Editorial: Bravery in seeking out justice

I applaud the victim for coming forward in order to seek justice, writes Tracey Chatterton. Photo / Thinkstock

It takes a lot of courage to speak in front of crowd.

Add in 12 curious faces, intimidating lawyers, a judge, and a full public gallery and the experience would be nothing less than terrifying.

But one young woman did just that last week. She had to relive that cold July night when a few drinks with some friends took a turn for the worse.

A throwaway comment about a young man fuelled an argument. Hannah Sims, 21, challenged the girl to a beating. Nakita Roper, 17, took away the girl's glasses and phone. Joshua Kerr, 20, and Vaughan Olsen, 21, were in the background, laughing and cheering on the fight.

While on the stand, the victim described how she was punched and kicked in the head, stripped of her clothes, had water thrown over her and was sexually violated with bottles.

The cellphone footage played to the court showed that she did not fight back, she simply held her hands in front of her face as the blows rained down.

It was hard listening to evidence of such a horrific assault and watching the pain etched on the victim's face.

I applaud her for coming forward in order to seek justice.

After the trial she said that, as hard and as difficult as it was, she was pleased she followed it through.

Roper was found guilty of being party to the violation, while Olsen and Kerr were found guilty of lesser assault charges. Sims admitted all nine charges, from the sexual violation to cutting off the victim's hair.

The victim recommends other victims of sexual violence use their voice and speak out if someone has hurt them. It won't be easy but it will be worth it.