Mum’s heartache after discovering her daughter had been sexually abused at age 10


A mum has shared her agonising heartache after discovering her daughter had been abused when she was just 10 years old.
Since reporting the matter to the police in February 2017, it has been a long wait for justice after her attacker denied his guilt.
But, following a four-day trial at Chester Crown Court, Vance Worrall, of Fallowfield, Runcorn, was jailed for 12 months on October 25 after being convicted by a jury of two counts of sexual assault on a girl under 16.
The victim’s mum, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said: “She told me what had happened as she couldn’t keep it to herself anymore.
“She was 10 when it happened.
“The older she got she realised she wanted to make sure this didn’t happen to anyone else.
“I phoned the police straightaway – as a parent it’s your worst nightmare.”
But the victim had to relive what had happened as Worrall, 56, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
She added: “I had to get up and walk out of the court hearing as it is difficult to hear those details over again. He didn’t show any emotion.
“I kept thinking not only have you done this to my daughter, but you are putting us through this now too.”
But, after hearing the evidence, the jury unanimously found him guilty of the charges.
“I was a bag of emotions,” she said.
“When the foreman was asked to read out the verdict it felt like an eternity for the words to come out of his mouth.
“It was a relief but I’d always believed my daughter.”
Now that Worrall is behind bars, the mum is determined to help her daughter come to terms with what has happened.
She said: “It wasn’t the sentence that mattered. It wouldn’t matter if it was 10 years or five years as it would never be long enough.
“But getting the guilty verdict is what we wanted more than anything.
“He had choice but she didn’t. She now has to live with this for the rest of her life.”