A WOMAN raped by her uncle and her ex-husband has vowed to “get on with the rest of her life” after the pair were sentences for separate offences against her.

Tina Roper has waived her right to anonymity in a bid to encourage other victims of rape to come forward.

Ms Roper, 56, who lives in Brighton, said: “I feel that if I can help just one person by speaking out like this then going public will have been worth it.

“This has been something that I’ve lived with for so many years. I’m just so relieved the court cases are over and I have been believed.

“I can now get on with the rest of my life.”

Ms Roper’s 60-year-old ex-husband received eight years and two months in prison, and her 81-year-old uncle was given an 18 month probation order.

Retired Michael Sicklemore, of Cliff Gardens, Telscombe Cliffs, Peacehaven, was sentenced at Lewes Crown Court on March 6 after being found guilty of raping Ms Roper several times, and of causing her grievous bodily harm.

The incidents all happened in Brighton over nearly 20 years up to 1997.

Ms Roper’s uncle Robert Parr, of Honeysuckle Drive, Bognor, was sentenced at the same court on March 26, after being found guilty of raping her in Surrey in 1973.

Detective Sergeant Joel Brooks said: “This brave woman has been through terrible ordeals at the hands of two men who she had trusted at the heart of her own family.

“It all came to light nearly three years ago when we were interviewing her purely as a potential witness about a completely unrelated matter, and she suddenly began to volunteer information that she had clearly been bottling-up for many years.

“We were able to help her to access specialist support and counselling, and with her co-operation and willingness to give evidence in court, we were eventually able to help her achieve a measure of justice even after all this time.

“This is another case that sends a clear message about the way in which we will take all such allegations seriously and investigate wherever possible.”

Fabia Bates, director of the Survivors Network, a Brighton-based group who specialise in supporting survivors of sexual violence and abuse, said: “We know how difficult it can be for people to speak out, to anyone, following experience of sexual violence whenever it has happened, and whatever the circumstances.

"Our aim is to ensure people are able to access support whether they chose to report to the police or not.”

"I HAD YEARS OF MY LIFE RUINED"

A SECRET never ever goes away. In the end you have to talk about it. I had years of my life ruined because of secrets but now that everything is out in the open I feel so much more positive.

So says Ms Roper, who spoke to The Argus after waiving her right to anonymity following the sentencing of her ex-husband and uncle for sexual offences against her.

She took the brave decision in a bid to help other women who have been victims of sexual violence.

Ms Roper, from Brighton, spent almost 20 years as a victim at the hands of her ex-husband Michael Sicklemore and before then had suffered at the hands of her uncle Robert Parr.

However she carried the burden in silence because she felt there was nobody to help.

She said: “I used to think, ‘Who would believe me? Who would believe this had happened and was still happening?’ I felt people would laugh in my face.

“My ex-husband knew my secrets and what happened with my uncle but he used them against me. He used to say nobody would believe me. It felt like it was my fault.

“I became isolated from my family. I felt there was nowhere to turn.”

Ms Roper eventually broke down when being interviewed by police as a potential witness for an unrelated incident almost three years ago and her terrible story came pouring out.

She was offered specialist support and counselling from Sussex Police and the Brighton-based Survivors Network, who helped her every step of the way throughout the legal process.

Ms Roper said: “Joel Brooks dealt with me from the start and I think having one person to deal with me made the process a bit easier. He treated myself and my children with such respect that we felt at ease to talk about very hard things in our lives.

“Survivors Network is an excellent service through whom I met Helen, one of their independent sexual violence advisors, who has supported me and arranged counselling to help me through a difficult time.

“This has had such a tremendous impact on my life. I’ve managed to keep working full time over the last three years but I am very happy and relieved that I was believed and justice was done not once, but twice.

“I feel free now. I have been able to speak out in court and tell my story. I feel so much better because I was believed and I feel so much safer because my husband is in prison.

“It all feels so surreal now. My life has been on hold for far too long. After all these years I now feel able to move on. I’m feeling fine.

“My message to other victims is that I am willing to use my name to show I am an ordinary person who got justice and the same can happen to you.

“I just feel that if I can help just one person by speaking out like this then going public will have been worth it. There is always help out there and people do not need to suffer in silence.”

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