How I Was Sexually Abused My Own Sister’s Fiance From the Age of 8 – Woman Tells Shocking Tale

A woman who was sexually abused by her own sister’s fiance but was too scared to expose it, has finally opened up on he experiences.

Rebecca Barton was abused by her sister’s fiancé from the age of eight

A mum who was abused by her sister’s fiancé from the age of eight has told how she was too terrified to tell her she was engaged to a pervert.

Rebecca Barton, now 38, from Broxbourne, kept quiet about what Dave Paul, now 51, was doing to her for 20 years.

In 2008, after being diagnosed with depression, she finally confessed to her other sister, Jody, that Dave had abused her.

By this point he and Michelle had split up, but Rebecca couldn’t bring herself to tell her sister what her ex had done.

In October 2015, Jody posted a photo of Paul to Facebook, labelling him a pervert.

Rebecca admitted to Michelle and the rest of her family that he had molested her and reported him to the police.

In March this year, Dave Paul appeared at the Old Bailey and was found guilty of indecent assault and inciting a female under 14 to commit an act of gross indecency, and was sentenced to four years in prison and put on the sex offenders register.

Now the sisters are closer than ever.

Rebecca said: “I feel like I have closure. What Dave did to me is unforgivable, but I don’t blame Michelle for bringing him into my life.

“Instead I’m grateful to her, Jody and my other sister Katie for helping me through this.”

She admitted that she used to enjoy seeing Paul as he paid her attention and made her laugh.

Rebecca recalled how one evening Paul paid her £1 to do a handstand in the kitchen – and another if she held it for three minutes.

“My nightie flipped over my head, and I was too young and naive to be worried about the fact I wasn’t wearing any knickers,” she said.

“He then bet me I couldn’t put one leg down at a time. As a kid I didn’t see anything wrong with Dave’s challenges.”

Paul was seven years older than Michelle, who was just 14 when they started dating, and Rebecca said their parents never really approved of their relationship.

She told how Paul, then 21, used to babysit her when her mum and dad took Michelle to netball tournaments.

But when he put her to bed, he took advantage.

“His hands would slide under the covers and he’d grope my bum and between my legs,” she said. “But I didn’t mention it to anyone; I didn’t know it was wrong.”

Rebecca, top left, pictured with her sisters (left to right), Michelle, Katie and Jody

Michelle moved in with Paul when she was 16 and shortly after they got engaged.

When Rebecca was 11, Paul began taking her to work with him.

She explained: “He’d pick me up at 6am on a Saturday, then drive me to the office where he worked for a car-hire company.

“In the empty office, Dave would get me to touch him while he groped me. Afterwards he said he’d give me £20 to buy myself something nice.

“It wasn’t until I was 12 that I learnt about sex at school. Then, finally, I realised what Dave was doing was wrong.

“But I didn’t think anyone would believe me if I told, so I bottled it up. Whenever Dave and I were alone together, I’d refuse to do what he told me to do.”

Rebecca told how she began mixing with the wrong crowd at school, and one night Paul caught her drinking cider in the park with her mates.

She recalled: “When I refused to let him touch me, he began to blackmail me, saying he’d tell my parents.

“I hated the thought of Michelle marrying him. But how I could I tell her that her fiancé was a pervert? I thought she’d hate me.

“The shame I felt about the abuse made it easy for me to blame myself.”

When Michelle was 21, she and Paul split up and Rebecca tried to put her ordeal behind her.

At 20 she met someone and in 2000 they married and went on to have two children.

But Paul’s abuse hung over her, and over the years she became depressed and was eventually admitted to a psychiatric assessment unit.

Rebecca said: “For some reason, Jody sensed there was a reason for it and suspected it had something to do with Dave.

“Suddenly the floodgates opened and I blurted out that he had abused me as a kid.

“Dave had never done anything to her or Katie. She urged me to tell Michelle, but I refused.”

In October 2015, the four sisters decided to get matching tattoos.

A week later, Jody posted a photo of Paul to Facebook – calling him a pervert.

“My secret must have eaten away at her and she’d snapped,” said Rebecca. “I didn’t blame her. It had tortured me for years.”

That day her mum and sisters visited her and Rebecca told them everything.

“Michelle encouraged me to go to the police, and I knew I had to listen to her,” Rebecca admitted.

“After a few days I’d built up the confidence to give a statement. I was worried they wouldn’t believe me – it had been 20 years ago.

“Eventually Dave was arrested, but waiting for the case to reach court was torture.

“In March last year it all became too much and I wanted to end it all, but my husband begged me to think about our kids. He was right, I couldn’t let Dave destroy me.

“A year later at court, Dave denied everything and I had to give evidence behind a screen.

“I was shaking with nerves, but being strong paid off. He got four years and I had justice.”

Rebecca’s sister Michelle said: “I torture myself that I could have stopped all this happening.

“I feel horribly guilty and I’m now seeing a counsellor. I look back and think, did I see things I should have realised were wrong?

“All I can do now is be there for Rebecca and support her. Going through this has strengthened our sister bond.”

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Via The Sun UK

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