Abuse survivor had to fight for justice

Case against child rapist dropped twice

COURTS: A survivor of one of the worst cases of child abuse ever seen by a detective has spoken of fighting for justice despite the case being dropped twice.

Naomi Clayton was sexually and physically abused from the age of five by Graham Leslie Howard, with the offences continuing for a decade.

A SURVIVOR of one of the worst cases of child abuse ever seen by a detective has spoken out about how she suffered for 10 years – but carried on fighting for justice despite the case being dropped twice.

Naomi Clayton was sexually and physically abused from the age of five by Graham Leslie Howard, with the offences continuing for a decade.

Howard was jailed for 30 years at York Crown Court last year, where it was heard that Ms Clayton was raped multiple times and bribed with sweets so that she would not tell anybody. She was also beaten with a baseball bat.

A North Yorkshire Police detective who led the case described it as “one of the worst cases of child abuse I have ever dealt with”.

Ms Clayton, 29, has waived her anonymity to speak about her abuse and encourage other survivors whose cases were not prosecuted to have them reviewed.

She said: “There were plenty of times I could have decided I couldn’t go through with it all, but I kept on fighting.”

Police were made aware of Howard in 2008, when another girl reported she had been abused. He was questioned, but the case was dropped due to a lack of evidence.

Mr Clayton reported her abuse to police in December 2014. The case was referred to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which considered the evidence for a year before deciding not to charge Howard. After launching a review, it took another two-anda-half years before the CPS decided to charge him.

Two other victims abused by Howard came forward ahead of his appearance at York Crown Court, where he pleaded not guilty to 18 charges, including 11 of rape of a child. He was found guilty in August last year and jailed for 30 years.

Ms Clayton, who lives in Scarborough, is a full-time mother to her son who was born several weeks after Howard was jailed.

Urging other survivors to come forward, she said: “It might be that you have to find that inner strength to speak out, but I promise someone will listen to you.”

The CPS confirmed Ms Clayton’s case had initially been dropped due to a lack of evidence, but was successfully prosecuted following a review.