Woman reveals she was raped by father and brother from age of three
PUBLISHED: 17:18 BST, 24 October 2024
A woman who was repeatedly raped by both her father and her brother has revealed how her abusive parent told doctors she had 'fallen on a go-cart' when she had to undergo emergency surgery to repair internal damage.
Sarah Sidebottom, 54, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, was raped and sexually abused by her father, Arthur William Bowditch, and her brother, Arthur Stephen Bowditch. They have since been jailed for a total of 32 years.
The first attack, which occurred when Sarah was just three and a half years old, left her needing surgery to repair internal damage. It was these hospital notes which proved crucial in securing a conviction for the abuse, which began almost 50 years go.
Sarah, now happily married and a mum of two and a grandmother, has spoken of her appalling trauma and her plans to change the justice system going forwards. Her book 'The Letter' is released today.
She says: 'I had no idea about the surgery until 2021, and I saw my medical records. I was horrified, but at the same time, this was exactly what the prosecution needed to build a case against my father.
'After staying silent for nearly 50 years, part of my healing process is having a voice and speaking out. I now sit on forums to advise both the police and CPS of the best way of helping victims of sexual abuse. I want the system to change for the better.'
Her first memory of the abuse is aged three and a half years, when she was taken from her bed, put in her father's bed, and raped.
She says: 'I remember the pain but more than anything I remember his hand clamped over my mouth to stifle my screams.'
She was so badly injured by the assault, which took place in Chard, Somerset, that she required surgery and was released from hospital on her fourth birthday. Her father had told doctors she had fallen onto the handle of a go-cart.
Sarah says: 'My father left me alone for two years, and the attacks started again when I was around 6.
'By this time we were living in Alford, Somerset. Every time my mother was out, he took the opportunity to assault and rape me.
'He used objects on me; one was a wooden object, a wooden handle of a spade. He assaulted me in the stables at the side of the bungalow where we had horses.
'There were two sides to him. He could be very charming and was a big character, he was a builder and well-known locally in Somerset. But at home he was very violent and twisted.
'Once, when he told me to go to his bedroom, I said no. I was around 10 years old. He pulled me off the sofa by my hair and kicked me all the way to the bedroom.
'He was choking me on the bed and I asked him to kill me, to put me out my misery. After he had gone, I tried to smother myself with the pillow. I just wanted it all to end. It was the last time I ever dared to try to stand up to him.
'He had guns in the garage, and he told me if I ever spoke out about the abuse, he would shoot me or he'd shoot my mother.'
Her parents separated when she was 13, and Sarah believed this was the end of her nightmare. Her older brother, Arthur Stephen, known as Stephen, went to live with his father.
When she was 15, Stephen, then 17, came to live with them, and he raped her.
Sarah says: 'I couldn't believe it was happening again. Stephen raped me and it was horrendous.'