Rape survivor says no jail sentence will take away pain inflicted by abusive partner

*Warning: The content in this article may be distressing for some readers*

A woman who was raped and waterboarded by her ex-partner over 17 years says no jail sentence will change the “horrendous” ordeal she faced.

The survivor faced a “morning routine” of sexual assault at the hands of Michael Christie, who was jailed for 16 years at the High Court in Glasgow on May 12.

The 52-year-old subjected the woman to a campaign of abuse between 2003 and 2020.

He was convicted of eight charges during that time, in Ayr, Saltcoats, and Troon, all in Ayrshire, as well as in other locations, including Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire.

Judge Tony Kelly sentenced Christie to 11 years for the sexual offences with a further five for the physical assaults.

Speaking to STV News, the said the consistent attacks and controlling nature of Christie left her feeling “stuck”.

“The assaults and the hitting didn’t all come at once, but it slowly got worse”, she said.

“I didn’t even have my own bank account; my whole life revolved around him. Those years with him were horrendous.

“It is hard to explain how I was feeling at the time. In that situation, you feel like you have nobody. Even though resources are out there, you don’t feel like you can use them.

“I felt stuck and woke up to the same ordeal every day. It wasn’t until the judge read out everything he did to me that I thought, ‘Why didn’t I leave?’

“It is hard to break that routine when you live through it. I would wake up most days with him raping me, and I thought if he was in a good mood for a few hours every day I thought he’d give me a break.

“But he never did.”

Jurors heard what was described as a “graphic account” of one sex attack on the woman.

Christie held a towel over the victim’s face and poured water over it.

She told the court how she “could not breathe” and felt as if she was choking.

She recalled the towel being soaking and stinking of bleach – but Christie said nothing as he went on to rape her.

“That wasn’t the worst thing that happened to me”, she said.

“The day that happened, he handcuffed me to the radiator in the bathroom, and I couldn’t move.

“On one occasion, he left for Thurso to cut down Christmas trees and locked me in the flat for four days with no phone or laptop.

“The sexual assaults became normal for me, but being locked inside hurt more.”

Despite eventually escaping and reporting her abuser seven years ago, he continued to torment her.

Phoning in welfare checks to her home and manipulating individuals to reveal the her address. The “torture” inflicted by Christie caused his former partner to move several times.

On one occasion, she even fled to England.

The woman explained: “This still impacts me every day.

“All the years before, after incidents happened, I would lie to doctors and police because I was too scared.

“When I finally snapped and reported him seven years ago, I didn’t know I’d have to wait until now to witness the sentencing at the High Court.

“I’ve moved a number of times since because he would constantly call in welfare checks in the middle of the night.

“Even though I moved, it felt as though I was still being tortured.”

Christie was convicted of three rape charges, assault with intent to rape and aggravated physical assault.

He was further guilty of two charges of assaulting a child, who was made to squat in pain for 30 minutes at a time, to her injury, as well as threatening and abusive behaviour.

Judge Kelly said what Christie had done must have caused “significant harm”.

The 52-year-old was sentenced to 11 years for the sexual offences, with a further five for the physical assaults.

Although the long sentence has brought some sense of closure, the survivor believes she has “been through a worse sentence than he ever will be”.

“A little bit of me is still angry,” she said. “In my head, I’ve already been through longer than a 16-year sentence.

“I’ve already survived a bigger sentence than he will ever be given. I am grateful that he is in jail and that I will be able to begin the healing process.

“I’m not going to be constantly anxious because I know he is locked up.

“But I’ve been through a worse sentence than he ever will be, and I will be stuck with that.”

The woman, who feared she could have lost her life in the relationship, hopes other people living with an abusive partner realise there is help out there.

“I know how any partner feels when they get to the point where you think there is no hope.

“There are amazing police officers and Women’s Aid who are there to save you. I can’t thank them enough.

“If you see any red flags in a relationship, they are there for a reason. No amount of sorrys or gifts will change it.

“Once they begin to hit you, it will only get worse. You need to walk away, no matter how hard it is.

“It is hard to build up the courage to leave because those partners don’t have friends to lean on. You just need someone to speak to.”

Help and support is available now if you need it. Scotland’s Domestic Abuse Helpline can be contacted any time, from any phone, free on 0800 027 1234 and email helpline@sdafmh.org.uk.

Women’s Aid is also available on 0141 553 2022 and email getsupport@glasgowwomensaid.org.uk.