Horror as woman sexually abused over 14 years left feeling 'dirty and disgusting'

A survivor of 14 years of rape and sexual abuse said she was left feeling “dirty and disgusting” when thinking about what happened to her. The survivor was speaking after her abuser was jailed for 18 years at Manchester Crown Court on Friday.

David Jones, 66, of Moston, was found guilty of five counts of rape, sexual intercourse with a girl under 13, sexual assault and indecent assault. He was also given a lifetime restraining order against the victim. The victim came forward to police in 2021, reporting offences that first occurred when she was a child, however continued until she was a young adult, Greater Manchester Police.

After the sentencing, she said: “After what had happened to me, I had tried to block it all out and get on with my life. But over the years it has been eating away at me. I felt dirty and disgusting when I thought about it and I was ashamed to tell people.

“During everyday life, I can’t eat properly or sleep, because I am overthinking about my past, and how this now affects me with other people, it is hard for me to shut my brain off.

“I have to try and do things to keep me busy, so I don’t focus on what happened and to try and control my anxiety.

“I just want justice for what happened to me so I can try and make things better for myself, get my confidence back and try and leave what happened in the past so I can move forward with my life.”

Detective Constable Nicola Woods praised the victim’s “immense courage and strength”.

She said: “David Jones preyed on her innocence and repeatedly subjected her to multiple rapes and sexual assaults which continued for well over a decade. He is now behind bars, and I hope that this will give her the chance to begin to move on from this horrific ordeal.”