Riley thinks better communication between police forces could stop abusers ‘slipping through the net’
All names and identifying details have been changed.
Participants have given us permission to share their experiences.
Riley was sexually abused by his mother’s partner.
When the police investigated this man, they found he had previously abused children from another relationship.
Riley thinks he was about four years old when his mother’s boyfriend Trevor first sexually abused him. He remembers the experience vividly.
He was alone with Trevor – he thinks his mother was in hospital – and he had been put in the bath. Trevor came back into the bathroom naked and forced his erect penis into Riley’s mouth. Riley recalls his shock and horror, and that he was very sick.
Trevor left Riley crying hysterically in the bath, covered in his own vomit. The abuser returned, hit Riley across the head, then dried him off and took him to the bedroom. He then abused him in the same way again.
Riley says he was beside himself with distress and fear, and Trevor became very angry. He left Riley to dress himself, then took him and left him with a relative.
He doesn’t think that Trevor sexually abused him again, but he knows he was violent towards him for years after.
Riley remembers telling his mum what Trevor had done – he thinks he was about five or six when he spoke to her. She went to the GP and the police became involved. He remembers being questioned and how hard it was for him to talk about it, especially to strangers.
Following the investigation, Riley was placed for a time with foster carers. He remembers how much he hated this.
Later he learned that the case against Trevor did not proceed because his mum did not give a statement. Riley was returned to her care, although she was still with Trevor, and they moved to another part of the country. Trevor was violent towards his mother, and eventually she left him.
Riley also now knows that when the police investigated Trevor, they found he had abused his other children from a previous relationship and had a significant history of violence.
Riley went on to go to university and in the course of his professional career he learned that communication between different police forces can be ‘patchy’.
He would like to see this addressed, along with improved monitoring of abusers, so they can’t hide by moving around. He finds it frustrating that Trevor has never been brought to justice.
Riley says that he feels it is worth coming forward to the Truth Project to highlight the shortcomings in safeguarding systems he has seen.