A YOUNG mother spoke yesterday about how for 10 years she was the victim of a paedophile ring that included her own father. The woman decided to tell her story after reading about a father’s concerns this week that convicted child sex offender James Brehaut was now free.
She claimed her father even sold her to his friends for sex at the age of six.
‘I was the victim of a paedophile ring and there are definitely others in Guernsey but nothing ever happens to stop it,’ she said.
‘This is such a small community, everyone is somehow related and nobody wants to be associated with it.
‘Because most child abuse occurs within families it is kept secret, but I know for sure that it’s going on all the time.’
The woman, who is now 24, grew up in a States house with two younger siblings, her father and her mother, who has mental health problems.
The abuse she suffered was so severe it left her with bowel damage that she blames for one of her children being born with disabilities.
She said her first memory as a child was of being raped by her father at the age of just three.
‘I didn’t know how to say it was wrong even though it was very painful,’ she said.
‘By the age of five or six the memories are more vivid and it was then that I remember other men being involved at weekends.
‘I know that some of them used to pay my father £5 a time to come up to my bedroom.
‘I used to run away at least once a month to my Nan’s house, but at that age you don’t say why and she always took me back.’
The woman reported the abuse to the police on two occasions at the age of 12 and 19.
Two men were questioned but due to lack of evidence the case did not get to court.
Her father has since left Guernsey to live in the UK, but she still sees some of the men who regularly assaulted her as a child.
‘I became so depressed that I tried to kill myself and I still have to see a counsellor regularly and probably will for the rest of my life,’ she said.
‘I am just one of many of my father’s victims.
‘There are other children whom he abused and their parents don’t even know about it.
‘I can’t believe that there isn’t a sex offenders’ register in Guernsey. It’s so essential with all the extra people coming into the island these days.
‘Even if it’s just an accusation there should be some confidential record for the authorities to check.
‘There’s been talk about it for years and I don’t see the problem about bringing one in.
‘There are paedophiles walking around and parents don’t have a clue,’ said the young woman, who spoke on condition that her anonymity was preserved.
n Police confirmed the woman’s claims had been thoroughly investigated at the time but were unable to disclose any further information.
Loading ...
Share this article:
What are these?