‘It’s as if he got away with it’: how the law prevented Lucy getting justice for child sexual abuse

Lucy (not her real name) was groomed by her friend’s father, who was 22 years older than her, and he began sexually abusing her at the age of 13. When she was 15, she became pregnant and had an abortion. She said when the abuse took place in the 1980s, because of her age she did not realise that it was wrong and her parents were concerned about the effect that reporting it would have on their family.

Now aged 51, she still struggles to come to terms with what happened and has suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression. It was only when she began therapy that she began to come to terms with the abuse and made the decision, last year, to contact the police. She was also persuaded to act by the death of her parents, which meant that she no longer had to worry that speaking out would distress them. And she was being harassed by the partner of the perpetrator, who lived close by.

“It took me a long time and even when I’d spoken to the police, I still had to decide if I definitely wanted to go ahead with it,” she said. “I decided that I would because there was nothing stopping me now.”

Related: Thousands of women abused as children may be unable to get justice due to legal anomaly

She said the process of reporting the offence to the police had been “exhausting and traumatic”, particularly reliving her past experiences during the video interview.

Lucy felt “relieved and pleased” when officers told her that her abuser had admitted in a police interview to having sex with her when she was 14 and 15. However, about six weeks later she was told the news that, because prosecution of the offence of sexual intercourse with a girl under 16 under the Sexual Offences Act 1956 had to begin within 12 months of the alleged offence, he could not be charged.

“I was devastated,” said Lucy. “I thought, I’ve finally decided to go ahead with it and he’ll be prosecuted – it just felt more positive. But then, when I learned that he wouldn’t be prosecuted, it was like that had all just gone and we were back to where we were.”

While the legislation dictating the 12-month limitation period was changed in 2004, it was not made retrospective and so Lucy and hundreds of other women have been left without recourse to justice .

“It just doesn’t seem right that if it’s before a certain date he can’t be prosecuted or if I didn’t report it within a certain time,” she said. “People have mental health issues or other reasons why they can’t always report it straight away.”

She said her mood and self-esteem had suffered as a result of the decision not to bring charges, especially as she is back living in the area where she grew up and where her abuser still lives.

“I think there’s still some people that think it was partly my fault and it was almost like an affair or something,” she said. “But they’re not taking into account that I was 13 when it started.

“It’s still hanging over my head. They [he and his current partner] are still acting like normal and carrying on with their lives – it’s as though he’s got away with it.”