STOKESLEY MAN GUILTY OF RAPE AFTER OVER THREE-YEAR WAIT FOR JUSTICE
The offender, Kieran Brown, who is now 20 years old, raped a girl on September 23, 2017, on Stokesley High Street.He had denied two charges of raping a girl who was 14 at the time, while he was 17.
His trial at Teesside Crown Court was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, but following a five-day trial, the jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict.
Brown's victim, now 18 and legally unidentified, described her feelings on hearing the verdict: "I felt like I could breathe again, and I felt free." She expressed her relief, stating, "It hasn't taken it away and it never will.
But I had thought he was going to get away with it because it took so long." She recounted the trauma of giving evidence behind a screen during the trial, describing it as "horrendous," and said she relives the experience every day, indicating the profound impact on her mental health, including scars, overdosing, and a long-lasting effect on her life.
She emphasized her desire to prevent others from suffering similarly, saying, "I don't want this to ever, ever, ever happen to anybody else.
I have scars on my arms forever and there has been overdosing.
It has had a massive impact on my life - there was always something pulling me back." Kieran Brown, of Hebron Road, Stokesley, was remanded in custody and is awaiting sentencing later in the year.
