A mum has shared her trauma in a tell-all book after she was raped by her own dad who "treated her as a wife".
Carol Higgins, 54, from Denby Dale suffered the horrendous sexual abused at the hands of her father Elliott Appleyard, reports Yorkshire Live.
She hopes her book can help even just "one child."
At the age of just 13 years old she was subjected to vile sexual abuse, with evil beast Appleyard putting an engagement ring on her finger and saying they would "live happily ever after".
She was forced to have a tattoo of a rose and was also inked with his nickname onto her shoulder as a twisted "branded declaration of love".
He was finally put behind bars in 2019, despite the fact he was first reported to police in 1985.
The abuse happened at the family home after his wife left him.
Carol told the court in 2019 that her father 'wanted to treat me like a wife' and said would 'live together happily ever after'.
Her book details the trial, and she hopes it will raise awareness and help her overcome the "emotional trauma".
She said: "It has been difficult to write because it's invoked a lot of emotions. It's also been cathartic in a way, as all my feelings and frustrations are coming out from the tears I've cried. I'm still on my healing journey, but it's helped me overcome my emotional trauma and I would encourage other people to do the same.
"I decided to write to book as I wanted to raise awareness for sexual abuse inside the home. It's not talked about enough. There's plenty of education for children on stranger danger and abuse outside the home, but what about inside? When I was being abused, I thought it was normal for so long. I thought what my dad was doing to me was normal.
"Incest is rife in the UK and there's not enough being done about it. I've found that a lot of people feel very uncomfortable taking about familial rape because people don't want children to know that their parents are capable of raping them.
"I had to pay £5,400 for the trial transcript. I left school with no qualifications and I'm dyslexic, so I paid people to help me with the grammar side of the book too. But if this book raises awareness and helps just one child, then what happened to me won't be in vain."
Her latest book, Conquering the Impossible: Justice, is the second in a trilogy about her tragic life.
Carol had the first book Conquering the Impossible: Making the Dream come true published in 2015, and it told the story of her climb up Kilimanjaro and battle with bowel cancer.
Her father was jailed on five counts of rape and 10 counts of indecent assault and sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2019.
A jury of seven women and four took less than two hours to unanimously find Appleyard guilty of 15 charges following a seven-day trial.
Carol first reported the abuse to police in 1985 but says that she was told it would "blacken her name" if she pursued the case and that she would be considered "the biggest slag going", as she told the court in 2019.
After reporting his crimes in 1985, Carol who is now a mum-of-two, went to police again in 2005 and 2012 before a probe was finally launched in 2015.
She claims "systemic failures" continue to haunt her, as her father is now in a category C prison and is due to enter an 'open prison' in 2026 - only seven years after his sentencing. Carol has also opened a civil case against West Yorkshire Police due to the way her case was handled from 2005 to the 2019 trial.
She said: "This is about institutional failing. What message does it send that my father is in a category C prison and will be in an open prison not even ten years after he was sentenced.
"There needs to be a prevention or deterrent but there isn't one. I don't feel like I've been given justice by the justice system which is why I'm writing this book. I share my story online as well, and whilst I've had many people saying how brave I am, I've also heard some very sad stories.
"A 78-year-old woman said she had been abused as a child but didn't ever go to the police out of fear that she wouldn't be believed. People are left with that feeling of worthlessness their entire life, and I want to give them the tools to help them which is why I've written this book."
Conquering the Impossible: Justice comes out on Sunday, April 23.
West Yorkshire Police said: "We’re unable to comment due to the ongoing legal proceedings."
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