My evil uncle stole my virginity when I was 9 years old and made me think it was normal
WHEN she was sent to live with relatives at the age of seven, Courtney could never have anticipated the horrors that awaited her.
After years of abuse, she was raped in a cemetery by her own uncle Robert Wiles, now 50.
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Wiles has been imprisoned for 20 years, and now Courtney bravely gives up her anonymity to speak exclusively to Fabulous about the “house of horrors” she lived in as a child.
Courtney, now 27, from Peterborough, says: “After 20 years, the dark cloud that hovered over me has finally lifted.
“I’m proud of myself for putting my monster in jail so he can’t hurt another child.
“I want to urge others that it is never too late to get justice for yourself.”
In 2004, at the age of seven, Courtney moved from her hometown of Leicester to Peterborough under the care of her uncle Wiles.
Courtney, a warehouse worker, says: “My parents could no longer care for me and gave him custody.
‘Uncle Robert was my mother’s brother and he lived with his mother-in-law.
“Robert’s partner and her mother, Pauline Carr, 72, were all lovely at first. They told me that my mother would be back in a few years.
“But I felt abandoned and filled with fear because I thought it would be forever.”
Carr’s home was a three-bedroom house in Peterborough, and they also lived with Wiles and his partner’s baby.
At first, Courtney was treated well, with Carr buying her magazine subscriptions.
But the following year, in the summer of 2005, Courtney woke up in the middle of the night to Wiles abusing her.
She says: “He had his hand in my pajamas. Afterwards I was confused and wondered if this was what uncles did.
“I thought it was normal and didn’t tell anyone.
How to report a sexual assault
“Months later, on my 8th birthday, eight teeth were pulled. I came back from the dentist under anesthesia.
“My uncle sat on the couch, barely conscious, and hurt me with his fingers.
“Then he warned me that it was our secret, and that if I told anyone I would be put under surveillance.”
Terrified, Courtney lived in silence, afraid of being torn from more family members.
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Evil Wiles preyed on her at every opportunity and abused her all over the house.
In 2006, Wiles raped Courtney on his and his partner’s bed while the family was away.
Courtney says: ‘I burst into tears in pain when he took my virginity at the age of nine.
The abuse haunted me so much that I couldn’t bear to be close to a man
Courtney Thompson
“Later that year, I finally moved into a new house with my mother.”
But Wiles continued to visit Courtney in their new home.
Courtney says, “When no one was home, he would force himself on me in the house.
“He always told me he loved me and that what we had was special. I started to believe we were in a relationship.
“He showered me with gifts and money that I normally never received.”
‘I don’t want him to do this anymore’
In 2007, when Courtney was ten, the deranged Wiles led her to a cemetery.
Courtney says, “Uncle Robert pretended to take me shopping. But he took me to a cemetery nearby.
“He raped me behind a hut, just meters from the gravestones of dead people.
I thought I would die knowing the secret of what happened in that cemetery, and all the abuse that preceded it
Courtney Thompson
“By then the abuse was happening so often that it all became normal to me.
“When I was 11, I finally tried to commit suicide and left a note saying, ‘I don’t want him to do this anymore.’
“Yet no one noticed anything. The abuse finally ended when I got my period and I think he got scared.
‘The abuse haunted me’
Life went on and over the years Courtney also found a partner.
Courtney says, “Coming to terms with it was slowly killing me. I felt dead inside.
“I developed anxiety and deep, debilitating mental problems.
‘The abuse haunted me so much that I couldn’t bear to be close to a man.
“I turned to women instead, but even then I couldn’t bury the abuse in any of my relationships.
“I didn’t like being touched and had difficulty with intimacy.
“Then I discovered that my uterus was crooked as a result of the abuse, which meant I couldn’t have children.
“Still, I thought I would die with the secret of what happened in that cemetery, and all the abuse that preceded it.”
‘I’m relieved our monsters are in jail’
But when small children in the family began visiting Wiles over the years, Courtney became terrified.
In December 2018, she reported to the police to report historical child abuse.
In March 2024, Robert Wiles, now 50, of Orton Goldhay, Peterborough, was found guilty of two charges of assaulting a child by touching, three charges of assaulting a child by penetration and five charges of raping a child by Courtney.
That day he was jailed for 20 years at Peterborough Crown Court.
Courtney says: “In court, my new partner, Amy and my family all listened to every horrific detail, sobbing.
“While I still mourn the childhood I didn’t have, the love I didn’t get, and the apologies I never got, I’m relieved that our monsters are in prison.
“To all other survivors: call a hotline, or contact a loved one, and free yourself like I did.
“My only regret is that I didn’t do it sooner.”
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