The moment before I was raped... and 2 years on I’m still fighting for justice
TOURIST’S ALGARVE HOLIDAY HELL
the DNA – but all the time holding me down and telling me not to make any noise, not to cry. “They told me to stop being a baby as well. The doctor was really cruel to me. It was horrible.”
The injections were antiretrovirals – used to suppress HIV – and antibiotics. She was also given emergency contraceptive pills.
Kate was then taken to Portimao’s Judiciary Police. She claims she wasn’t given a glass of water for four hours and had to wait for three more until she could phone mum Deborah Stanton, 56, back home in Suffolk.
It was the hardest call of her life. Kate adds: “I could hear her heart breaking. I said ‘Mum, I’ve been raped.’
“The screaming cry from her, it was so painful to hear. Telling my mum what had happened made it all real.
“I’d been so desperate to talk to her as I’d been in this room with seven male officers, all talking Portuguese.”
Curado de Sousa was picked up by police and Kate, battered and bruised, picked him out at an ID parade.
She goes on: “The other side of the glass, there was the man that raped me. He was smiling. It was as traumatising Kate poses for snap at roadside shortly before the sex attack as being raped. I started crying hysterically. Six hours before, this man had raped me.”
Kate later flew home alone to Stansted Airport, Essex, and a heartbreaking reunion with her mum.
She continues: “Mum grabbed me and burst into tears. That was the first time it felt over. We had the hour’s journey home and I just lay on her lap like a child. She was stroking my head and petting my face.”
Back in Hadleigh, Suffolk, Kate stayed in bed for a week. She suffered nightmares and broke down often. Deborah is a trained psychotherapist and helped Kate cope. But even with that support, the effect on Kate’s life was seismic. She quit uni, only goes out in groups of three or more and crosses the road to avoid men.
DEVASTATED
The legal process has been especially debilitating. First, she received a letter asking her if she wanted to take Curado de Sousa to court.
It took 18 months for that to happen and, while he was entitled to legal aid, she had to use Pro Bono Portugal, a group of voluntary lawyers who offer counsel to those who cannot afford it.
She and her family only met their lawyer two hours before the case came to Lagos Court in October 2018.
Before the hearing, Kate was offered an apology and expenses to walk away. When she refused, De Sousa admitted his guilt. He was later given a four-and-a-half year suspended sentence and ordered to pay damages.
Kate was devastated. And the toll on her parents weighs heavy too. Deborah, who now lives in Harrogate, North Yorks, says: “There are no words to describe the feeling when your daughter tells you she’s been raped. You have this anger, this frustration, this deep pain, this fear. “I wanted to be there with her, hold her, to keep her safe and I couldn’t. It has really changed her personality. “She doesn’t want it to happen to anyone else. She’s going to use it to help others, she is not letting it beat her. I am so proud of her.” Dad James, 52, who is separated from Deborah, feels guilt at not being able to protect Kate. He adds: “I thought the most painful thing would be to hear what happened to her, but the most painful thing is the fallout.” Kate has made a fresh start in Bristol. She is a chef and lives with boyfriend Mark Evans, 34. She plans to appeal Curado de Sousa’s sentence and has been told a higher court will hear the case. That battle for justice is driving her on. She adds: “It’s really, really important to speak up.” features@sunday mirror.co.uk Tiago Curado de Sousa