I want to know what happened to make my stepdad like this...
AMY Foley says a wonderful family and a successful career are the driving forces that have motivated her to rebuild her life.
After suffering years of abuse from her stepfather Michael Foley, she wants to find out why he committed his crimes.
“I’m not scared of him any more,” she said. “I want to know what happened to him to make him like this. Is a paedophile born a paedophile?
“I don’t know if time in prison will change him, so maybe we need to look at this properly. We hear so much about child rape these days but then a lot of paedophiles go out and re-offend.”
Though she still struggles, Amy says she has managed to move on from her horrendous experiences and now feels stronger than ever.
She runs a successful beauty and aesthetics business and lives with long-term boyfriend Ryan and their children, Tyler, six, and four-year-old Esme.
The businesswoman says victims of grooming can move on but insists that there must be more in place to help those affected.
She now has ambitions to set up a scheme to help future victims of the crime.
“I thought I could never move on or escape the way I’m feeling but this is a new chapter,” she said.
“I don’t know if I will ever be 100 per cent but I have other things in my life and I know I’m an amazing mum.
“He always said to me ‘you will never be anything’. If I ever feel bad I think of that and it helps me – it’s my motivation.
“Now I’ve got a nice house, a job I love, a beautiful family. I’m proud of where I am.
“I’m very aware I could have gone down a completely different route.”