PREFACE

‘She said they wanted privacy, that her family just wanted to be allowed to get on with their lives. So why is the mother of the Runaway Schoolgirl writing a book? She’s just cashing in on what happened to her daughter …’

I know that I’m going to receive a lot of criticism for writing this book, but it was something that I felt I needed to do. My friends and family have always been incredibly supportive and have never once not respected my wishes not to contact the press, but now I feel that the time is right for me to give my side of the story.

Rest assured, I am not doing it for the money. If it was money I was after, I would have taken up one of the six-figure deals that was offered to me when my daughter disappeared.

Hopefully this book will put the record straight about how it feels to have your teenage daughter stolen from you. She had just turned fifteen; he was twice her age and knew he was breaking the law. Let me ask you, if you had a daughter, would you let her teacher do this to her?

Now it’s my turn to tell you exactly what happened.

 

UNDER S. 1(1) OF THE SEXUAL OFFENCES (AMENDMENT) ACT 1992, WHICH PROVIDES ANONYMITY FROM PUBLICATION TO THE VICTIMS OF SEXUAL CRIME ‘DURING THAT PERSON’S LIFETIME’, SOME NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED TO PROTECT THE INNOCENT. IN SOME CASES, PSEUDONYMS USED BY THE PRESS REPLACE REAL NAMES.