'I was just a sex object for him' - Daughter raped by depraved Leeds dad since age of 11 speaks out about abuse

The daughter of a 'depraved' Leeds lecturer who subjected her to a 'campaign of rape' and threatened to dissolve her body in acid has spoken of the battle with depression caused by his actions.
Kim ChownKim Chown
Kim Chown

Leeds Crown Court heard how the mother-of-two had battled alcoholism, depression and eating disorders as a result of the abuse by her father Francis Beaumont.

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Former university lecturer Francis Beaumont, 79, was jailed for 20 years after being convicted of five offences of rape against Kim Chown.

Francis BeaumontFrancis Beaumont
Francis Beaumont

Mrs Chown spoke out after her father was jailed in the hope it will encourage other victims of sexual abuse by a parent to come forward.

She told the Yorkshire Evening Post she had chosen to waive her right to anonymity in the hope of becoming an ambassador for victims of similar abuse.

Mrs Chown provided a victim impact statement to the court ahead of Beaumont's sentencing.

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Kim ChownKim Chown
Kim Chown

Described by the judge as an "eloquent and moving document", the statement ends: "You dad, have taken enough of my precious life, I don't hate you but instead I feel sorry for you.

"You are sick, you cannot see that.

"You were loved, you couldn't see that either. Now you have nothing.

"You are a sick, lonely old man who has no friends, no life.

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"Your life is empty. Indirectly you have made me the strong person I am today. Although I still stop and question if things could have been different."

Mrs Chown described how she had managed to come to terms with her ordeal thanks to her husband and children.

She said the lies told by her father at the trial had added to her hurt.

She said: "I wish to God you were not my father and I not your daughter because I feel ashamed to be associated with you.

"In fact, I have stopped calling you father/dad.

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"You are now referred to as 'that monster' because that is the only title you deserve.

"The string of lies that have flowed from your mouth during your police statement and cross-examination have added to my hurt."

She said the abuse had a profound effect on her from the day her father took her virginity at the age of 11.

She said: "He stole my innocence, fun and enjoyment, freedom, peace of mind and security.

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"I may as well have been chained to my bed as I was not allowed the freedom that every other child of my age had.

"He went everywhere with me, he kept me away from boys of my own age, vetted my friends, he was always there, always a presence even when I was not directly in his view.

"I was his and his only to do whatever he chose to do, no matter how much it hurt me."

Mrs Chown, a businesswoman now based in County Durham, told the court she was a recovering alcoholic and had been free from drink for 14 months.

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She blamed her addiction on the alcohol given to her by her father as a youngster.

"Despite having such a wonderful family of my own and happy memories of the years I have had with my husband seeing our children growing up, there has still been a cloud hanging over me.

"A cloud full of emotional baggage, shame, guilt, confusion, anger, bitterness, despair and sadness.

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"I would have flashbacks to the terminations he put me - his little girl - through. I would make myself ill by increasingly drinking to numb the pain."

The court heard the victim had written a letter to him in 2007, explaining how the abuse had made her feel. Beaumont failed to reply to his daughter.

She said: "He has shown no remorse.

"I was nothing more than a sex object for him - a thing he could vent his frustrations, anger, sexual desires - no matter how extreme - upon.

"I was not a person, not his daughter.

"In his eyes I was put on this planet purely for his use."