'My dad raped me because he couldn't afford a prostitute': Sexually abused as a teenager, how one brave woman finally got her father jailed 30 years on
- Sylvia Prescott, of Sunderland, was tormented by her father Oliver Garside
- When she was a teen, he would drag her around the house by her hair
- Abuse then became sexual
- She was too afraid to tell anyone what was happening
- Didn't have courage to reveal her ordeal until decades later
- Father has now been jailed for the abuse
- His defence in court was he raped her as he 'couldn't afford a prostitute'
- Sylvia, now a married mother-of-three, wishes she had spoken out earlier
A woman whose father raped her because he 'couldn't afford a prostitute' has finally spoken out about her ordeal to encourage other victims to prosecute their abusers.
Sylvia Prescott, from Sunderland, was tormented by her parent Oliver Garside while she was a teenager but kept the abuse secret for nearly 30 years.
The 47-year-old couldn't bring herself to go to the police while her grandmother was still alive for fear that the details of the case would upset her
.
Brave: Sylvia Prescott has spoken out about her ordeal at the hands of her father in the hope it will give other victims the courage to prosecute their abusers
But when she died in 2012, Sylvia knew it was time to stand up to her bullying father, 68.
He was jailed for eight years in May last year and Sylvia feels like a weight has been lifted.
Now married with three sons aged 30, 29 and 25, she wishes she had gone to the police sooner.She hopes her story will help other women to find the strength to prosecute their abusers, even if they are family members.
Sylvia said: 'I was terrified that I wouldn't be believed. The abuse happened such a long time ago and it took all the strength I had to go to the police, but in the end I'm so glad I did.
'The prosecution were able to build a strong case against my dad and he pleaded guilty to the abuse meaning I didn't have to go through the trauma of a trial.
Decades of misery: Sylvia Prescott was raped by her father Oliver Garside, right, while she was a teenager but kept the abuse secret for nearly 30 years. He has now been jailed
'It was during the sentencing that the judge said my dad's excuse for the abuse was that he couldn't afford a prostitute. I was sicked.
'What kind of defence was that? However, I finally feel free to live my life without him hovering over me and I should have done it sooner.
I didn't want anyone to know, it ate me up and I was very very depressed, I even tried to kill myself
'I am so thankful for the support of my children and my husband, I don't know where I would be without them.'
Sylvia's nightmare began with non-sexual violence. Garside would drag the teenager around the house by her hair, demanding she clean floors and do dishes.
She said: 'I was afraid of my father. He and my mum split when I was one and I lived with my grandmother until I was 11, then all of a sudden he wanted me to come and live with him.
'The first time he abused me I knew I had to go along with it, but I never imagined how much worse it would get.'
Sylvia's husband Paul, 52, had no idea about the abuse and didn't find out until Sylvia decided to go to the police.
She said: 'I didn't want anyone to know, it ate me up and I was very very depressed, I even tried to kill myself, I had to have my stomach pumped because I took an overdose two years ago.
'Everything was getting too much but I didn't feel comfortable telling anyone while my gran was still alive, it would have killed her to know what went on.'
Moving on: The 47-year-old feels like a weight has been lifted now her father has been brought to justice
Sylvia kept her ordeal to herself for almost three decades, but her father was convicted of the historic abuse after pleading guilty to two charges of rape and one of indecent assault last year.
At Newcastle Crown Court the judge told him: 'You told the author of the pre-sentence report you would rather have paid a prostitute but you did not have the money to do so. Your behaviour has cast a shadow over her life to date.
'Even today she has to live with what happened so long ago.'
Sylvia said: 'I'm so relieved that he's in jail now and I can breathe again
