'The strongest feeling was one of shame' – woman raped at house party by the 'joker' from school

"IT WAS a violation of my human rights. When someone comes into a room to sexually assault you, to rape you, you have no physical power. Afterwards you feel physically sick, and very angry. But the strongest feeling was one of shame.

- ROB HARRIES

Layla Sahami-Devon was raped when she was 19.

Now 42, so far hers is a life lived in two distinct parts: everything up to that point, during the early hours of a winter's morning in 2002, and everything after. She was one person before she was raped, and on that morning she became another. A sense of dread, shame and guilt manifested within and continued to churn for more than two decades.

Last week, the man who raped her, 43-year-old Daniel Gravell from Carmarthen, was jailed.

At the sentencing hearing, held at Swansea Crown Court, Layla read an impact statement from the witness box. She said: “What he did to me is unforgivable and now is the time that he needs to take responsibility for his actions. On the night I was raped I was extremely vulnerable. I realise how much of my time over the years has been wasted.”

Speaking following the sentencing hearing and bravely waiving her right to lifelong anonymity, she opened up about everything she’s been through.

“Daniel was just someone I knew from school” explained Layla, who has worked as a psychotherapist for years, helping others with their mental health.

“He was in the year above. I didn’t know him at all but I knew of him. He was known as something of a ‘joker’ in school and he always wanted to be with girls. He was someone that I personally would stay away from.

“I do have some trauma symptoms. They're brought about by the image of his awful face. What happened definitely shaped me, and it shaped my behaviour. I'm aware that I have adopted a sort of motherly role within my social group. I want to be in control because I didn’t have control that night. That night has shaped my behaviour as well as that of my friends and my husband.