Woman raped by husband urges others to speak out
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A woman who was raped by her then husband has urged other victims of sexual assault to report the attacks.
The man who raped and sexually assaulted Penny, not her real name, in 2022 was sentenced to 13 years in prison when the case reached court in May 2025.
Penny, from Cornwall, said, despite being left "bruised and bleeding", she feared speaking out would ruin her partner's life: "That sounds ridiculous but I think this is how a lot of women may feel if they have been in long-term relationships."
Det Ch Insp Zoe Taylor, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said: "It takes a lot of courage to report crimes of this nature, not least because victims will be severely traumatised."
Penny and her husband have a daughter together and they had been married for 12 years when he attacked her on two separate nights in August 2022.
"He had his forearm on my throat and I believe he wanted me in a state of semi-unconsciousness," she said.
"I couldn't catch my breath with what he was doing, he was not stopping and I thought 'he is going to kill me'.
"I managed to catch a breath and make a noise and it woke my daughter up and she walked into the bedroom.
"I remember looking at myself in the mirror and realising I was covered in bruises, I was bleeding and thinking 'what has happened?'"
Penny said it was her daughter walking into the bedroom that made her call 101.
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The Office of National Statistics said 217,567 sexual offences were reported to police in England and Wales between March 2025 and March 2026. Of these, 6,678 were in the Devon and Cornwall Police area.
The force said 138 perpetrators were convicted of sexual offences, including 55 for rape, between January and June 2026.
Taylor said 8.9% of cases reported to Devon and Cornwall Police ended in either a charge, summons, caution or a court conviction.
"There is a lot of work still to do but that figure is heading in the right direction. Our outcome rate is currently 8.9% and at the beginning of 2025, that was 5.3%," she said.
Taylor said people could get the support they needed from police and agencies such as sexual assault referral centres and the Victim Care Unit.
Joss Leicester, from Devon Rape Crisis, said victims found the process of reporting attacks traumatic: "You have to go through all the forensic testing which can feel overwhelming."
She said the group had received 414 referrals this year, of which 66 were reported to the police.
"People don't always feel like they get the best response from the police, they often report but then drop out, and there is often a feeling they won't be believed and what has happened to them won't go anywhere," Leicester said.
'Destroyed my world'
When police arrived Penny she said she repeatedly asked if she was doing the right thing because she was so scared of the unknown and not wanting to destroy her husband's life.
"That sounds ridiculous but I think this how a lot of women may feel if they have been in long-term relationships," Penny said.
"Staying in that relationship to try and make the perpetrator's life less difficult and to not uproot your children is a real thing at the time. But ultimately you are protecting your kids by leaving."
She said she "lost everything" after the rape, including her business and her home.
"It completely destroyed my world, my mind," Penny said.
She admitted it was a struggle as the case took three years to get to court but she was left with no doubt she had done the right thing.
Taylor said: "Any report will be taken seriously and victims will be listened to, believed and supported.
"We will remain proactive in seeking out and arresting perpetrators of serious and violent sexual offences."
