'You don't suspect it' - Parents of an autistic girl who was sexually abused by grandfather reveal horror at finding out

However, those trips away became a nightmare when her grandfather began sexually abusing her.

Jenny’s parents believe that the abuse started when she was around 12 years old. When she told them, their world fell apart.

Also in news: Our dependence on unskilled European workers is huge, says Yorkshire business leader amid immigration shake-up

It took a long time to understand what had happened and a lot of support from the police, which the family cannot speak highly enough of.

Gradually details of the abuse emerged. The family were sickened at how the abuse would not only go on at his caravan but also at his bungalow, even in their own home, without them knowing, while they sat watching TV. They believed he was playing with Jenny on her Xbox.

The horror of his sickening behaviour shook the family to the core. Jenny’s mother Sally said: “It was a complete betrayal, I felt my whole life had been an entire lie thanks to this man. I blamed myself. But we had to be strong for our kids, I don’t know, we are not people who just fall apart, we get on with it.”

Her father David added: “You ask how could I not notice but you don’t suspect anything like that, do you?”

Sally said: “Our kids had grandparents, went on holidays and all of a second, they had nothing. Cut off from the entire family.”

The court case was an ordeal but some of the pressures were eased thanks to the support of the police, especially their family liaison officer who even helped support Jenny while on leave.

The allegations had ripped the wider family apart, David and Sally faced verbal abuse and were accused of making up the claims in order to get money. But in a criminal trial, the grandfather was found guilty and sentenced to 12 and a half years.

Also in news: “It’s a black writer, an Asian adapter and a multicultural cast" - why Crongton Knights is so important

Sally said: “We felt relieved that we had been believed. It was difficult, we had all these emotions, a lot of anger, we wanted him in prison, to die in prison. David, when it all came out, wanted to go around there, confront him, it could have got so out of hand. That kept us level headed, we hadn’t wanted to do anything to jeopardise the case.”

David admitted it was hard to keep control, he said: “But it was hard, Jenny was so vulnerable, getting to know what had happened to her had taken such a long time. Because of how she is, she was even more quiet, had nightmares, didn’t want to go out. She hid away, wouldn’t go out on her own or do anything.”

After the court case Jenny was referred to the NSPCC’s Letting The Future In – Learning Difficulties service. The programme pays particular attention to the child’s preferred way of communicating, with more emphasis on creative play, art and drama.

It also allows more time for the therapy to be run at the young person’s pace. Jenny’s practitioner stripped away the clutter from their therapy room, conscious of how Jenny could get distracted or upset from feeling overwhelmed. The sessions went at Jenny’s pace, silences didn’t have to be filled, communication cards were used when she didn’t want to talk and drawing played a crucial role in her recovery.

Also in news: Government ban LED adverts from walls of historic Bradford cinema

Jenny benefited so much from the service, she now confidently attends college, travels on public transport by herself and, crucially, the nightmares are gone. At the start of the programme Jenny was asked to pick two of the toys in the room to depict both herself and her grandfather. She picked a giant rampaging elephant for him and for herself, the tiniest little toy dog. By the end of the sessions, her grandfather was a broken goblin toy, lying face down on the floor whilst Jenny’s dog stood barking at him surrounded by dragons and beasts, depicting all that was now good in her life.

Jenny’s parents have seen their daughter transformed. David said: “Obviously there are ongoing issues with how Jenny is, but she is so different now. She smiles, goes to college and will go out to meet friends.”

*Names have been changed