Daughter told rapist dad may be released early after serving less than a third of sentence
It took Carol Higgins 35 years to get justice after she was raped repeatedly by her own dad, but Labour’s early release scheme has warned her he may be released after serving just a quarter of his sentence.
It took Carol Higgins 35 years to get justice after she was raped repeatedly by her own dad, but Labour’s early release scheme has warned her he may be released after serving just a quarter of his sentence.
The mum-of-two managed to secure a conviction against her abuser, Elliot Appleyard in 2019, after fighting with the police and courts for justice.
She was raped repeatedly from the ages of 13 to 16 in the 1980s by her dad who tried to convince her it was ‘normal for dad and daughter to live as man and wife’.
In 2019, after Carol first went to police in 1985, Appleyard was jailed for 20 years at Leeds Crown Court.
But a few days ago, Carol received a letter saying her abuser may be released in September after serving just seven years.
She told Metro: ‘Reading that letter just overwhelmed me, I couldn’t stop shaking. It has made me feel how he made me feel for years – completely worthless.’
Carol’s childhood at the hands of her dad was violent, with him owning shotguns and threatening to shoot her mother.
In 2017, when the CPS said they were going to prosecute him after years of back-and-forth, he saw Carol at a car boot sale in West Yorkshire and launched a vicious verbal attack.
Carol said: ‘He got right in my face and started shouting he will ‘f***ing have me. He has nothing left to lose, what if he kills me when he gets out? My children are terrified, saying they are worried he will come over with guns.’
On November 25, 2024 Metro launched This Is Not Right, a campaign to address the relentless epidemic of violence against women.
With the help of our partners at Women's Aid, This Is Not Right aims to shine a light on the sheer scale of this national emergency.
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