Extracts Victim impact statEmEnt: from

‘To this day I still can’t believe that someone I trusted so much could hurt me and take advantage of the close relationship we had. I don’t like to think about what happened as it upsets me too much. I don’t think I am the same person I was before it happened. Sometimes I think back to all the happy memories I had with my aunt, Martin and my cousins and this really upsets me. I miss the way things used to be.

‘At first I was not going to tell anyone because I thought he made a mistake and did not mean it but when he asked me the morning after if I wanted to stay again tonight I felt sick and was worried he would try and do the same thing again. I remember thinking he must think this is ok and that scared me. I felt sick, dirty and disgusting. I felt so embarrassed and was thinking this might be my fault. Maybe I did or said something wrong. I was so scared to tell my mum or dad because I was afraid that they would not believe me.

‘At the beginning I could not sleep at night. So for the first couple of months I slept with my mum in her bed. When I closed my eyes it was all I could think about. I would cry every night and have pains in my stomach with worry of what was going to happen.

‘I lost half of my family once I told them what he did. My three cousins who I love so much, I am not allowed to see any more. I will never have a relationship with them again. They probably don’t even remember who I am now. That is what hurts me the most. I think about them on their birthdays.’

‘He did this to me. He violated my trust and took advantage of the close relationship we had. He took away my family; he made me out to be a liar. It took a lot of counselling for me to realise this was not my fault. I feel I am the one paying the price for what he did. When I see him in town, which is a lot, he stares at me and makes me feel sick. Some times I have had to ring my mum to collect me, as I would be so upset after seeing him. I don’t go to town as often as I used to, as I’m afraid of walking into him on my own and would be afraid he would say something to me.’

‘Going forward I don’t think I will be able to trust anyone new in my life. I’m worried for any future occasions like family events on my mum’s side if there was a get together my mum and I won’t be able to go. My great grandmother recently died and I did not go to the funeral because I was afraid they would be there. I just want this to be over so I can try and move on with my life. My graduation, 21st, all of these events will no longer be the same as I no longer have the family unit and that grew up with. That’s gone forever.’