\n Bailey Harding was 17 when the offending began and used the fact he was older and stronger to control the girl, who knew him.\n<\/p>\n
\n The victim, now an adult, says she still fears encountering Harding in public and regularly changes her appearance in case he recognises her.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI often feel as if I can see him in big crowds or in dark places,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n
\n She described how she once saw Harding as her protector before realising the reality of their relationship.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI felt he was my saviour but ultimately he was my tormentor,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI haven\u2019t slept peacefully in two and half years.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Harding, 21, of Bookham, was jailed for four years and six months at Chichester Crown Court on Friday (September 25).\n<\/p>\n
\n He was convicted following a trial in July of rape, three counts of engaging in penetrative sexual activity with a girl aged 13 to 15, intentional strangulation, threatening a person with an offensive weapon in a private place, and controlling and coercive behaviour.\n<\/p>\n
\n The victim contacted police in January 2024 and disclosed the abuse, including rape, sexual assault, strangulation and threats at knifepoint.\n<\/p>\n
\n Harding was arrested, and two large zombie-style knives were found and seized during a search of his room.\n<\/p>\n
\n He denied the allegations in interview, claiming the victim was making malicious allegations against him.\n<\/p>\n
\n He was also given a seven-year restraining order and a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.\n<\/p>\n
\n Investigating officer DC Helen Cridge praised the victim for her courage in coming forward while she was still a child.\n<\/p>\n
\n She said: \u201cI would like to recognise the victim\u2019s remarkable courage in coming forward while she was still an extremely vulnerable child.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cHer strength and determination have been inspiring, and her actions have played a vital role in securing this result.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI hope her bravery gives others experiencing abuse the confidence to come forward, knowing that they will be listened to and that they are not alone.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n The victim urged others experiencing abuse not to let their abusers silence them.\n<\/p>\n
\n She said: \u201cI know how hard it can be to speak about something that has happened to you, especially when that person has made you feel like you should stay quiet.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cBut please don\u2019t be afraid to speak out.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cDon\u2019t let anyone make you feel like your voice doesn\u2019t matter, and don\u2019t let anyone take it away from you.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bailey Harding was 17 when the offending began and used the fact he was older and stronger to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":929127,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194299],"tags":[49,48,87674],"class_list":["post-929126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-surrey","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-surrey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/929126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=929126"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/929126\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/929127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=929126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=929126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=929126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}