Jail for 'evil' family abuse men

The men were found guilty after a five-week trial

Four women who were raped while children by members of their family say they can start to rebuild their lives now their abusers have been jailed.

Two brothers and their brother-in-law were jailed for for attacking and abusing the girls, aged between nine and 16, more than 20 years ago.

The judge at Cardiff Crown Court told the men they were "evil".

The eldest victim said in court that when she told her parents about the abuse, they did not want to know.

The brothers, now 52 and 49, and brother-in-law, 47, had denied rape and indecent assault but were found guilty after a five-week trial.

They were given sentences of 16 years, eight-and-a-half years and 11 years respectively.

We have been broken but we can now start to be fixed. We'll take it a day at a time, we now have closure Victims' statement

The men who carried out the abuse more than 20 years ago cannot be identified for legal reasons.

Judge Christopher Llewellyn-Jones told them: "You are three evil men.

"These children should have been able to trust you and their childhoods have plainly been tormented by the abuse they suffered at your hands."

In a statement after the case, the victims said they now had "closure".

They said: "We would encourage anyone who has experienced anything similar to come forward and and speak out, people will believe you.

"By speaking out earlier it would have made a difference to our lives. Our husbands now have their wives back. Our children now have their mothers back.

Our thoughts are now with the victims - we hope the result of the case today brings them some closure Det Ch Supt Ray Wise, Gwent Police

"We have been broken but we can now start to be fixed. We'll take it a day at a time, we now have closure."

The eldest victim, now in her 40s, told the court her parents had stood by her brother when they became aware of what was happening.

She said: "My dad said to me 'everyone has sex under age and everyone has skeletons in their closet'.

"He said: 'Why do you want to hurt your brother? He's a good man'."

The woman later discovered her younger sister had also suffered sexual abuse at the hands of her own family.

Worked tirelessly

The trial heard a two-year police investigation into the family from south-east Wales unearthed a series of sex abuse secrets.

Det Ch Supt Ray Wise, of Gwent Police, said after the case: "I would like to pay tribute to the victims in this case who have shown great bravery and courage throughout the investigation.

"This was a long and complex enquiry which started more than two years ago.

"I would also like to acknowledge the professionalism and commitment of our officers and our partner agencies who worked tirelessly to carry out these inquiries.

"Our thoughts are now with the victims - we hope the result of the case today brings them some closure."

Jason Howells, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said the prosecution of the case had been "tremendously difficult and complex".

He said: "Obviously this has been, and continues to be, an extremely difficult and traumatic time for the victims and those supporting them.

"We can only hope that the conclusion of the trials and today's sentences will, in some way, help them to move forward."