Rape storyline in soap helps bring child sex attacker to justice

The victim, now aged 17, has revealed that the ITV1 soap’s portrayal of character Carla Connor’s ordeal at the hands of fiance Frank Foster encouraged him to come forward and speak of his torment over the abuse.

Daniel Bird, 24, of Sale, Greater Manchester, was found guilty of four counts of rape and was jailed yesterday for four years at Manchester Crown Court.

After each attack, he told his victim he was not allowed to tell anyone about what had happened.

Following sentencing, Bird’s victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said: “I just decided to tell somebody and get it off my chest.

“It had been on my mind all those years and finally I had the courage to tell someone.

“The emotions that Carla was going through reminded me of how I felt. When I saw that people supported her and that people believed in her, I felt that might happen to me as well.

“Coronation Street did a good thing with this storyline. If they hadn’t done that story, I might never have come forward with this. It’s encouraged me and it’s helped me.”

The soap’s producers worked with staff at Manchester’s St Mary’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre while filming the harrowing scenes watched by 10 million viewers.

A spokeswoman for Coronation Street said: “Having worked closely with the St Mary’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Manchester on this storyline, we are pleased that the portrayal and subsequent aftermath of Carla’s rape on Coronation Street has helped this victim to seek the appropriate help and guidance needed.

“We never seek to highlight an issue – just tell the best story for every character. When we do touch on issues, we obviously strive to make sure our research is flawless and the depiction an accurate and truthful one.”

Dr Catherine White, clinical director of the St Mary’s Centre, said: “St Mary’s provided advice to scriptwriters and producers on how to portray the actual rape as well as advising on what the character might expect in terms of services at a sexual assault referral centre.

“St Mary’s was also on the set during filming, providing advice so that the portrayal of our
services was as accurate as possible.”

Det Con Grace Hulse, from Greater Manchester Police’s Public Protection Investigation Unit, said: “It has taken an incredible amount of courage for the victim in this case to come forward and tell his family and the police about what happened to him. Today, thanks to his bravery, his attacker has been put behind bars.”