Don’t sit in silence, you deserve better. You don’t even have to give your real name…

It’s often very hard to tell your story when you feel nobody is listening or even interested, trust me I know only too well, I also know how hard it is to have kept a secret for so many years for fear that you will be misread, misunderstood or asked why many years after the fact you have decided to talk.

So how do we get over those hurdles? Easy, talk to someone who won’t judge, someone who perhaps has been there themselves, someone who has your back.

Until a few years ago there were only a handful of people who knew of my own story, yes, it happened to me! I was mentally and sexually abused from the age of around six until nine.

The same abuser thought he could still get away with this behaviour years later, but I was older and wiser, even at the age of fourteen I still hadn’t told my family, I felt it was way too late to say anything and that I should have said something much earlier.

It wasn’t and I believe still isn’t that easy nowadays, when I was young I was very scared to tell my parents for fear they would give me a hiding and tell me that I was at fault.

I know some are thinking; Well that’s silly? Actually no, it wasn’t because as a youngster I was regularly smacked something I won’t go into right now.

I always believed my abuser would go on to abuse other youngsters, one day for whatever reason? he came to mind, I wondered if he was still living local? So, I googled his name.

Low and behold he came up right away in a newspaper report about his abuse and rape of minors, those who have been there will know what went through my mind.

I am not sure at this stage if it would be illegal for me to trash his name so for that reason I will withhold it, I will however repeat the story written in the paper but will omit the name of the newspaper and the perpetrator.

The Newspaper Report…

Man who raped and sexually abused young girls is jailed for 14 years Reported(2016)

A SEX attacker who preyed on three young girls has been jailed for 14 years.

… Admitted raping one of his victims and pleaded guilty to a series of other sex assaults committed over a four year period.

… Crown Court heard how the abuse had a devastating effect on his victims – all now adults.

One said …, had ruined her life. She said she had subsequently struggled to form relationships, had become depressed and self-harmed.

Another victim said: “He took advantage of just how lonely and vulnerable I was as a young girl.”

Prosecutor … said that after abusing one complainant, … said she was not to tell anyone as it was “our little secret”.

In another incident, he plied a girl with cider, undressed and bathed her and touched her intimately before having sex with her.

Referring to the attacks, … said: “This conduct happened on a number of occasions when the opportunity presented itself.”

The prosecutor said one of the victims was shocked, years after the abuse, too bump into … at a supermarket and she screamed at him, calling him a pervert.

…, on the …was arrested by police in … 2013.

When confronted with the allegations, he denied anything had happened, although he later said he believed one of the complainants to be 18-years-old.

In mitigation, the … was told that the offences occurred more than 15 years ago during a turbulent period in the defendant’s life when he had suffered a marriage breakdown and was drinking heavily.

He had since remarried, stopped drinking and his life was back on an even keel.

…, described as a hard working man throughout his life, had, it was said, belatedly shown remorse and regretted his conduct, as shown by his guilty pleas.

Judge … Short of imposing an extended sentence on … which would have meant he would have served an indefinite term in prison.

He jailed … for a total of 14 years and said he would be subject to the terms of an unlimited sexual offences prevention order. He will also go on the sex offenders register.

‘As soon as I saw his face in that newspaper I recognised him right away I mean, how could one forget such an evil act or the face of the person who committed such an act? I only wish I had spoke ups soon, perhaps he would have been jailed back then’?

If you have been affected by any type of abuse and you are afraid to speak up even about historical abuse then contact me on the contact link below, nothing you speak about will be translated to any third party or otherwise unless you require it.