A woman who was sexually abused by her much older brother as a child has spoken of her pain after their mum chose to stand by him. Shavoughne Firth, now 27, bravely waived her legal right to anonymity to tell the story of how she was sexually assaulted from the age of just five by her brother Kieran, who is 11 years older than her. She said the abuse made her feel "alienated, lost and not human". Shavoughne said: "I'm grieving for that little girl that had to go through all that but I'm also grieving for the adult version of myself who doesn't have a mother now.".
She wants to raise awareness around sexual abuse within families, a reality which often goes unreported as the courts seek to protect the identity of the victims, but also leads to the abuser being shrouded in secrecy. Kieran Firth, now 37, was sentenced to eight years in prison earlier this month.
Firth, of St Aubyns in Goldsithney, near Penzance, appeared at Exeter Crown Court on Wednesday, December 4, for sentencing. He denied the offences but was found guilty on five counts of sexual offences against a child, including two counts of indecent assault, two of assault by penetration and one of sexual assault following a trial earlier this year.
The court heard how Firth was 16 when the abuse began and continued until he was aged 22. Shavoughne was aged just 5 to 12 during the offences. She said it has had a "deep and lasting impact" on her existence. Shavoughne, who left the family home near Penzance for the first time aged 15 and then permanently at age 18 while heavily pregnant, read an emotive statement aloud to the courtroom and to her abuser ahead of the judge's verdict.
