My sex abuser stepdad stole my childhood and every ounce of self-respect that I had❜

A TEENAGER who tried to kill herself three times after she was sexually abused by her stepdad says: "I know girls who have succeeded in taking their own lives.

- Faye Mayern and Jude Holden

I'm lucky I got justice instead." Katie Simpson, 19, spoke out after Peter William Goodchild, 67, was sentenced to 10 years in jail for molesting three girls.

He started preying on Katie when she was nine and continued until she was 13 while he was in a relationship with her mum Sarah.

Katie fronted up to Goodchild in court, telling him of her suicide attempts: "I am glad I failed on all of those occasions because I knew your day would come." She suffered in silence for 10 years but has now waived her right to anonymity to show other victims there is a life after abuse.

Katie said: "I need to be strong, not for me, but for the next person. Coming forward could save another girl's life." The survivor, who lives near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, with Sarah, 56, recalled Goodchild would say her mum would not believe her and hate her if she revealed the attacks. The builder began a relationship with Sarah in 2009. The following year he was convicted of making and possessing indecent photographs but convinced her his nephew put the images on his computer.

Sarah, a hairdresser, said his family supported the claim and Goodchild even went to a specialist doctor who deemed him a low risk to any child.