Legal News

The victim of a sex attack who wrote a letter to her attacker has said the UK has one of the lowest rates of reporting for sex crimes because of the guilt and shame victims feel.

Oxford University student Ione Wells, 20, was sexually assaulted as she walked home in Camden, north London after visiting friends in Brixton during the Easter holidays. She was assaulted just after midnight on the street where she had lived for several years.

The day after the assault she spent 15 minutes writing a letter to her attacker as a way of ordering the emotions she was feeling, she says.

“When I wrote the letter, I was feeling incredibly wavering emotions, from being upset to feeling angry and that this feels so unjust,” she told the Evening Standard newspaper.

Ms Wells said she was not aware of being followed until seconds before the attack. The man ran away when her neighbours came out of their homes after hearing her screaming during the vicious sexual assault.

Her neighbours were able to give police a description of the man, which helped police identify him from CCTV footage as he followed another woman, whom he did not get the chance to attack.

Her attacker – who is aged 17 and cannot be named for legal reasons – pleaded guilty to sexual assault at Highbury Magistrates’ Court and will be sentenced on 6 May.

Ms Wells has launched a campaign called #NotGuilty to encourage other survivors of sexual assaults to report incidents to the police and not be ashamed of what has happened to them.

“As my case has proved, a one-off incident could happen anywhere,” said Ms Wells. “I walk along that road all the time.

“There is nothing that a victim has done wrong in walking home at night.”

Duncan Lewis Personal Injury Solicitors – No win no fee Sexual and Physical Abuse Claims

Duncan Lewis personal injury solicitors can advise victims of sexual and physical abuse or sexual assault on how to make a no win no fee claim for compensation.

Claims relating to physical and sexual assaults can be made within three years of the attack.

Compensation can be claimed from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme once a police report has been made and an investigation has taken place.

Claims can also be made against an attacker in the civil courts once a conviction has been obtained.

Duncan Lewis can also advise on historic cases of sexual and physical assault.

For expert legal advice on no win no fee Physical and Sexual Abuse claims, call Duncan Lewis personal injury solicitors on 020 7923 4020.