They obviously invested a lot in the grooming stages, to ensure that I felt part of a friendship group."įrom there things escalated.
“It actually took quite a long time before any abuse happened. "A bond was already formed with them and I was in this kind of friendship group.
I felt at the time like it was my responsibility, I had chosen to do it," she continued. “I couldn't remain in my home, but at the same time, like I couldn't remain out with them because of what was going on. After it happened she tried to distance herself from the men but found she had nowhere to go. “They drove us out to the middle of the woods in Epping Forest and that's where the first instance of sexual abuse occurred,” Serenity said. By this point, it was several years after they’d first met and, although they’d plied her with drink and drugs, nothing bad had happened. Serenity always refused, but one day, she decided to bring someone from college. Often the men would ask her to bring female friends along on their drives. I'm sure they knew that something was going on at home - why would a 14-year-old just be wandering around outside on her own?” “I couldn't remain in my house because I felt unsafe,” she explained, “they had access because of that. More than the alcohol, it was the abuse at home that gave the men power over Serenity. I did drink and it made me a lot more vulnerable.” I didn't really smoke weed, I tried it a few times and hated it. “Eventually, they started to offer me drink and weed. The men began giving her things she wasn’t allowed. The distance both physically and emotionally felt good,” she added. It gave me a sense of freedom having access to different places away from where I was living. Over time, Serenity developed a “friendship” with the men who made the 14-year-old feel grown-up. But, one evening, after a particularly hard day at home she gave in “yeah, I'll get in and I'll go for a drive with you,” she told them. Serenity said the men made her feel 'grown up' (Image: Facundo Arrizabalaga/MyLondon)Īlthough she didn’t feel threatened by the group, Serenity always refused to get in the car.