WOMAN’S SICK NEIGHBOUR SEXUALLY ABUSED HER FROM AGED NINE IN BROAD DAYLIGHT – WHEN SHE BRAVELY REPORTED HIM, SIX OTHERS CAME FORWARD
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.
Other great stories
MILEY MASH-UP
HOTSPOT MEDIA - MILEY MASH-UP: MILEY CYRUS’ naked wrecking ball vid has been lampooned in this side-spitting photo-mashup .
CHEEKY BABY ORANGUTAN
CLIMBING, falling and tugging on his weary mum, this little orangutan is up to all kinds of trouble .
ADORABLE BABY ORANGUTAN PLAYS WITH MUM
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 .
CCTV CAPTURES NEWSREADER WALKING INTO A CANAL WHILE TEXTING
THIS is the shocking moment a clumsy radio newsreader plunged into a freezing canal while texting her boyfriend instead of looking where she was going .
REAL LIFE VICTORIAN
A woman has taken her house back in time - by spending £10,000 to transform it into her Victorian dream home .
£10,000 REWARD FOR JOHN ANSLOW
Pictures of John Anslow a prisoner who escaped from a prison escort van in North Worcestershire Monday, 23 January .
OPEN WIDE! MONKEY GIVES FRIEND AN UNEXPECTED DENTAL CHECK-UP
This cheeky macaque gets up close and personal as he examines the dental hygiene of his fellow primate .
UNDERWATER DIVING DOGS
WITH A STERN look of determination on their faces, these adorable pooches perfect their doggy paddle as they dive head first into a swimming pool .
SQUIRREL VS DINOSAUR
A feisty squirrel takes on a fearsome foe when he decides to tackle a T-REX .
FALSE KILLER WHALE BEAMS AS HE CATCHES HIS LUNCH
Say cheese! This cheeky chappy isn’t in the mood to live up to his scary reputation as he is pictured here cracking a killer smile as he goes about his daily business .
HUNGRY WHITE-TAILED KITE
SOARING through the air, a hungry white-tailed kite prepares to snatch a vole from his mother’s claws .
AN ABANDONED HOUSE IN THE WOODS
INTIMATELY showcasing personal artefacts from a family's life, this abandoned bungalow has been left to rot for almost a decade .