By MARTIN JOHNSTON
"Lucy" knows she will never forget being sexually abused by her auntie's partner.
The 14-year-old says that after the abuse, she tried to take her own life five times, ran away from home, threatened teachers and damaged school property.
She says counselling has helped and she now seems philosophical about the effects of the abuse. "I think it will always be with me. I will get over it, but I will still remember what happened."
In January 1998, when she was 12, she awoke one night at a relative's home to find the man lying on top of her partially undressed. Then in July last year, he took her to a park and sexually violated her, putting a finger in her vagina.
He pleaded guilty to the first offence and was found guilty by a jury in the High Court at Auckland on the second, more serious charge.
Last month, he was sentenced to concurrent jail terms of six months and 3 1/2 years.
Lucy is one of nearly 7000 children a year assessed by the Department of Child, Youth and Family Services as being sexually, physically or emotionally abused, or neglected. Many parents and workers in the field have criticised long delays and the way families are shunted between agencies after making a complaint of child abuse.
But there are hopes that the "Cares" centre planned to be set up in Auckland by early next year will solve many of the problems by putting people from a number of agencies together under one roof.
"If all the things were joined together you could probably get things done a lot quicker," said Lucy's mother. "I thought there was a lot of mucking around at the beginning. I had to wait for a counsellor to come out to see me but [my daughter] had already been going to a counsellor , the one at school."
She said Lucy's case took about nine months to get to court but the police investigator, Detective Constable Richard Chambers, said it was one of the quicker sexual-abuse investigations.
After the second incident, Lucy told a girlfriend and acted on her advice to tell the school counsellor, who alerted the authorities.
Lucy did not tell her mother, fearing she would "give me a hiding," but when her mother did find out she supported her.
Long-term legacy of secret pain
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.