A mother-of-one has revealed how her trauma of being sexually abused by a neighbor at the age of eight was exacerbated when he became a police officer in the Metropolitan Police.
Shamed police officer Alex Law, now 43, told Katy Burns, now 36, that he would kill her little brother if she told anyone about his abuse.
Terrified of the possible consequences, Katy never told anyone.
But years later, Law sent her a message on Facebook, telling her that he had joined the police and that Katy knew he could no longer get away with his crimes.
In April, more than 20 years after his attack, Law was sentenced to two and a half years in prison after admitting two counts of sexual assault.
Katy Burns, 36, was sexually abused by Alex Law when she was eight years old
Shamed police officer Alex Law, 43, threatened to kill Katy’s brother if she told anyone about the abuse. Above: Law pictured in his mugshot, issued by Northumbria Police
Now Katy, from Northumberland, has bravely waived her right to anonymity to encourage other survivors to report their abusers.
The aromatherapist said: ‘Alex’s abuse has ruined my life.
‘When I found out he was a police officer and worked with vulnerable people, I felt sick. I knew I had to say something and get him off the street.
“I hope other survivors will do the same by sharing my story. I want them to know that people will listen, and that they will care.”
When Katy was seven, she moved to the same street as Law, then 14.
Katy and her brother played with Law and other neighborhood children.
Katy said: “Alex was an observer. He was always quite quiet.’
When she was eight years old, she and her brother cycled with Law, then almost sixteen, to the local forest.
But the path in the forest was overgrown with nettles.
Katy explained: ‘Alex offered to give me a piggyback ride while I was wearing shorts.
‘When I lay on his back he put his hands down my shorts before penetrating me with his finger.
‘I shouted at him to stop, but he threatened to drop me into the nettles.’
Katy is pictured here at the age of seven, around the time she first met Law, who was a teenager
Katy said she felt “dirty” growing up and was “constantly angry” with herself
Law continued walking with Katy on his back, while her brother had already run ahead.
When they reached the clearing, Law laid Katy down before sexually assaulting her again.
Katy says: ‘My brother made a noise, so Alex quickly stopped.
“He said, ‘I’ll kill your brother if you tell anyone.’
Afraid of what might happen if she spoke up, Katy kept quiet, but she knew what Law had done was wrong.
After that, Katy distanced herself from him and made friends with other people in the village.
“Growing up, I felt dirty and was constantly angry with myself,” she said.
“I thought if I had to keep such a big secret, I must have done something wrong.”
The Facebook messages between Law and Katy, in which he confessed to his crimes
Years passed and when Katy was 16 years old, she bumped into Law at the pub. He tried to talk to her, but she ignored him.
Days later, Law visited her home and knocked on the door.
Katy said: ‘I refused to go down to see him and had a panic attack.
“He was downstairs chatting with my mother for ten minutes before he left.”
She didn’t hear from him again until a few years later, when he messaged her on Facebook.
Katy said: ‘He told me he had joined the Met Police and sent me a photo of him in his uniform and in the back of a police van with a gun in his hand.
‘My thoughts immediately went back to his threat: ‘I’ll kill your brother if you ever tell anyone.’
“So,” I replied, pretending to be happy for him. But deep inside I was furious.
“I couldn’t understand how he could behave like a respectable officer while I was suffering.”
For years, Law continued to message Katy about his life and growing family.
She said: ‘He tormented me. I couldn’t escape him.
“I wanted to report him, but I was afraid no one would believe me because of a police officer.”
But in April 2022, Katy made him confess his crimes on Facebook Messenger.
Katy said she was ‘desperate’ to report it to the law, but she feared no one would believe her ‘because of a police officer’
Katy said taking the law to court was the ‘hardest thing I’ve ever had to do’
“He told me he was sorry and that he had always felt guilty for what he had done to me,” she said.
“I took a screenshot of his messages and thought, ‘I’ve got him.'”
In December that year, Katy submitted an online form to Northumbria Police, detailing the abuse she had suffered.
The next day she was invited to the station, where she gave her statement to a female officer.
Katy then completed a video interview with Detective Phil Trotter, who led the investigation.
Katy said: ‘I was terrified, but both officers made me feel safe and believed.’
Law was then questioned, but he denied everything.
In November 2023 he was suspended from the Metropolitan Police.
At a hearing in March this year, Law admitted two charges of indecent assault against a woman under the age of 14.
The following month he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison at Newcastle Crown Court.
Following his conviction, Law was dismissed from the Metropolitan Police.
Katy said: “His punishment is nothing for what he did to me.
“Bringing him to justice was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.
“But at least now everyone knows who he really is.”