But the truth was more sinister.

Police had arrested him after receiving a call he threatened to kill someone in a pub. They feared public safety was at risk.

While on bail for his sexual abuse allegations, Knowles breached bail on three occasions.

He was found in Cornwall and told police: "No regulations from court are going to stop me."

Knowles was found guilty of 30 serious sexual offences against girls and sentenced to 20 years behind bars.

He has not been convicted or tried for any offences against his son who agreed to drop the cruelty charges, which now lie on the file, knowing his father was facing a lengthy sentence anyway.

He was completely unaware of his father's sexual abuse of girls and has nothing but praise for the victims who came forward and revealed another part of Knowles's dark side.