Mark DentenNorth East and Cumbria correspondent
Getty ImagesThis article contains details some people may find distressing.
“He waited to a point where I’d consumed alcohol and I was completely vulnerable – and that was the first time that he did something.”
Sarah was 14 when she was groomed, sexually assaulted and raped by a man she met in a park in Gateshead.
He was part of a grooming gang who targeted vulnerable children in Saltwell Park, plying them with drink and drugs before abusing them between 2015 and 2019.
The five men were found guilty of multiple offences against six girls, and jailed at Newcastle Crown Court on Friday.
Sarah, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, is now in her 20s and spoke to the about her ordeal.
Well-dressed, and speaking quietly but clearly, she explained how she was targeted as a teenager.
The victims were plied with drink and drugs before being abused.
Sarah says she met her abuser when she was 14, but after he initially appeared friendly, he changed dramatically.
He raped and sexually assaulted her and on one occasion tried to strangle her.
“I would never know what he would do next,” she said.
“I was in Saltwell Park in the middle of the day where people were around – no-one did anything to help me.”
Sarah said she wishes she had reported her abuse sooner.
“I felt sick, I felt guilt.
“I felt a little bit to blame because I thought if I’d done something at the time, would he have been able to do it to anyone else?”
Northumbria Police
Northumbria PoliceEventually Sarah told an NHS worker and the police what had happened.
“Just reaching out and telling someone, despite how hard it is, is always worth it because you deserve to be heard,” she said.
“That person deserves to be held accountable for what they’ve done.”
Sarah is now trying to rebuild her life
“I never want what happened to me to stop me from having the kind of future that I want to have.
“I want to be able to settle down and have a family.
“But I do think it will never go away and it will always stay with me what happened.”
The four Romanian men and one Albanian were found guilty of multiple offences against six girls in October.
On Friday, they were jailed for terms ranging between 18 months and 14 years.
Speaking after they were sentenced, the North East Crown Prosecution Service said they “preyed on the vulnerabilities of the victims for their own sexual gratification and have shown no remorse for their actions.”
