I was abused by sex beast dad from age 8 then gang-raped by old men in Britain’s ‘worst ever’ grooming scandal

I WAS just eight when dad sexually abused me for the first time, forcing me to rub soap all over his body in the shower as he muttered: "Help me out, Princess". 

It was a confusing moment - yet, as I dried my tiny hands, it would pave the way for years of horrific abuse that eventually saw me being pimped out to old men by a grooming gang.

During my childhood from hell, my innocence was brutally ripped away as my own father repeatedly raped me, ordered me to perform vile sex acts, and dressed me up in suspenders.

And when I turned 14, the situation only worsened - with my first ever 'boyfriend', aged 19, turning out to be a member of a violent grooming gang in my hometown of Telford, Shropshire.

Up to 1,000 kids abused by perverts

Back then, numbed by dad's abuse, I thought being raped was normal for girls.

But I'd later discover I was among up to 1,000 kids feared to have been exploited by Telford perverts since the 1980s, in what has been dubbed Britain’s 'worst ever' grooming scandal.

Forced to dress up in suspenders & stockings

By the time I was 10, I had been raped so often it was less painful.

My body was used to it. Let that sink in.

Sometimes, my father made me read out 'stories' from hardcore pornography magazines to him before he raped me. Other times, he dressed me up in suspenders and stockings.

Pimped out to dribbling old men

Ed started pimping me out to other perverts - including a really old man who stank of death. He hobbled into my living room on two sticks, with saliva dribbling down his chin.

On another occasion, aged 17, I was taken to a house by Asad, where at least 10 men were sitting around, spitting out insults at me like "white s**g" and "wh***".

Every man there raped me, one after another.

I couldn't see a way out.

But one day, after a particularly severe beating from Ed, something inside me changed: a voice woke up and I found the courage to flee from the house of horrors with Danny.

The council placed us in a hostel for a while, before we moved into a new home.

My path from victim to survivor wasn't easy: I endured further violence from Ed and even temporarily lost custody of Danny to my own mum, who wanted him for herself.

I also lost all faith in the authorities, after police failed to answer my pleas for help. When I told one officer about Ed's violence, he simply shrugged: "Sounds like a domestic to me."

But fortunately, in the end, I got my justice.

Decades after my childhood was torn apart, my sister - who was also abused by dad - approached me and we went to the police together, this time speaking to officers who truly cared.

The case went to court and, at a second retrial, dad was convicted of 32 counts, including rape, gross indecency with a child, and indecent assault, and jailed for 15 years.

Following dad's conviction, I wondered: should I also try to make Ed pay for his crimes? I ultimately decided against it: I couldn't go through yet another horrific trial.

After Dad's conviction, I wondered: should I also try to make Ed pay for his crimes? But I couldn't go through yet another horrific trial

Scarlett

Today, I'm a mum-of-five in my 40s, and I'm proud of how far I've come.

I've dedicated my life to raising awareness of child sexual exploitation (CSE), including by helping to fight for a public enquiry into the situation in Telford, which is now underway.

In the town alone, there have been at least five deaths, including 16-year-old abuse victim Lucy Lowe, who died after her home was torched by the sex beast who'd impregnated her at 14.

Another Telford abuse victim, Becky Watson, was killed in an unexplained car crash aged 13. And a third, Vicky Round, died aged 20 after her abusers got her hooked on crack at 12 and heroin at 14.

But CSE is happening elsewhere, too.

It's taking place right under people's noses, all over Britain.

It's why I've penned my new book, Just A Girl - one of my proudest achievements. I hope it encourages other victims to speak out, and helps them to see there IS life after abuse.

Today, if I could tell them - and my childhood self - anything, it would be that it was never their fault.

It wasn’t what you wore, what you said, or how you looked.

It was never you.

• Just A Girl by Scarlett Jones, with Linda Watson-Brown, is published by Mirror Books and available
• Names and some details have been changed to protect identities