Charley sold her story to the Mirror.

The Mirror

 

'How I got justice after my step dad abused me.'

Charley Dale emailed us through the site asking 'How do I sell my story?' Since meeting her husband, she'd found the courage to stand up in court and give evidence against her step dad who had abused her. We sold Charley's story to Woman magazine (below) and the Mirror.

 

 

	And she also sold her story to Woman magazine.....

 

 

Do you have a crime story you would like to sell to a women's magazine or newspaper? To sell your crime story, or to sell any other story, contact us now. Fill in our story submission form on the right, or call us direct....

 

 

 

 

I'LL KILL YOUR MUM IF YOU TELL I'VE BEEN TOUCHING YOU;
FROM THE AGE OF FOUR, CHARLEY DALE WAS SEXUALLY ABUSED BY HER STEPDAD. HERE, HER FAMILY, FROM BICESTER, OXON, REVEAL THE HORRIFIC IMPACT THE CRIME HAD ON THEM ALL...

 

AS TOLD TO BOUDICCA FOX-LEONARD

 

Charley, 21, says:

Lying in bed, tears streamed down my cheeks as Dad stood over me and whispered: "This is our secret. If you tell anyone, I'll kill Mum and everyone will blame you."

I was eight and terrified. It wasn't the first time my stepdad - who'd cared for me since I was two and who I considered my own father - had touched me while Mum was asleep.

The first time, I was four. I had just wet myself and convinced myself that what he was doing was my punishment.

From then on, I crept about on egg shells, trying not to do anything wrong in case I got punished again.

But it wasn't any good. At least once a week Dad would still abuse me.

I would keep my eyes closed and cry until he left.

It wasn't until secondary school that I understood what was going on. We were watching a video showing foreplay in a sex education lesson. But I was still convinced it was my fault.

More than anything, I wanted to run away from home but I couldn't. I was scared if I left that Dad might start to abuse my sister Sammy. At the age of 16, during one incident, I threatened to tell Mum.

Dad was furious. He grabbed me by the throat and pinned me against the wall. "I'll kill Mum if you do," he shouted.

He looked so evil that at that moment I believed Mum's life was in danger.

His reaction was enough to buy my silence for a little while longer.

Things changed when I got a boy friend at 17 and, as a result, Dad suddenly stopped abusing me. I felt free for the first time ever and after that first relationship fizzled out I met Stephen, 21, a chief.

I immediately felt comfortable with him and after two weeks I burst into tears and told him everything. I could believe it when he cuddled me and said I should tell Mum.

A month later, I did. I was worried she wouldn't believe me but she threw her arms around me and said sorry over and over again. "It's not your fault," I told her.

That same day, Mum confronted Dad and asked him to leave.

But he refused and a horrific and tense fortnight passed before he finally packed his bags.

After Dad left, I went for intensive counseling and finally decided to go to the police. "if another little girl suffers because I was too frightened, I'd never forgive myself," I said. Writing my statement was painful but a week later Dad was arrested and charged with indecent assault.

In the run-up to the trial I was terrified Dad would be let off and I became dangerously depressed. I had nightmares about the abuse and overdosed deliberately on ibuprofen three times.

It was only Stephen and my family's love that kept me going.

Dad stood trial in April this year and giving evidence against him was terrifying.

But the jury returned a verdict of guilty and I cried with relief.

Dad - David Millard, 50 - was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court to seven years in prison after being found guilty of seven counts of indecent assault and put on the sex offenders register for life. Finally, everyone knew the truth. In June this year Stephen and I married in a huge church wedding and I'm now ready to live the rest of my life.

Dad stole my childhood and I'll never understand how he could do what he did, but I'm not going to let him win.

 

Her mum Debbie Goddard, 40, says:

I never imagined that one day I'd watch my two daughters giving evidence that would see the man I once loved sent to jail.

They were so brave and grownup despite their dad's terrible betrayal. Charley was just two when David and I met.

Having split up from her father a year earlier, I wasn't sure I'd ever find love again but David swept me off my feet.

After two years together I became pregnant with Samantha then David and I got married in 1994. But things didn't stay rosy for long. I put on weight after the pregnancy and he threatened to divorce me if I didn't go on a diet.

He was very strict with the children but particularly harsh to Charley, something I could never understand.

I could tell he loved her and he liked her sitting on his knee - I thought it was great that he appeared to treat her as his own child. I never thought twice about leaving the girls alone with him.

Then when Charley was 12 they started to argue. He wouldn't let her have friends to sleep over or play outside.

By the time Charley was 17 I was fed up and started to stand up to him. At the same time their constant arguing reached fever pitch. Then one day, Charley and I were out shopping and she said that David had touched her breasts.

I went numb. I took her in my arms and just held her. I didn't doubt her for a second, yet I couldn't believe a man I'd trusted for so many years could do such a thing.

At home he denied it but I knew that Charley was telling the truth. I asked him to leave straight away.

It was only at the trial that I found out the extent of what he'd done. I felt sick with anger. At night I lie in bed crying, thinking how frightened she must have been. I've struggled with my guilty conscience and wondered if it was my fault for putting my little girl in this situation.

I still blame myself but the truth is that you never expect it to happen to you. Only a monster could do what David did and I will never forgive him.

 

Her sister Sam, 17, says:

Finding out, at 10, that Charley was my half-sister only made it worse. I couldn't understand how Dad could be so much more interested in her than me, his biological daughter.

My jealousy meant that as children Charley and I were never very close. But though we argued a lot, I knew Charley was always looking out for me.

Looking back, I wish I could have taken better care of her.

When Charley reached her teens, she and Dad started arguing a lot. For the first time I was relieved I wasn't her.

But after an argument he would be all sweet and nice to her again.

One time he even came home with flowers.

When, at 15, Charley sat me down and told me what had happened I never doubted her for a second. "I'll be here for you through everything," I promised.

Things suddenly made sense.

When I was little I remember Dad ordering me to stay downstairs and play with my toys because he was giving Charley a back massage.

I was so angry but it was incredibly tough because he was my father and I loved him.

But he'd broken our family in two. I knew from the outset that thanks to what he'd done to Charley, I'd lost my dad.

I was proud of her when she went to the police.

But the following months were hard for Charley and she became deeply depressed.

I found her vomiting after one overdose. Seeing her in that state made it hit home how much she was hurting and how evil my father was for abusing her.

Since Dad was arrested, Charley and I have got on better than ever.

She is finally coming out of her shell. It was amazing to see her so happy on her wedding day and I realised that it was a new beginning for us all.

In seeking and getting justice, Charley is proof that you can go through something awful and come out the other side.