Woman raped by dad and brother will get justice with as soon as forgotten piece of proof

A woman who was raped by her father and brother saw justice 50 years on – thanks to one piece of forgotten evidence.

Sarah Sidebottom found the courage to open up about the sickening abuse at the hands of the family members who were supposed to protect her. Her earliest memory was at just three-and-a-half-years-old when she remembers being plucked from her bed and put into her father, Arthur’s.

“I had a clear memory of a big meaty hand clamped over my mouth to stifle my screams. Then my father raped me,” Sarah from Somerset revealed in her new book.

By the time she was six, the attacks became more frequent, the Mirror reports.

“Every time my mother was out, he took the opportunity to swoop. We had horses, in stables adjoining our home, and sometimes he’d say: ‘Come and help me feed the horses, Sarah.’ In the stables, he’d sexually assault me,” she said.

“Sometimes, he used objects on me, once it was part of the handle of a spade. I was just a little girl, and I was in agony. I longed to confide in someone, but after the abuse, Dad always said: ‘If you tell anyone, I will shoot you. And I will shoot your mum. Do you understand?’

“Wide-eyed and terrified, I nodded. I had seen his guns, usually kept in the garage but occasionally brought into the house. I believed he was capable of it.”

The family moved around a lot so Sarah struggled to make lasting friendships, however she relished the time spent with her grandmother as temporary respite.

When she was 10, she begged her dad to kill her and even thought about killing herself.

“There was a small spark of survival there, even at 10. And I knew then that I would never give up,” she said.

But it would be the last time she stood up to him and from then on, she did as he said.

When her parents eventually separated, Sarah thought it would be over. But then her brother Stephen barged into her room one day and raped her when she was 17.

“I couldn’t believe it had happened again. It felt worse almost, to have escaped the abuse from my father and then face this. I felt like I’d been smashed to pieces, all over again,” she said.

When Sarah left home, she was too ashamed to speak of her horrifying secret and later went on to marry and have children. But her relationship broke down as she struggled with intimacy and was plagued by memories and flashbacks of the attacks.

But in 2009, she met her partner, Darren who became the first man she ever trusted.

She confided in him about the abuse and he persuaded her to speak to the police.

Sarah recalled: “As part of the investigation, I was shown a hospital letter, which had been added to my medical files on 25 April 1973.

“As I read the words, my blood ran cold. ‘Your patient was admitted under the surgeons having fallen downstairs and landed on a go-cart handle, which tore her perineum.’

“With tears blurring my eyes, I read on. The letter explained I’d had extensive surgery to repair horrifically severe tearing down below – it directly followed the rape, aged three and a half. I had needed a pint of blood. I was appalled.

“Things were different in the 70s, I knew that. But I couldn’t believe no one had challenged my father’s account of my injuries. The doctors believed his lie. I had no memory of the surgery and no idea the letter even existed – until now.”

Sarah added: “This is vital for the prosecution,” the police told me. I was shell-shocked. I felt angry and confused. I wanted to speak to my mum, for an explanation, but the police said I wasn’t allowed to discuss the letter in case it jeopardised the court case.

“In 2021, my mum passed away so I never had a chance to ask her about the letter. I felt cheated. I had so many questions. I had to accept I’d never get the answers I wanted.”

The case went to trial and her dad, Arthur William Bowditch, and her brother, Arthur Stephen Bowditch, were jailed in 2022 for a total of 32 years.

Sarah was left with PTSD and emotionally unstable personality disorder. But it made her determined to help others.

She now sits on forums with the police and the Crown Prosecution Service, advising on how they can help victims.

The book about Sarah’s life, named The Letter, is now available to buy here.

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