When Gresham told the police he had been abused, they asked if he was just trying to get compensation
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Gresham was sexually abused by his mother, and a man who gave him a job when he was a young boy.
The police would not take his report about his mother seriously and he did not feel supported in the court process when the other perpetrator was put on trial.
Gresham grew up in a large family. The children were all removed from their mother by social services and Gresham was placed in care. Gresham was adopted.
When he was 12, Gresham got a job and the man he worked for sexually abused him for about three or four months. Gresham describes the abuser as ‘very forceful’ and says that ‘he made me do things’. The abuse stopped when Gresham left the job.
He says that he was not close to his adoptive family and they were not supportive, and he didn’t tell them or anyone else about the abuse.
A couple of years later, Gresham’s relationship with his adoptive family broke down, and he went back into care. He made contact with his mother and moved into her home. But she began to sexually abuse him. This went on for three months until he went to the police and reported it.
However, the police did not take his report seriously and questioned his motives for making it, and he dropped his complaint.
At the age of 16, Gresham left care without any support. He moved to a city and began training for a career in hospitality. But following a serious injury, he suffered a breakdown and spent several months in hospital.
Gresham later decided to go to the police again. He made a statement about the sexual abuse he had suffered, but no further action was taken for several years, until he received a phone call ‘out of the blue’ from the police in his old home area.
Following disclosures from other people, the police were investigating the man that he worked for when he was younger. Eventually this man was prosecuted for abusing multiple children and young people. He received a prison sentence.
Gresham was disappointed by the lack of support during the trial and he adds that the victims and survivors weren’t kept separate from the perpetrator.
He has suffered with his mental health and has self-harmed. He has had difficulty with relationships, but now has a supportive partner.
Gresham feels very strongly that more support should be given to young people when they leave the care system, and to survivors of sexual abuse, particularly when they are going through the court process.