My childhood Christmases were stolen aged 8 by my family’s sick lodger – I won’t forget the smell of cigarettes on him
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WHEN Kelly Abraham thinks back to the Christmases she had as a child, she doesn't recall the excitement of waking up to gifts under the tree or happy times spent with loved ones. All she can remember is the stench of smoke on her abuser’s clothes. She was eight when she was was repeatedly targeted by Charles Chapple, 46, a family friend who was renting the spare room in her home and crept into her bedroom night after night.
![[Kelly Abraham was abused by her family's lodger at the age of eight]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/5730d30e-cb77-4c1f-97df-b7d5b90117f4.jpg?strip=all&w=637)
Kelly, 44, who has waived her anonymity, says: “The abuse has dominated my entire life. Chapple would creep into my room and smack me on the back of the head to make me do what he wanted. “I can still hear his voice, still smell the stale smoke on his clothes.
![[The abuse stayed with her as she grew up and she began wetting the bed]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/5fa5daf8-c68a-4270-a0b3-c5aa6b0d8437.jpg?strip=all&w=566)
“That first Christmas after it ended I don’t remember a thing afterwards. I don’t remember any gifts. I don’t remember Christmas Day. “Since then, Christmas has always been a sad time for me, a reminder of what he stole from me. Every Christmas, I’m reminded of what I went through.".
![[She says that speaking out about the abuse has given her closure]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/kelly-abraham-credit-focus-features-958091533.jpg?strip=all&w=640)
This is the first time in four decades that Kelly has spoken openly about what happened during her childhood. She hopes that reaching out to other survivors will bring her the closure she needs and encourage them to get the help they need. “By speaking out, I want to banish that ghost and get rid of those memories, once and for all. This Christmas, I want to feel proud of myself for fighting back,” she says.
![[Kelly came clean about her abuse to her parents about her suffering at the hands of Chapple]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/b1db7912-3af3-4ae8-a0c6-4c32fb1c464d.jpg?strip=all&w=314)
