A woman who was sexually touched by a man multiple times since the age of 10 said it was “cathartic” to finally come to terms with what happened.

William Kane, 81, from Watford, was convicted of three charges of indecent assault on an underaged girl aged under 14 this month (October 1).

It is understood that the victim was sexually touched on different occasions between 1978 and the early 1980s.

But the acts never came to public attention until the victim, now aged 53, was assisted by others in making police aware.

According to the victim, Kane was one of her neighbours, and the first inappropriate sexual touch happened when she was 10 and playing with other children.

“As a kid you don’t think anything of it,” she recalled, explaining that she “brushed it off” at the time.

However between the age of 10 and 13, there were other moments where it became clear to her what was happening.

“I was scared to death,” she said, explaining that she never told anybody until her mid-to-late twenties during an argument with her mother.

It was blurted out to her mum, who the victim feels she had a bad relationship with, and her mother replied “why did you let him do it?”

The victim said: “As a kid you grow up thinking it’s your fault, you’ve done something to make this happen and then in my mid-to-late twenties, my mother is reinforcing that - and you think I must’ve done something wrong.”

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With the doubt implanted in her head, the victim remained quiet until near the early 90s, when she was working at an elderly care home and was pinned down by a drunk person.

After panicking and clearly freaking out, she revealed to a friend why this event triggered her as it brought back memories of her childhood.

She said: “It sounds strange, but you live with it day to day. It’s not constantly in your head but it is always there. It’s something you don’t really get rid of.”

This proved to be true when she came across Kane in a local pub as an adult, and “all of those feelings came back again”.

“Even as an adult it throws you back to being a kid again,” she said.

But throughout her life the victim felt that she had never fully come to terms with what happened and felt it was time to overcome it.

She explained that there were various other hardships in her life that she overcame, but that the sexual assault was the “one dirty little secret” never dealt with.

 

WIlliam Kane will be sentenced on November 10

WIlliam Kane will be sentenced on November 10

 

After contacting Hertfordshire County Council, the case was referred to police on her behalf while she felt no one would be interested in her story that happened 40 years ago.

She said: “It was a bit cathartic really, police were listening to this and they are interested in listening and taking it seriously.”

Naturally she was initially petrified over the idea of going to court – but praises the “fantastic” witness support staff linked to Citizen’s Advice who helped her ease into he process and remain calm and composed.

She said: “It’s really hard to put into words to say how relieving it was to stand there in front of him.”

“He could see me, his family could see me, and I was just able to verbalise all of these feelings that had been kept in for 40 years.

“The fact that he’s got to stand there and listen to what I have to say as an adult, that was closure enough. Even if he had a not guilty, he knows what he did and I know what he did.

“In my mind that was good enough, somebody was listening and he had to hear from me how it had affected my life. The fact that we got a guilty was a bonus.”

 

The victim said that despite recent movements, she never made the connection that she was in a similar situation to people seen in other media reports

The victim said that despite recent movements, she never made the connection that she was in a similar situation to people seen in other media reports

 

The victim drove past Kane’s house and visited her childhood playground following the conviction – after avoiding the area for nearly 40 years.

It was then that she felt a sense of closure and that she can “put it in a box and put a lid on it”.

Even when Jimmy Savile’s cases of abuse came to light, or during the entire #MeToo movement – the victim never made the connection that she was alike these victims and separated herself to them.

But now the victim is urging for other people in similar situations of historic abuse to come forward.

She said: “I would urge anybody in my situation, no matter how long ago it is, to actually go through the process that I’ve been through and just put some closure to it all.

“Although it (the process) is long-winded, it’s worth every minute to get that closure. And the support all the way throughout the entire process are there for you, and they don’t let you feel like you’re on your own.”

Kane is due to appear at St Albans Crown Court on November 10 for sentencing.