Victims of a once-respected child psychiatrist for San Mateo County blasted him Monday as a monster who robbed them of their dignity and self-worth before a judge sentenced him to eight years in prison for child molestation.

One victim likened 81-year-old William Ayres, who faced up to 22 years in prison at the sentencing hearing, to a wolf spider, which is known for its hunting skills.

"Today, I'm here for me," said the victim, identified in court only as Thomas C. "Today is not for you. Today is for all of the people that you've victimized. You've been called a doctor, a title that holds great responsibility. You don't deserve it. You used that status as a way to prey on children."

Thomas said he had become a psychotherapist to help children in need, turning his ordeal into a way to help others, in contrast to how Ayres treated him as a child.

"You are the monster they talk about," he said.

Another victim, Carl F., broke down as he described how being abused by Ayres at age 9 had affected his relationship with his family.

Carl said he was distant with his son, avoided sex with his wife and was suspicious of all doctors, so much so that he considered all examinations of genitals to be "prurient" in nature.

Carl said he and his wife had delayed having their son because he was afraid of becoming a child molester himself. He said he had long harbored a fear of being arrested for failing to turn in Ayres before he victimized other children.

"Ayres is a master manipulator," Carl said.

Carl's mother also spoke, saying Ayres "is not the doctor or treater as he was trained to be. He was a destroyer of all those boys."

Ayres, sitting in a wheelchair, looked down for much of the hearing in Redwood City in front of Judge Beth Freeman of San Mateo County Superior Court.

In May, Ayres entered no-contest pleas to all the charges against him - eight felony counts of child molestation- for sexually abusing five boys from 1988 to 1996. Prosecutors say there were more victims, but that those crimes occurred beyond the statute of limitations.

The judge gave Ayres the maximum sentence of eight years for each count, but ran the sentences concurrently. She cited the defendant's age and lack of a criminal record.

His son, Robert Ayres, said in court that his father had fallen victim to a "mob of pitchfork-carrying witch-hunters." His daughter, Barbara Ayres, suggested that the "alleged victims" were suffering from realistic nightmares or false memories - or had in fact been molested by someone else.

"My dad is an honorable man," she said. "These charges are simply impossible."

But the judge, addressing William Ayres, said, "You violated the innocence of young boys in your care."

Ayres, the former head of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, counseled children who were sent to him by San Mateo County government agencies. He acknowledged that he molested the victims during physical examinations he said were part of their counseling sessions.

Ayres was arrested in 2007, but his first trial ended in a hung jury two years later. When prosecutors decided to retry him, defense attorneys argued he was not mentally competent.

That led to another jury trial to determine his competency, which also resulted in a hung jury in October 2011 and led to his placement at Napa State Hospital.

Prosecutors said Ayres was faking dementia, using his medical knowledge to fool other doctors into believing that he was incompetent to aid in his defense. Doctors at Napa State agreed.