Author Put Dad in Prison for Child Abuse, But Still Loves Him
A British author who says she was sexually abused by her father since age 8 has written a book about the experience—and the strong emotional bond she still has with both of her parents, as an adult, despite their failure to protect her as she was growing up.
After she left home and married at a young age, her father surprised her by telephoning and saying that she shouldn’t have to take the blame for what he did, the author says. (Until that time, when she told others, including her mother, what he had done, she was accused of lying—and had repeatedly recanted, so that everyone could continue to live at home.) After she armed herself with recording equipment and re-created the conversation in which he admitted his guilt, he was prosecuted and imprisoned, reports the London Times.
“I hoped my mother would understand that I needed to safeguard my children and that she would stick by me, but that didn’t materialize—she didn’t watch the court hearing, and when my father is released, he’ll go back to her: nothing has changed,” the newspaper recounts in its version of the author’s story. “I have no contact with her, and although that is my choice, it does hurt. You can’t switch off love for your parents, and I still love both of them.”
