One of the first victims of a former pimp who was declared a dangerous offender by a court on Thursday says she still has nightmares about some of the events that led to the man’s conviction.

Jerome Lynch, 39, was convicted in January 2010 of pimping out a 14-year-old girl in Toronto. His dangerous offender status was the first his lawyer had heard of for the crime of living off the avails of prostitution.

Lynch’s first victim was just 14 years old when he pimped her out from his Toronto townhouse complex for nine months, tricking her into believing he loved her before forcing her into a life of prostitution.

Eight years later, the woman, who cannot be identified, told CTV Toronto’s Tamara Cherry she is still affected by the events.

“It still haunts me to this day,” she said. “I still have nightmares and I don’t know if I’ll ever be OK.”

The first girl wasn’t Lynch’s only victim. Shortly after Lynch’s victim escaped in 2005, he lured two more girls into the sex trade, aged 14 and 17.

Lynch’s criminal record continues from there. In the late ‘90s he picked up a sex worker in downtown Toronto, handcuffed her and raped her.

When Lynch escaped from jail he assaulted his girlfriend.

And, during his dangerous offender court proceedings, police found a phonebook full of young women’s names and phone numbers in Lynch’s jail cell.

In his landmark dangerous offender decision, Justice Silja Seppi took all these past convictions into account.

"He seems incapable of understanding the harm his crimes caused to the victims, while he blithely plans a business to target more young females,” Seppi wrote in his decision.

It’s a final decision that Lynch’s lawyer, Jason Bogel, said he will appeal.

“He readily accepted that he has made not only bad choices, but he has brought embarrassment and shame to his family,” Bogel said of his client.

Crown attorneys hope the judge’s decision will help change the popular culture image of a pimp, which is often glamorized.

There’s nothing glamorous about a pimp, or his victims, said Lynch’s first victim.

“They don't care. All they want is your money,” she said. “They don't care about your well being, your safety, none of that. They don't love you. If they loved you, they wouldn't be making you do those things."

With files from CTV Toronto’s Tamara Cherry