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 GLOWING range of greens and blues sweep across the sky in a spectacular display of light .
HOTSPOT MEDIA - FUNKY BUMP: FROM MIRROR bellies to rainbow bumps these pregnancy casts of stone and bronze could be the funkiest way to preserve your bump for posterity .
HUDDLING under a leaf, a pair of adorable Javan scops owls take shelter from the rain .
A brave leopard kicks back and relaxes in the sunshine - just inches from an enormous crocodile .
Suspended FIFTY metres in the air, this is the last place that you would expect to find a fine dining experience .
Exploding out of the water, a great white shark performs a backflip during a hunt for seals .
From a floating jelly fish to a relaxed seal, Britain’s unappreciated beach life is captured above and below the water .
INSIDE Britain's last Naval hospital where scurvy was cured looks like an NHS time capsule .
IN a galaxy far, far away, this collection of stunning interstellar formations will leave you STARSTRUCK .
This brave Hyena finally catches his pray among the thousands of flamingos, Lake Nakuru, Kenya - OUTNUMBERED among thousands of flamingos, this bold hyena is not put off from hunting for a morning snack .
A dog was SOW close to death after she dangerously swallowed a two-inch NEEDLE-Cute Shih Tzu Daisy could have pierced her intestines after eating the long needle and thread after finding it on the carpet .