My birth is proof mum was raped

Woman’s claim to police leads to pensioner’s arrest

A PENSIONER was arrested after a woman told police her birth was proof she was the product of an underage rape.

She claimed her mother was just 13 when she was attacked as she babysat for a family friend in his 30s in the 1970s.

The woman, known as Vicky, who is now in her 40s, claims DNA evidence combined with her birth certificate and that of her mother would lead to a conviction.

She was initially told by police that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) would not support a case against the man because Vicky was not the victim and her mother did not want to make a complaint.

But it has now emerged that West Midlands Police have arrested and bailed a man aged 73 in what is thought to be one of the first cases of its kind. Vicky, from Birmingham, told the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme: ‘ It’s positive that things have progressed.’

She was adopted at seven months old. When she turned 18 she began searching for her birth mother and discovered from social service records that her conception was alleged to be a result of rape.

She was reunited with her mother, who did not want to report the matter to police. Vicky said: ‘It wasn’t until decades later when the Jimmy Savile case and other historic cases were in the news that I really thought about doing anything about it.’ She asked police to consider a so-called ‘victimless prosecution’ for rape.

CPS guidance says victimless prosecutions can be used in cases when the victim declines to give a statement but it is in the public interest to pursue a prosecution.

Vicky said of the social services records: ‘It says in seven different places in the files that it was rape.

‘It states his name and address – that social services, police, health workers knew but nothing was done about it. It made me feel angry – devastated for my birth mum [and] for me.’ Vicky added: ‘It was then that I thought “I’ve got DNA evidence, because I am DNA – I am a walking crime scene.

‘I wanted him to be held accountable. I wanted justice for my mum, I wanted justice for me.’

A police spokesman said a 73-yearold man was arrested and released on bail last week, adding: ‘CPS advice will now be sought.’

A decision over a possible charge is expected next month.