A SWINDON man who was cut out of his mother’s will after he revealed her husband had sexually abused two of his own children, says he challenged it to get justice for his sisters.

His family has been torn apart by a High Court case that revived horrific memories for the victims.

“It was never about the money. It was about getting justice for what he did,” David* told the Advertiser.

“What we wanted was justice and we’ve not had justice at all.”

He took his battle to the court on learning their mother had decided to leave all her estate to her other children, cutting him out along with the two who had been the victims of the abuse.

Earlier this month a judge at the hearing in Bristol ruled the woman was entitled to do what she wished with her money. But it was his comments that the mother felt the allegations had been exaggerated that infuriated his victims.

The father was given a suspended prison sentence in the 1990s after admitting indecently assaulting two of his daughters.

David, now in his 60s with his own business, said the £157,000 inheritance would only have amounted to around £13,000 each.

“I’m not interested in any money. It is a pittance,” he said. “When we found out we were kept out for false allegations, that just drove us insane.

“My eldest sister cannot move on with her life. Her kids have suffered with depression. It is quite horrific for her.”

The judgement caused huge anguish for him and the other claimants.

“To see both my sisters broken-hearted through it all," he said.

"It was just unreal.”

The High Court case itself has also fractured an already damaged family.

“At least we were on speaking terms before, but the abuse was never a subject that was discussed,” David said.

Some of his siblings never saw what happened.

“I can understand how difficult it is for them to believe but the evidence is there in the reports,” he said.

Now he just sees two of his six sisters and one brother.

“It has made out that we’re liars, but we’re not. The evidence is there of what he did.”

David was just a young child when discovered what was happening in the family home. On one occasion he went upstairs and saw his stepfather abusing one of his sisters. ”When he finished he gave me such a beating, it was unbelievable. I was seven years old.”

He can remember being a young child in in the living room, seeing one of his sisters being abused by her father while his mother carried on doing the ironing.

His mother would go out most nights.

“We used to cling to her legs because we knew the abuse would be happening as soon as she went,” he said.

After suffering a fierce beating when he was 15, David packed a bag and ran away to Swindon. He still bears a physical scar.

“It was horrendous. My mother just stood there watching. It was full fists and kicking. I was curled up in a ball and my mother was just standing there doing the dishes,” he said.

“I couldn’t take any more beatings from him. I ran away and came here. All I had was a week’s wages.”

Much later, in the early 1990s, when two of his sisters finally talked about the abuse the nightmare returned. He remembers going to his stepfather’s house with the intention of killing him.

“I was so angry. All the memories came flooding back. I had him round the throat and I was strangling him,” he said.

The police arrived and dragged him off. David was taken to a police station to make a full statement and the whole story of the abuse was revealed.

His stepfather died in 2004.

“I only went down to see if he was dead, to make sure he was dead,” he said.

Nine years later his mother followed, but he only found he and his two sisters had been left out of the will when the solicitor handling it sent all the abuse case legal files to his uncle. David also discovered he was the result of one of his mother’s affairs.

“Everything fitted into place as to why I was getting the beatings. It wasn’t just because of what I saw,” he said.

He said he once confronted his mother and demanded to know why she didn’t protect her children. He said she responded with a blank look.

“When I look back she was as guilty as he was. She was just as big a monster as he was. A mother’s duty is to look after her children, but she didn’t at all," he said.

“Although you still want that love from your mother. I’ve been denied grieving for a mother. I didn’t shed a tear when she died. It didn’t bother me. To me that’s not normal. You should be able to grieve for your parents.”

* David is a pseudonym to protect the identity of the victims of sexual abuse.

Sources of help in Swindon for victims of domestic and sexual abuse include:

Breaking Free which offers counselling for women who have suffered trauma due to sexual abuse or rape. Its website is breakingfreesupport.co.uk and messages can be left on 01793 514339.

Swindon Women’s Aid which provides help for the victims and survivors of domestic violence, male and female, adults and children. Its website is swindonwomensaid.org and the helpline 01793 610610 is open 24 hours a day.

Home Truths which helps domestic abuse victims over the age of 16. It can be seen online at hometruths.coop and reached by phone at 01793 617589.