A teenager has revealed how a dream reunion with her biological father turned into a nightmare after he locked her in his home and sexually abused her – for over a year.
Stephanie Dearsley was 14 years old when she reconnected with her birth dad, Barry Jackson, 38, after tracking him down via Facebook. But just months later he began abusing her.
Stephanie, now 17, said: “Your dad is supposed to protect you no matter what – but mine turned out to be a monster.
“He locked me in his house and abused me constantly for 16 months. He used me as his plaything. “He also uploaded hundreds of naked images of me on his Instagram. I was horrified.”
In February this year, Jackson was jailed for 13 years after pleading guilty to a number of sexual offences.
Now Stephanie, from Hastings, East Sussex, has waived her anonymity to reveal her dad’s sordid abuse, explaining how she was a virgin when he “forced himself upon her”.
“From the age of five, I knew I was adopted,” she said. “In June 2015 on my 14th birthday, my adoptive parents gave me dozens of letters from my biological parents and I decided to reach out to them.
“I was desperate to know the people who made me.”
That night Stephanie logged onto Facebook and found her dad’s profile. She messaged him and the pair swapped numbers, arranging to meet the following day. At the time Barry lived only 20 miles away from her home.
Stephanie continued: “When I saw my dad for the first time, it was very emotional.
“Later that day he took me to see my mum Julie*, 48. “They told me they weren’t together anymore, but were still good friends. “There were lots of tears and I found out I had four siblings and a half-brother. “They apologised for giving me up and I honestly felt like a huge gap had been filled in my life.”
Soon, Stephanie and her dad were inseparable.
He offered her a job at the boating lake he managed – and they saw each other every day.
Three months later, in September, he took her on holiday to Scotland.
There, he treated her to clothes, perfume and cash.
Three days before her 15th birthday in December 2015 Barry came home drunk and tried to kiss his daughter.
Before she could protest, he pinned her to the living room floor, pulling at her underwear. Then he forced himself inside her.
The next morning Stephanie confronted her dad. But he threatened to hurt her family if she told anyone.
After that, Stephanie never went to school again.
Then one day in January 2017, Stephanie couldn’t take the abuse anymore and called the police.
Shortly afterwards, Barry forced himself on Stephanie.
Thankfully the police arrived, breaking the door down while her dad was still on top of her.
He was arrested at the scene.
Stephanie revealed her dad’s abuse at the police station with the support of her adoptive parents.