CLAIRE Martin had a 'beautiful life', with a loving husband, two beautiful children and a thriving business. But the 43-year-old mum, from Lancashire , was haunted by a horrific night when was raped in a nightclub kitchen by her sister’s ex-boyfriend, Martin Sweeney, 48. Claire was just 17, in 1988, when the attack took place and, years later, she went on to marry Lee Martin, 53, and raise a family.
But she couldn't forget her ordeal and suffered numerous nervous breakdowns - before heroic husband Lee tracked down her rapist on Facebook and confronted him. Hearing Sweeney’s twisted lies and lack of remorse, Lee helped convince his wife to report him and she achieved justice after 26 years. Now, Claire has bravely waived her anonymity to raise awareness of historic abuse cases, encouraging women to come forward no matter how long it has been.
Claire says: “That night has been a dark cloud on my marriage, and family life, for so long. “Now I can be the happy person I’ve always longed to be. “I hope other mums out there don’t suffer in silence for as long as I did.
I feel so much lighter. And so can you.” In 1998, when Claire was 17, she went clubbing with a friend in Blackpool.
At the club, she bumped into Sweeney, who was 22 at the time, and his friend. She says: “Martin used to date my older sister so we went years back. He’d always felt like a big brother figure.
“That night, we drank and danced for hours. After closing, our friend, who owned the club, .
