Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Penny: My sex attack hell
PENNY REVEALS SEX ATTACK HELL
PENNY Lancaster broke down in tears yesterday as she revealed she had been drugged and sexually assaulted as a teenage model.
Rod Stewart’s wife said a designer spiked her drink after inviting her to his flat on the way to a fashion event where he promised to introduce her to industry bosses.
The brave 46-year-old told ITV’S Loose Women: “My drink was drugged.
“Next thing I knew, I woke up face down on a bed with him on top of me.”
Mum-of-two Penny compared the attack to the date rape drug assault suffered by Joanne Froggatt’s character on TV drama Liar. And she revealed she kept it secret until now because she was too afraid to tell anyone.
She said: “He had a little bar in his apartment and said he’d pour me a drink while he went to grab his bits. I don’t even remember drinking the drink. The next thing I knew, I woke up face down on a bed with him on top of me.
“Like in the series Liar, my drink was drugged and I can’t remember much of what happened. I just know he was on top of me enjoying the experience, but I certainly wasn’t. I don’t remember much more. I had never had sex at that point so it was a frightening thing.
“I didn’t tell my mum and dad because I thought they’d say, ‘What on earth were you doing going back to his house?’
“But he was a guy I’d worked with, and he promised I’d meet other people.
“He invited me to an event. I was interested, I thought I’d get more work. I was just naive. I trusted him.”
Penny, who says the assault happened in her late teens, shared her story as part of Loose Women’s campaign to encourage victims to speak out about sex attacks in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal.
But she said she was too traumatised by the incident to confront it at the time.
She added: “You end up burying it. You try to pretend it never happened. I was too afraid to tell anybody.”
Penny, who has two children with Rod,
Alistair, 11, and six-year-old Aiden, said victims need to know they will be listened to if they speak out. And she insisted parents must warn their kids of the perils of sexual predators.
She added: “Victims have to know they won’t be told off, it’s not their fault.
“They’re not guilty, the other person
He was enjoying the experience but I certainly wasn’t. I don’t remember much PENNY ON NIGHT SHE WAS DRUGGED AND SEXUALLY ASSAULTED AS A TEEN
is. They need to be brave enough to tell the authorities. As a woman, God forbid any man who tries it on, trust me, they will know about it. But as a young child, you don’t have the tools for it. Parents need to inform their children of the dangers that are out there. Don’t be afraid to make them frightened, make them frightened. Let them know that they should come to you if anybody touches them.”
Celebs yesterday praised Penny for having the courage to finally reveal her shocking assault. Denise Van Outen tweeted an emoji of a broken heart and wrote: “Oh my goodness Penny. Listening to your story.”
Rebekah Vardy, wife of Leicester City striker Jamie, posted: “Well done to the amazing Penny Lancaster for speaking out on @loosewomen today.” Actress Vicki Michelle wrote: “So brave of Penny Lancaster to share her awful story of abuse on Loose Women. It will help other people to come forward.”
Penny, of Chelmsford, Essex, previously told how she was accosted at the age of 12 by a man in a subway. The Pussycat Dolls have rejected claims made by former member Kaya Jones that they were a “prostitution ring”. They said: “We cannot stand behind false allegations towards other group members partaking in activities that did not take place.” Kaya alleged she was abused while in the group.
You end up burying it. Try to pretend it never happened PENNY ON WHY SHE NEVER TOLD ANYONE