Shock read: Rescued from a rape attack… by my 3-year-old
Rachel Brown, 25, was in terrible danger – until someone very unexpected stepped forward
‘I felt a hand clamp down heavily on my shoulder’
Staring out of the bus window, my three-yearold daughter Holly sitting beside me, I couldn’t wait to get home. It was July 2015, and I’d taken Holly for a swim at our local baths in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear. We were both exhausted and I could still smell the chlorine in her hair as she nestled into my side.
‘Are you excited to see Daddy?’ I asked, and a cheeky little grin spread across her face. It was two weeks since my partner Adam had gone abroad with his friends for a holiday and now he was due home in a few hours – we were so excited.
No good fighting
I was so busy thinking about Adam that at first I didn’t notice the younglooking man as he staggered on to the bus. But then I saw his broad 6ft frame swaying as he walked to a seat. He was obviously drunk, and his left knuckle looked bruised and swollen. There were only a few other people on the bus and dropping himself into a seat a couple of rows in front of me and Holly, he immediately swivelled around – his bleary-eyed gaze catching mine before I could look away. ‘Had a nice day, darling?’ he asked, smiling.
‘Yes, thank you,’ I replied, not wanting to anger him. But when he insisted on continuing the conversation I knew I’d made a mistake. He said he wasn’t from around here and needed directions. I told him to stay on the bus to the end of the line, and as we swung to a halt at our stop I grabbed Holly by the hand and darted off.
It was 9.30pm and darker than I’d realised. The street lights were flickering to life along the main road. I stopped to do up Holly’s jacket when suddenly, I noticed a figure loitering behind us. My heart quickened as I realised it was the man from the bus.
‘What are you doing?’ I laughed nervously. ‘I told you to stay on until the end of the line.’ He clasped his hands over his mouth, as if he’d only just realised his mistake. ‘Disaster!’ he chuckled. ‘How am I going to get home now?’
I told him to wait for the next bus, but when he started following us I felt sick. On the bus he’d been swaying and staggering around, but now he was striding out with purpose.
I tried to walk faster, but I could still hear him behind us. Petrified, I prayed somebody would emerge from the houses on our right. But the street remained deserted.
After a couple of minutes I saw our driveway on the opposite side of the road. ‘We’re safe,’ I thought. But as I went to cross, I felt a hand clamp down heavily on my shoulder.
‘Come down here with me,’ the man said, gesturing to the embankment on our left. Holly held her arms out to me, clearly scared, and I picked her up.
‘No,’ I told the man, forcefully. But before I could walk away, he grabbed the back of my hair and threw us both to the ground. As Holly rolled to one side, he climbed on top of me and started pawing at me like a crazed animal, tearing off my clothes.
My first thought was Holly. But as I looked round, I realised she was nowhere to be seen. Had she run away? The thought of my toddler wandering the streets alone filled me with horror.
I hit out at my attacker, desperate to get him off me. But his full weight was on top of me and he yanked
down my jeans and underwear. I could feel my body going numb. I quickly realised fighting was pointless and in that split second, I knew I had no choice but to let him rape me – then I could go and get Holly.
And so lying helplessly on the hard concrete of the pavement, I prayed for Holly – and braced myself for the worst. But as he fumbled with his belt buckle, I looked round and saw
Holly’s terrified little face staring back. At first I thought I was dreaming. But then she knelt down and wrapped her arms around my neck. ‘Come on Mummy, get up,’ she whispered. My attacker barely noticed her as he forced himself on me, but I was terrified he’d turn on my little girl.
Suddenly I summoned a strength I didn’t know I had. Punching him fiercely in the chest, I sank my teeth into his knuckle and kicked him hard in his groin. He flew back in agony.
Scrambling to my feet, I picked up Holly and ran for the house as he doubled over in pain on the floor. I reached the front door, half naked and shaking. Suddenly I realised I’d dropped my bag with my keys during the attack. Frightened he’d come for us, I pulled Holly with me and we crouched behind the bins… I was sure he'd come looking.
But when he didn’t and I realised the street was empty, I thought he must have fled. I ran back to get my bag. Once inside the house, I held Holly and burst into tears. ‘It’s OK,’ I whispered. ‘That bad man’s gone.’ But my words felt stronger than I felt.
A few minutes later, my brother's girlfriend Hazel called my mobile. I tried to stay calm as I answered, but when I started crying hysterically she knew something was wrong. She and my brother James raced round.
When I told them what had happened, they were horrified. ‘We need to call the police,’ James said.
Within minutes the street was swarming with police cars. As officers came into the house to question me, Adam arrived home. He couldn’t believe the scene, but when he heard what had happened, he held me in his arms, tears rolling down his cheeks. ‘I’m so sorry,’ he said. ‘I should have been here.’
‘Holly saved me,’ I wept. ‘She was so brave and wouldn’t leave me.’
A few hours later, the police said they'd arrested a 15-year-old suspect. I felt sick – how could a teenager be capable of such a vicious attack? Although the tests at the hospital the next day confirmed I didn't have any serious physical injuries, the emotional hurt dug deep. I knew there was a long road to recovery.
A mini hero
For months afterwards, both Holly and I suffered in different ways. Holly was too little to understand what my attacker had been trying to do to me, but she became terrified of crowded public places. I developed a stutter and became so anxious about talking to strangers that I had to quit my job as a trainee carer at a local children’s centre. Holly refused to go outside with just me, needing Adam there with us, too.
Finally, in February 2017, my attacker, then 17, appeared at Newcastle Crown Court, charged with attempted rape. He was pleading not guilty, but the jury convicted him and he was sentenced to three years in a youth offender institution. ‘Thank goodness,’ I gasped. I will never get over what happened to me. I just hope I finally learn how to cope with it. But I will never forget Holly’s bravery. If it wasn’t for her staying with me, giving me the chance to escape, I could have been raped… or worse.
She’s now five and while we don't talk about the attack any more, I call her my real-life miniature hero. With her by my side, I know we'll be able to move forward from this together into a happier, stronger life.
‘She was so brave and wouldn’t leave me’