My sick dad abused me every time I walked past his room, my pets were my only comfort then they were mysteriously killed
My sick dad abused me every time I walked past his room, my pets were my only comfort then they were mysteriously killed
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HOLDING her breath Trish Hinde creeps quietly past her father’s bedroom. Pressing herself against the wall, the then six-year-old pretended to be a butterfly, or a ladybird, melting into the pattern on the wallpaper. For if her father heard her footsteps, or even sensed her breathing, she would be ordered into his room for an almost daily ritual of sickening sexual abuse.
![[Woman with red hair smiling in a forest.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/c90b1145-e559-4a96-97fb-94cbd12fabec.jpg?strip=all&w=510)
Gerard King was jailed three years ago for raping and sexually abusing Trish, now 37, throughout her childhood. And now the brave mum of four has written a book; ‘Not My Fault’ which tells the story of her journey through horrific trauma, to the happiness and stability she enjoys today.
![[Photo of a young girl sitting outdoors holding a pink drink.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/sick-dad-abused-every-time-966008346.jpg?strip=all&w=634)
Trish, from Manchester, says: “My father would always tell me the abuse wasn’t his fault, that he was simply made that way. “So I thought it must be my fault, instead. I grew up believing that I was responsible. “Now at last I understand none of this was my fault and the shame all belongs to him.
![[Mugshot of a middle-aged man.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/sick-dad-abused-every-time-966008223.jpg?strip=all&w=768)
“I am so proud that I’ve broken the cycle, and my children will grow up in a safe and loving home.”. The abuse began when Trish was just six years old, with King calling her into his bedroom as she made her way downstairs. She says: “I had no idea what the abuse was, but I just knew I hated it.
![[Close-up selfie of a couple; a man is kissing a woman on the cheek.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/sick-dad-abused-every-time-966008215.jpg?strip=all&w=576)
“Afterwards, he would fall asleep with his arm clamped over me and I had to wriggle out, without waking him. “Even to this day, I can’t bear to have an arm over me, even from my own husband. I feel trapped.”. When Trish was seven, her father kept her off school and raped her in the living room.
![[Photo of a young girl being hugged.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/a0b1baf0-4a58-416f-b7b0-a4acabd219b3.jpg?strip=all&w=354)
