Kaitlin pictured aged nine - Heart pounding, Kaitlin Womack stared in shock at a Facebook post on her phone. In that moment, a horrifying memory from her childhood came flooding back. It was 2016, and her former neighbour, Kert Birtwistle, 29, had been convicted of child sexual offences. Seeing his face on her screen knocked Kaitlin, 25, for six. Because what nobody knew was that she’d been harbouring an awful secret since the age of nine. Birtwistle had subjected Kaitlin to three sickening sexual assaults while she played at his house as a child, including touching her privates under her swimming costume. Three years later, in 2019, Kaitlin, from Preston, reported Birtwistle to the police. When she did, six other victims also bravely came forward. In October 2024, Birtwistle, from Blackpool, was convicted of 14 charges, including rape and sexual assault. He was jailed for 12 years at Preston Crown Court. His brother, Jordan Wright, 28, also pleaded guilty to 18 sexual offences and was jailed for over 16 years. Now, Kaitlin is courageously waiving her right to anonymity to help encourage other survivors to report their abusers to the police.
A quiet Himalayan mountain village springs to life for a colourful Buddhist festival designed to expel evil spirits and bring happiness .
A SHOCKING cartoon of a black man carrying bags saying‘’zippadydoohdah zip-up immigrant bags’ has appeared in a shop window and is being investigated by police .
SWIMMING in unison, millions of silverside fish dwarf the divers .
AN ADORABLE one-eyed kitten has been dubbed the 'pirate cat' because of his pirate-like facial expressions .
TUGGING at his exhausted mum's ears, a beautiful baby orangutan refuses to settle for a nap as he begins a game of peek-a-boo .
Balanced on one leg, a frog assumes the crane kick martial arts stance made famous in the movie The Karate Kid .
The gunslingers are long gone and tumbleweeds have taken over at this abandoned American Wild West Theme Park in Cornwall .
Leaping out of the ocean, a group of gentoo penguins fly through the air before landing safely on an iceberg .
CAMPED out in the middle of a forest, these unusual hut hotels take you back to basics .
A hungry hippo is seconds away from catching a bird in its gigantic jaws .
Jostling their quills into the noses of some unlucky cubs, this is the moment two feisty porcupines ALMOST defeat a pride of seven lions .
A northern potoo shows it is a master of disguise as it perches on a tree stump and blends into the bark .