I was raped by my best friend, Poldark actress Ciara reveals
POLDARK actress Ciara Charteris has said her “best friend” raped her – then got close to the woman she told about her ordeal.
In an open letter to a support group for rape and trauma survivors Ciara, 25, said she stayed silent for years until she saw the attacker with her confidante on social media.
Ciara, who suffered posttraumatic stress disorder, said she then felt “truly broken” when the female friend “turned a blind eye” to the situation.
Ciara, who plays Emma Tregirls in the hit BBC drama, said when she confronted the woman she was then blamed for “putting her in a difficult position” for years. Ciara said after having therapy she reported the incident to police in December last year – when her attacker’s presence in her social and professional circles became unbearable.
But after an investigation the man she accused was not charged.
In her letter Ciara recalled “saying No numerous times, begging him to get off me” throughout the attack, which she said happened after a birthday party.
Ciara said: “My flight mode was not attuned to protect me from a rapist that had the face of my best friend. So I just shut my eyes and passed out in terrified defeat.”
She told of her ordeal on the blog I Am Arla, saying: “Although I have struggled to say the word rape out loud for a long time, I knew that’s what had happened.”
Ciara said the attack prompted her to abandon her acting dreams and move to New York into the business side of the industry.
But she returned to London several months later and decided to try again, despite fearing somebody else would become a victim.
Ciara is now in a relationship with Scottish actor Nick Nunn.