Tina Rogers was just 11 years old when her uncle began raping her on a weekly basis at her grandparents' home, while her family laughed and joked downstairs oblivious to what was happening.
Finally, more than two decades after the abuse started, 63-year-old Colin Dunn was jailed for 16 years for sèxually assaulting children over a 50-year period.
He was found guilty of seven offences of rapè and two charges of indecent assault at Burnley Crown Court on February 12.
sèx pervert Dunn told an innocent Tina he was the only one in her family that loved her before grooming her and forcing her to have sèx with him against her will.
Tina, now 37, was then forced to live with the horror of her abuse after bravely trying to confide in her father, before being dragged to apologise to her rapist when her family refused to believe the allegations.
Tina, from Preston, Lancashire, said: 'I went to tell my dad that Colin was touching me. I wanted to tell him he was having sèx with me, but I was scared how he would react. I said he was touching my bottom.
'Dad went mad. He dragged me up to his house and made me apologise to Colin's face. My uncle sneered down and me and said he wouldn't do anything like that to me.
'None of my family would believe me. I could describe his bedroom, but it didn't matter. No-one would listen.'
Tina grew up in what she believed to be a tight-knit family, so as a child there appeared nothing wrong with her spending time with her loving uncle.
But his actions soon turned sinister, as he encouraged Tina to spend more time with him.
She said: 'The first time I remember anything happening was when I was putting food into the fish tank. He sat on a chair behind me and put his legs around me, and then he started touching me.
'I was naive, I didn't know what sèx was. It didn't occur to me what he was doing to me was wrong and I believed that he loved me.
'Colin said we would both get into trouble but especially me, so I didn't say a word. I had sèx with him too many times.'
But as Tina got older, she began to realise that her relationship with Dunn was not what it should be.
She said: 'I was watching TV one night and there was a prostitute on the screen. My mum said she was dirty. I then realised what was happening to me was wrong as well.'
As a teenager, Tina, who has an older brother and sister, was put into care and even called a 'reject' by her mother.
She said: 'They got rid of me. I was told to shut up or it would be ten times worse.'
When she was 21, Tina finally found the courage to report her rapist.
She said: 'I was terrified he was doing what he had done to me to other girls.'
Dunn was arrested and the charges were put to him. But while he was in police custody, he collapsed and was taken to hospital.
Police said there wasn't enough evidence against him and Tina was forced to watch her attacker walk free.
More than a decade after Tina was forced to believe Dunn would never be convicted of his crimes, he was handed a 32-month sentence after confessing to attacking five and six-year-old girls he had befriended close to his home.
He lured the youngsters with toys, Easter eggs and promises to look after their animals.
Following the conviction in October 2011, Tina's statement was reviewed and Dunn was finally charged with two counts of rapè on her as a child.
Tina said: 'Two girls came forward and told police what he had done to them.
'Those little children that have spoken out deserve a medal for being so brave, and so do their parents for supporting them and believing them.
'I can't apologise enough to the other parents because it shouldn't have happened.'
Passing sentence, Judge Beverley Lunt told Dunn: 'It cannot be said that at any stage of your life you led a blameless existence.
'For decades you have been a perverted sèxual abuser who has preyed on young girls.'
Dunn admitted the charges due to the amount of evidence served against him.
'He had nothing left,' Tina added. 'When I saw him in court, I stared right at him. He looked empty. It was the closest I had been to him in a long time.
'I felt relieved to see him sentenced. I can't believe it's finally over. I've waited so long for justice.
'But while I know he is being punished, it will always hurt that I was disbelieved by my family about it for so long.'
Detective Constable Matt Capper, of the Pennine policing division's public protection unit said: 'Dunn is a predatory and dangerous man whose offending spanned decades.
'His offending has not only had significant health implications for his victim but they will now have to live with this for the rest of their lives.
'They showed immense bravery and courage in coming forward. I hope this sentence will offer a degree of closure and allow them to move forward with their lives.'
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