ABUSE VICTIM SPEAKS OUT AFTER HER RAPIST STEPFATHER JAILED AT LAST
A minor who survived child abuse and later became a mother to two children fathered by her abuser has spoken out regarding the failures of social services, following her attacker’s 25-year imprisonment.Identified as Cheryl Hall (a pseudonym), she aims to inspire other victims to come forward.
Now aged 34, she had two children with her stepfather James Cooke, who subjected her to repeated rapes with her mother Angela Johnson present.
James Cooke, aged 53 from Greenwood in Bamber Bridge, was found guilty on multiple counts: indecent assault, attempted rape, and three charges of raping a minor.
His sentence is 25 years.
Angela Johnson, 51, of Great Meadow, Chorley, Cooke’s former partner, was convicted of mistreating Cheryl, resulting in an 18-month jail sentence.
Cheryl was taken into care at the age of four but was returned to her abusers before evidence could be fully prepared for court, which caused her circumstances to deteriorate.
Her return home saw intensified physical abuse that transitioned into sexual violence, with multiple rapes occurring.
At just five years old, she was punished for bedwetting by being stripped naked, tied up, having socks forced into her mouth, and having her head held under cold water; she was also burned with a halogen light.
By the age of 14, her abuse had become sexually forced, with her mother leading her into Cooke’s room for assaults.
The assaults happened during family holidays and church visits.
Her childhood was marked by restrictions, such as staying within view of the lounge window when outside.
At 16, she became pregnant.
Despite her family’s pressure to terminate the pregnancy, she stated: “No matter how much they wanted me to have an abortion I was dead set - it was an innocent life.
“Throughout my life I had never been loved.
My mum always said she should have aborted me.
So I saw this little life as something I could love, and something that could love me in return.
“I immediately loved him, he was my little boy.”
