Repulsive act ... Jamie, here aged four and three, went from angel to demon
Still tortured ... Christine can't get over the brutal attack by her son
Posted on 04/24/2007 4:54:21 AM PDT by CarrotAndStick
THEY are stories of hope, despair and tragedy – real accounts by real people.
In a hard-hitting true-life series this week, we will bring you remarkable stories from everyday folk that will both shock and amaze.
Here, in Day One of our reports, we tell the horrifying tale of Christine Wright, who was raped by her own son.
MUM-OF-THREE Christine still cannot come to terms with a brutal attack which shattered her life.
Her son, Jamie, carried out the most repulsive act a child could commit against their own mother.
Recalling the nightmare which came at the end of the family’s joyful Christmas celebrations in 2000, Christine says: “I woke with a jolt as I felt someone on top of me and struggled to focus on the shadowy figure. There was a pungent smell of perspiration that stuck in my throat and forced me to turn my head.
“The force of the man became greater. He struck me across the face and I made myself look him in the eye as I screamed at him to get off me.
“As I did, my body went numb — for a split second the pain of being held down subsided, only to be replaced by the blood-curdling terror that is with me to this day.
“I recognised the eyes that bore through mine — they were the same eyes that had spoken to me so many times with love and affection. It was my 17-year-old son, Jamie.
“His eyes had a different message now — hate. As his grip crushed my arms, his actions crushed my soul.
“My own SON was raping me — I felt sick and confused.
“Still struggling, I began to sob – I knew just how strong he was, I knew everything about him – or at least I thought I did up until that moment.
“After what felt like an age, Jamie got off me and calmly walked downstairs and out of the house — I haven’t seen him since.
“As far as I am concerned my son died the moment he walked in through my bedroom door.”
In a state of shock Christine, now 40, called the police to report the attack. Over the next hours and days the full horror of what happened began to dawn on her.
She says: “When I first went to the police I felt like I was describing someone who wasn’t my son. It was like an out-of-body experience — I couldn’t believe this was happening to me.
“I had to come to terms with the fact that I had been raped by my own boy — it was so wrong. I was being violently sick. I kept bursting into tears, I was a wreck.
“It took me weeks to write my statement. The police officer was fantastic and she helped me through every step of the way.
“But my health was deteriorating and I was prescribed medication — I was losing my mind.
“Yet throughout it all, one thing stood out — if he could do this to me he could do it to anyone and I couldn’t let that happen. I had to have him prosecuted.
“The court case took place seven months later. I didn’t have to give evidence and Jamie pleaded guilty but he has never shown any remorse.
“He got a five-year custodial sentence but I think he should have been placed in a psychiatric unit for a lot longer.
“The monster who raped me was not my son. My son was a gentle boy who loved his alsatian Max. My son dreamed of a career as a surfer.
“Now I’ll never be the same person again. I was trusting and outgoing but these days I rarely leave the house. With Jamie now back on the streets, I live in fear he will come back for me.”
Understandably Christine, from Redruth, Cornwall, has questioned herself a thousand times.
Did she treat Jamie differently from her two other children — a boy and a girl both in their twenties who lead normal lives and share a loving relationship with their mother? And besides the rape, Christine had to deal with the fact she lost a son.
She says: “Jamie was my second child, I already had a two-year-old daughter. Having a boy made my family complete.
“Then I quickly became pregnant again but the boys’ father left before our second son was born, just weeks before Jamie’s first birthday.
“As a single parent I was determined my kids shouldn’t miss out so I started running a parent and toddler group. It meant I could be with the children while doing something positive for others.
“It also meant that once a week I had somewhere safe to leave the children while I trained as a hairdresser.
“I qualified and when Jamie was three I put him in a private nursery so I could go to work. I wanted the best for my children. When it was time for Jamie to go to big school he liked it but wasn’t academic. He found everything a struggle.”
When Jamie was 12 Christine decided to move from Hinckley, in Leicester, to the tranquil Redruth area in the hope that a change of scenery might help Jamie.
There she met builder Jarrod Wright, 30, who moved in with the family and acted as a father figure.
Although Jamie could be a loving son, there was another side to him.
Christine says: “He had too much energy — if he wasn’t getting my attention every minute he became frustrated and angry.
“When he turned 13 he became uncontrollable. He’d lash out at me then calm down and be genuinely sorry. Of course I forgave him.
“Jamie was painfully shy and that made his behaviour all the more shocking — he’d go from timid little thing to raging bull in seconds.
“As he got older he got in with the wrong crowd and I believe he started taking drugs. He was suspended from school and I was at my wits’ end. I hoped it was a phase but he got more withdrawn.”
Christmas Day 2000 was typically joyous for Christine and her family.
They enjoyed their presents — Jamie got some weights and a bench plus a music centre. His mum recalls he was thrilled, as he had wanted them for ages.
But on Boxing Day the very fabric of her life was ripped apart. She says: “Jamie went to a party with friends — that was the last time I saw the boy I knew and loved.”
Christine, now single, recalls that when jobless Jamie came home, at around 10pm, he was “soulless” and she suspected he was either drunk or had taken drugs.
She adds: “I don’t know what tipped him over the edge. I just wish I could have been able to get to him before the demons did.”
At Truro Crown Court in July 2001, Jamie pleaded guilty to rape. No explanation for his actions was given in court and Christine, who finds any contact with her son too painful to contemplate, did not attend the trial.
She has since tried to remove all traces of her son from her life and says: “I went round the house gathering things that reminded me of him — clothes, photos and other bits and pieces — and burned them all.”
She adds: “I have to tell myself that Jamie is dead and the man who raped me is a stranger — it is the only way I can cope.
“I just want to know why he did it but I doubt I will ever find out. I grieve for the son I’ve lost, but not the monster he became.”
s.wostear@the-sun.co.uk
Pinging...
Stories like this only serve to remind the rest of us just how good we really have it....
More of this Jerry Springer crap on FR. < sigh >
Pelosi’s vision.
Guessing they’ve done it before, only this time he didn’t feel like asking.
I too get the distinct impression that we are not getting the whole story here either. I bet son looked a lot like daddy.
Repulsive act ... Jamie, here aged four and three, went from angel to demon
Still tortured ... Christine can't get over the brutal attack by her son
“He got a five-year custodial sentence but I think he should have been placed in a psychiatric unit for a lot longer. “
****
Um....no...
Hanging him by the “family jewels” would be a more appropriate punishment.
Gee : Its too bad ,a rape conviction just about ruins his chances for a high-paying career as a surfer.
A liberal raises young liberals and is surprised by the result.
Maybe this kid had been listening to too much Jim Morrison and the Doors.
Mod or Rocker?
Definitely a rocker, a mod would never do such a thing.
He still fits the profile of a rapper.
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