ÂIÂVE HAD FOUR TORTUROUS YEARSÂ: CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE SURVIVORS SPEAK OUT OVER COURT DELAYS
When two women finally felt ready to come forward and identify their abusers, they had no idea that the justice system would compound their suffering.Ruby recounted to investigators that starting at age 12, an antique dealer named Richard Craig would often invite her into his home during school hours and sexually assault her in his bedroom.
She was introduced to Richard Craig by his younger brother, Tony Craig, a car salesman who lived nearby in Stone, near Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, close to a classmate named Justine Clareboets.
From the age of nine or ten, Tony Craig manipulated the girls by enticing them with exotic pets and money for the local shop, eventually bringing them to his brother’s residence in Aylesbury.
There, the brothers sexually abused them while watching pornography.
Tony Craig, who was 74 at the time of sentencing, received a 21-year prison sentence for the rape and sexual abuse of Ruby and her schoolfriend during their childhood in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Although Richard Craig was expected to be tried alongside his brother, he died before his trial could take place.
During Tony Craig's sentencing, Judge Sheridan pointed out that Tony was also responsible for introducing his victims to his brother.
Although Richard Craig did not stand trial, the women’s testimony about his involvement was deemed credible.
Richard Craig denied all allegations but passed away from a heart attack prior to the trial, and the court’s comments clearly indicated their belief in the women’s accounts of Richard’s abuse.
