'I was a lovely person before the rape, but it changed me. I was pretty awful'

Then 18, the petite blonde teenager was attacked in an alleyway close to her home. Forced across fields to a secluded spot with her hands tied behind her back, she was raped and beaten.

In a state of shock, she admits she might have tried to go to work that evening had her injuries not been so severe, but she was struggling

to move and confided in her mother. A little over four hours later, she had undergone a forensic medical assessment and had given a statement to the police.

So began a two-year fight for justice, which would see Charlotte's nightmare intensify as Charles Megson, the man eventually found guilty of raping her, went on the run for a year before fleeing a second time the night beforeher trial.

"At first all I could do was sit and stare," she says. "I don't think I thought any further ahead than the next hour, the next day.

"I never once regretted going to the police and seeing it through to the end, but it was hard. There were lots of times when I just wanted it all to go away, times when I just wanted my old life back."

Conviction rates for rape are notoriously low. Of all reported rape cases in England and Wales, 70 per cent never make it as far as a court. Of those that do, just six per cent result in a successful conviction.

It was against this bleak set of statistics that Charlotte decided to pursue a case. When Megson was finally captured after a 12-month search, she allowed herself to breathe a small sigh of relief, but when he absconded while on bail just hours before a court appearance, it seemed her case might join the countless others that never reach a satisfactory resolution.

"I didn't think they'd catch him," she says, never referring to her attacker by name. "The police kept telling me they would, but I didn't believe them. The trial happened when he was still on the run and it meant that instead of giving evidence via video I could actually be in the court room.

"I'd been on a visit beforehand so I was familiar with how things worked and was introduced to the ushers, but there's nothing really

that can prepare you for standing there in front of a judge.

"The defence barrister gave me a bit of a hard time. I knew his job was to try to prove I wasn't telling the truth, but it's hard when you're stood up there on your own not to feel angry. I just tried to count to

10 and remember what my own solicitor had said, 'Just tell the truth'."

Charlotte did tell the truth. In his absence, Megson was found guilty in September last year and following his rearrest was finally forced to face the consequences of his violent actions.

Two months ago, he was jailed indefinitely and ordered to serve a minimum of six years in prison.

Charlotte wasn't in court to hear the judge describe him as a dangerous sadist, but a visit from one of the officers who had supported her since she first walked into the station almost two years earlier gave her the news she had waited so long to hear.

The jailing of Megson was a milestone, but the ordeal didn't end there. Like many rape victims, Charlotte was prone to mood swings.

Anger bubbled underneath and alcohol became a crutch to help her through the worst days. She admits now that her outbursts were often directed to those closest to her.

"I was a lovely person before it happened, but it changed me," she says.

"I didn't used to drink hardly at all, but it was just a way to make things feel better. I was pretty awful. I'd moved back with my mum after I was attacked, but she never knew who she was coming back to, whether it would be the nice Charlotte or the horrible one.

"I couldn't sleep and when I did I would have flashbacks and nightmares about what happened. I'm a lot better now. I don't think about him as much as I used to and I've almost stopped looking over my shoulder."

Charlotte remains in touch with the West Yorkshire Police officers who helped her through the trial and who later put her in touch with counsellors and in the bad times also spoke to her mother.

It doesn't happen in every case, some victims are keen to distance themselves from anything which reminds them of their attack. While it's wrong to talk of success stories, the eventual conviction of Megson and the two years the police spent working to ensure Charlotte felt able to move on from the attack is something of a blueprint for how all victims should expect to be treated.

"We have to be more realistic with victims," says Detective Sergeant Ian Lawrance. "Rape is very difficult to prove, but with enhanced victim care and a dedicated team of investigators working closely with the Crown Prosecution Service, we hope to maximise the chances of more positive results at court and help victims move on with their lives."

However, a recent report showed the approach to cases of serious sexual assault by West Yorkshire Police has been flawed.

Commissioned after figures showed officers cleared up only around one in five offences last year, it emerged victims had often been seen by numerous different officers, many of whom had no special expertise; some sexual assaults had been wrongly classified as rape on the records, potentially skewing the crime rates and that the number of offenders charged, summoned, reprimanded or fined was well below that of other forces. At just below 22 per cent, it compared badly to similar sized forces like South Wales (45.6 per cent) and Lancashire (37 per cent).

Officers admit there has been a lack of consistency in dealing with rape victims, but there is hope that under Operation Topaz the corner has been turned.

"When we saw the figures, we were rightly concerned and that's why we carried out the review," says Assistant Chief Constable Jawaid Akhtar. "We didn't want to sweep any problems under the carpet, we wanted to pinpoint exactly where improvements needed to be made and while there will always be a need to keep reviewing our performance I think we have already made great strides."

Under Operation Topaz, West Yorkshire Police now has specially trained officers who are assigned to victims of serious sexual assault and look after them from the start to the conclusion of any case.

Working with the Star Project, which was set up to support rape victims, they are also trying to raise awareness of a new service which allows those unsure of whether to contact the police the chance to have a medical examination, the results of which are held on file should

they decided to prosecute in the future.

The force has also been behind specifically targeted campaigns. In the week leading up to Christmas, women were encouraged not to put

themselves in vulnerable situations by jumping into unmarked taxis or walking home alone. The number of reported sexual assaults dropped from 23 the same period the previous year to 11. "There is not one single way of reducing the number of assaults or improving conviction rates," adds Mr Akhtar. "But hopefully we know have in place a system which means victims don't slip through the net and those who do want to prosecute get all the support they need."

Charlotte recently moved back into her own flat, she's working again and while it's still early days, she is making tentative plans for the future.

"At first I went to a few counselling sessions and I know at some point I will want to talk properly about what happened to someone, but the time just didn't feel right.

"What happened to me was horrible, but I know I would have been in an even worse state had I not gone to the police. You can't carry that kind of burden around on your own and I would tell anyone who has ever found themselves in a similar situation that they should talk to someone. It doesn't make the pain go away, but it does help to deal

with it.

"I'd love to get away from here, go travelling and maybe work abroad. It's not about running away, but it would be nice to feel at some point I can have a fresh start."

n The victim's name has been changed to protect her identity.