Used and abused by a man at 13. It’s galling that I can’t get justice
Fury over cops’ decision
A woman who was sexually abused as a child has lost her fight to see her attacker prosecuted.
The 55-year- old told police she was being groomed by a 21-year-old boyfriend when she was only 13. But after launching an investigation into the relationship, detectives told her there wasn’t enough evidence to rely on in court.
The mum told how he would pick her up from school in Paisley and she had an abortion after falling pregnant.
She also said she was raped by two of his friends when she was 17.
The woman, who we have not identified for legal reasons, said: “I’ve been carrying this around my whole life and I just want people to be held responsible for what they have done.
“The police said because nobody saw us have sex, they don’t have enough evidence. I’m 55 and I’ve never seen two people have sex.”
The man convinced her they were in a long-term relationship and would marry.
She said: “The guy was 21, in business, driving a car and was picking me up from school. He groomed me when I was a child to provide him with sex on tap.
“I thought he was my boyfriend and, although I knew it was wrong because he’d tell me not to talk about it, I didn’t understand at that age how wrong it was. “I was a child and he was a grown
man and he was having unprotected sex with me, so he had no concern for my welfare.”
The woman revealed she became pregnant at 17 but miscarried and urged police to access her medical records.
She said: “He made me pregnant again straight away and he told me I had to have an abortion so his family would not find out about us. I had to go to Hawkhead Hospital in Paisley on my own at the age of 17 to have an abortion.”
She added: “This was in my medical records but apparently it’s not enough as it doesn’t prove who made me pregnant.
“Even though some old friends of mine were traced and gave statements about knowing he was having sex with me, none of them saw us actually having sex.
“It’s only with the passage of time, having children myself, that I feel I’ve really understood how serious it was.”
As far back as 1985, when she was 17, she also reported two of his friends for raping her. She made a statement to police and was medically examined and photographed. The two men were charged and held in custody but she came under pressure from her boyfriend to drop the charges and he said the men would be sent to Pakistan.
She bumped into one of them in 2019 and decided to report the matter again and outlined the sexual abuse she had endured from her boyfriend.
She said: “I got a visit from two officers laslast year and was heartbroken to learn a decision was taken nonot to prosecute.”
A police spokesperson said: “OOn January 23, 2020, Police ScoScotland received a report of nonnon- recent sexual offences comcommitted in Glasgow in 1985. InquInquiries have concluded after a fulfull investigation. No one was arresarrested or charged.”