A survivor of sexual assault has found strength from her horrific ordeal to inspire others to come forward after vile attacks.
Christopher Higham, of Northwood Close, Wigan, was living in Suffolk and working as a prison officer when he was first accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a party on September 29, 2019. The 35-year-old entered not guilty pleas when he was accused of sexually assaulting two women.
But on Thursday, February 9, he was found guilty of three counts against one woman, including, sexual assault, assault by penetration, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He was cleared of one count of sexual assault against a second woman.
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Higham was jailed for five years and 10 months, and was ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register. Now, the woman who suffered the "relentless" attack which included being strangled, and slapped, has spoken to The ECHO about the attack and the effect it has had on her life.
The 34-year-old woman said: "On the night when I got out of that house it was pitch black, I was obviously in an absolute state. I can just remember running through a rabbit warren of houses and managed to get back to my car.
"I called my mum straight away. It was very unfortunate because my mum at the time had my children and this was at ridiculous o'clock in the morning so in order for her to come, my children had to attend as well.
"There was a cover story for the children, they just thought I had hurt myself. When my mum got to me that's when we contacted the police."
From there the mum was taken to a police station where she had an initial police interview and officers took a report of the injuries they could see.
She said: "Due to evidence I wasn't allowed to bath or shower, they had to collect all my clothes and then I didn't actually go to the SARAC (Sexual Abuse Rape Advice Centre) until later that evening. So I had to go all the time without washing, and obviously, when something like that happens, I felt so dirty and so disgusting.
"I felt humiliated, I felt degraded and I felt powerless. Physically and emotionally I hurt.
"I was slapped around the face and strangled, so much so that I thought that I would never get out of that room alive. I was being held so tightly that I could feel and hear the pulse in my ears.
"My life has been completely turned upside down. It ruined me as a person, it has deeply upset my family's lives, it has affected my relationship and it has affected my ability to be a mum."
The mum said she wanted to speak about her sexual assault to make sure other women have the strength to come forward and speak to police about what happened to them.
She said: "I heard some really scary statistics about how five out of six women do not report these crimes in fear of not being believed, the feeling of humiliation and/or embarrassment and only 5% of these crimes get to trial because of lack of witnesses. If somebody reads this and thinks 'wow that happened to me and I haven't reported it', or if god forbid it happens to somebody else in the future, it could give them a bit of strength."
If you’ve been affected by sexual violence of any kind don’t be afraid to tell someone, find the courage to come forward and get the help you deserve.
You can report rape, sexual assault and other sexual offences anonymously here: https://www.merseyside.police.uk/ro/report/rsa/alpha-v1/advice/rape-sexual-assault-and-other-sexual-offences/how-to-report-rape-sexual-assault-other-sexual-offences/
There is a lot of support available from specialist officers within Merseyside Police and through the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Victim Care Merseyside service delivered jointly by two registered charities.
In Liverpool, Sefton and Wirral, support is provided by Rape and Sexual Abuse Support (RASA) Merseyside who are available on 0151 558 1801 and, in St Helens and Knowsley, by the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre (RASASC) Cheshire and Merseyside who can be contacted on 01925 221 546 or 0330 363 0063.
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