Woman raped by her father and brother says crucial document contributed to couple’s jail time

A woman who was repeatedly raped as a child by both her father and brother has revealed how a crucial medical document she had no memory of contributed to the pair’s imprisonment.

Sarah Sidebottom, 54, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, has spoken of her relief after her father Arthur William Bowditch, 73, and her brother, Arthur Stephen Bowditch, 54, were given a total of 32 years in prison.

The first attack, when she was just three and a half years old, left her in need of surgery to repair internal damage and it was these hospital notes that proved crucial in securing a conviction for the abuse, which began nearly 50 years in the making .

And now Sarah, a happily married mother of two, has waived her right to anonymity to speak for the first time about her horrific trauma.

She said: ‘I had no idea about the surgery until 2021 and I saw my medical records. I was shocked, but at the same time, this was just what the prosecution needed to build a case against my father.”

“After being silent for nearly 50 years, part of my healing process is having a voice and speaking up.”

Sarah revealed that her first memory of the abuse is three and a half years old, when she was taken from her bed, placed in her father’s bed and raped.

“I remember the pain, but mostly. I remember he put his hand over my mouth to suppress my screaming,” she said.

She was so badly injured by the attacks, which took place at the family home in Chard, Somerset, that she had to undergo surgery in hospital before her fourth birthday.

Her father told doctors she fell on the handle of a go-kart.

Sarah looked back on the ordeal and said her father, a well-known local builder, had two sides to him, often ranging from very charming and sweet to very violent and twisted.

She said, “My father left me alone for two years and the seizures started again when I was about six.”

“Whenever my mother was away, he used the opportunity to attack and rape me. He used objects on me.’

“One was a wooden spade handle. He also attacked me in the stables at the side of the bungalow where we had horses.’

“One time when he told me to go to his bedroom, I said no. I was about 10 years old. He pulled me off the couch by my hair and kicked me all the way to the bedroom.’

“He strangled me on the bed and I asked him to kill me to put me out of my misery. After he left, I tried to suffocate myself with the pillow.’

“I just wanted it to end. It was the last time I ever dared to try to stand up to him.’

She added that he kept guns in the garage and had once warned her that if she ever spoke out about the abuse, “he would shoot me or my mother.”

Sarah’s parents separated when she was only 13, and she hoped it would mean the end of her nightmare. But her horror reached new heights when older brother, Arthur Stephen, known as Stephen, came to live with them.

Stephen, who was 17 at the time, moved in with him and immediately began raping his own sister.

“I couldn’t believe it was happening again. Stephen raped me and it was horrible,” she said.

Sarah kept the horrific attacks to herself and continued to suppress the memories for decades.

She tried office work and a career in hospitality, but her life was plagued by memories of the attacks – and after two daughters and a second marriage, she finally knew what to do.

In 2019, with the support of her new husband, Darren, 56, Sarah filed an official police complaint, and in October 2021, she was horrified to see a copy of her medical records, including details of the surgery to be repaired internal damage from the rape.

Sarah said, “I couldn’t believe what I read. I couldn’t remember going to the hospital, nothing at all about the surgery. I have scars down below, but I never really thought about it in connection with the sexual assault.

“The police told me that the letter was vital in the decision to press charges against my father and brother.

“I wasn’t allowed to ask my mother about the operation, in case it harmed the process. But she sadly passed away just before the trial started, so I never had a chance to talk to her about it. I felt cheated. I have so many unanswered questions.’

The police investigation did not go smoothly and Sarah claims officers told her they had lost her files, meaning the case was delayed by seven months.

She said, “I heard nothing, month after month. Then I was told that my file was lost. I asked to be kept informed of the progress, and yet I was chasing the police the entire time.

“I didn’t really feel like they were trying to empathize with how stressful it was for me. I had flashbacks to the abuse and nightmares of trying to fend off my attackers, and woke up with real bruises.”

In June 2022, Arthur William Bowditch, 73, and his son Arthur Stephen Bowditch, then aged 54, appeared at Swansea Crown Court, having previously been convicted of multiple counts of rape and sexual assault against young girls.

The court heard that Bowditch junior has a previous conviction from 1989 for indecent assault against a girl under 14.

Judge Huw Rees said William Bowditch had acted out of “degenerate and unhealthy sexual appetite” and denied the victim a childhood.

William Bowditch received an extended 21-year sentence, consisting of 20 years in prison, followed by a one-year extended license. Meanwhile, Stephen Bowditch was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Both will be registered sex offenders for the rest of their lives.

Sarah said, “I feel some justice that they are finally behind bars and other girls are now safe from them.”

“I was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder because of the abuse, the stress of the examination and trial.”

“But as difficult as it is to report these kinds of crimes, I want other victims to know that you can get justice.”

“Don’t be afraid or embarrassed, please come forward to report abuse. It is possible to get justice no matter how long you carry these secrets with you.”

“I’ve had a lot of support from my family, especially my husband, Darren, who manages a charity that helps veterans of the army.”