'We see too much, working here': dealing with rape and sexual abuse on Merseyside
| Published date | 01 September 2024 |
| Publication title | Liverpool Echo: Web Edition Articles (England) |
That was more than 20 years ago. Just when Ashley had all but given up hope of seeing her abuser be punished for his crimes, the police told her the case had been reopened. In the intervening years, he had continued preying on children, and a string of allegations had been made against him.
Three years ago, Ashley was asked to be a witness against her abuser in a second trial. This time, the weight of evidence was overwhelming, and he was found guilty and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Ashley's experiences of going to court the second time round were radically different. She told the ECHO: "It was a completely different experience for me. I felt a lot stronger than before. This time I knew exactly what was going to happen at each stage."
A big part of the reason for the change was the support Ashley received from specialists at RASA, a counselling and support service for victims of rape and sexual abuse. RASA was founded in 1986 after a young florist named Diane Sindall was raped and murdered in Birkenhead in a case that shook Merseyside. The grass-roots organisation, which has offices in Birkenhead and Bootle, supports around 600 victims of sexual violence at any one time.
Ashley said: "I was assigned a court support specialist. Any questions I had, any legal wording I didn't understand, she explained to me in words I'd understand. She led me right through the whole process.
"She took me into court, and stayed the whole time. She came in the witness...
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