My brother raped me from the ages of seven to 11 – I waited more than 40 years to get justice because it would have destroyed my late father

• Suzi Holt, 54, from Ely, Cambridgeshire, faced years of abuse from her brother
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A woman who waited more than four decades to report being raped by her brother from the ages of seven to 11 has recounted the pain of being asked to be a bridesmaid at his wedding. 

Suzi Holt, 54, from Ely, Cambridgeshire, faced years of abusive from Ian Martin, 61, who threatened that she’d be put into care if she revealed the truth, and bribed her with sweets to stay quiet. 

He was recently found guilty of two counts of rape and was jailed for five years at Cambridge Crown Court.

Now, Suzi – a care home cook and mother-of-three – is courageously waiving her right to anonymity to help other survivors after years of waiting, for fear that the admission would ‘destroy’ her late father.

‘I want to show that it doesn’t matter how much time has passed, you will be believed,’ she said. 

Now, Suzi – a care home cook and mother-of-three – is courageously waiving her right to anonymity to help other survivors

Martin was Suzi’s older half-brother from her mother’s previous relationship.

With her father working long hours as a lorry driver, the young girl would often get left with her sibling whilst their mother went out with friends.

‘I dreaded those nights,’ she admitted. ‘Ian was miserable and moody. I always felt on edge around him.’

The horrific sexual assaults began to happen when Suzi was seven and her mother left Martin to babysit.

While she was watching TV in the living room, he had climbed on top of her and raped her.

Suzi was desperate to tell her parents, but Martin scared her by saying she’d be put into care if she told anyone.

The abuse would go on a weekly basis, whenever her parents were out – and the young girl had tried to stand up to her attacker.

‘I knew what he was doing to me was wrong,’ she explained. 

The horrific sexual assaults began to happen when Suzi was seven and her mother left Martin to babysit (Suzi pictured aged nine)

Ian Martin, 61 (pictured), was recently found guilty of two counts of rape and was jailed for five years at Cambridge Crown Court

‘One time, when I was eight, I told him what he was doing to me was naughty and that he shouldn’t do it to me anymore.

‘But he threatened me again. I was desperate for it to stop, but I feared to consequences.’

When Suzi was nine, Martin raped her at their great-grandparents’ house, whilst they played cards in the other room.

Afterwards, he gave her some money to spend on sweets.

‘It was like he was buying my silence,’ she recounted. ‘I hated him.’

The next year, Martin invited Suzi to go with him and his friends to a motorbike meet up – but when they arrived at the wasteland, it was deserted.

‘He walked me down to the water’s edge and forced himself on me again,’ she said

‘I hoped someone would catch him, but we were sheltered by trees and hills.’

When Suzi was nine, Martin raped her at their great-grandparents’ house, whilst they played cards in the other room. Martin pictured aged 13

The years of abuse finally ended when Suzi got her period. 

‘I told him he couldn’t touch me anymore,’ she said. ‘Thankfully, he never laid a finger on me again.’

But Suzi had suffered in silence for years, never telling anyone about what she had endured as a child.

When she was 19, Martin met a woman and they got engaged.

Suzi was asked to be bridesmaid, and while it was the last thing she wanted to do, she agreed, only to prevent people asking questions.

‘I wore a lilac dress and plastered on a happy smile,’ she revealed.  ‘All I wanted was for his family and friends to know what a monster he really was.’

Years passed and Suzi met her husband. In 1997, she eventually opened up to him about her past.

‘He was really supportive and urged me to go to the police,’ she admitted. ‘But I couldn’t whilst my father was still alive. I knew it would destroy him.’

Instead, Suzi found it helpful to open up to her best friends.

It was only a few years ago, in 2018 – after her father sadly passed away – that she decided to report Martin.

‘I walked into the station and gave my statement,’ she recalled.  ‘The officers instantly made me feel at ease.’

The following day, Suzi went to her mother’s house and told her about Martin’s abuse – the older woman was so shocked and horrified that she disowned her son.

In June 2021, Suzi bravely faced him at Cambridge Crown Court to give her evidence. Pictured today, aged 54

Two weeks later, he was arrested but denied the charges.

In June 2021, Suzi bravely faced him at Cambridge Crown Court to give her evidence.

Martin was found guilty of one count of rape against her, but there was a hung jury on the others, which meant that there would have to be a re-trial.

He was released on a tag, and Suzi was ‘constantly looking over her shoulder, in fear of bumping into him in the street’.

Two years later, the second trial came around and Suzi re-lived the abuse again.

After a three-week trial, Martin was found guilty of another count of rape.

In June this year, he was sentenced to five years in prison and put on the sex offenders register for life.

‘It’s nowhere near enough time for what he put me through,’ she said.

‘But all I ever really wanted was a guilty verdict.

‘I’m sharing my story to show that it doesn’t matter how long ago the abuse took place, you can still get justice.

‘I waited over 40 years for mine, and now I’m moving forward with my life.’

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