A woman has told of her terror at coming face-to-face with the man who raped her as a child – at a counselling session.
Laura Cook, 21, was abused by neighbour Brian Dick, 49, when she was just 10. The lorry driver was jailed for nine years at Edinburgh High Court in November 2011.
But last September – just a year after his release – Laura saw him at Falkirk Hospital where she had gone for a therapy session.
She said: “I walked into the waiting room and saw Brian Dick and his probation officer waiting to see his social worker.
“I started screaming, ‘You paedophile!’ One of the conditions of the sentence was if he ever came into contact with me he had to get away.
“But he just sat there, bold as brass. The manager came and apologised. He said, ‘It’s OK, it’s OK, we’ll move him.’ I went mad, I was shaking, I was being sick.”
Dick abused Laura after befriending her family and offering to babysit.
He raped her over 18 months, binding and gagging her with duct tape and cable ties.
The ex-soldier even held a gun to her head and threatened to kill her if she reported him.
But Laura told her gran who called police. She could not return to school and went into care.
The trial judge ordered Dick to be under strict supervision after his release but he lives just a 15-minute drive from Laura.
There is no law to prevent a freed rapist moving back into the same community as their victim.
Laura is now too scared to leave her house.
“Since the age of 12, I’ve been seeing psychologists and counsellors,” she said. “Nothing’s worked and knowing he’s nearby has made life even worse.
“I get three or four hours sleep if I’m lucky. When I go to bed I hear the threats he made when I was a little girl.
“He’s walking round without a care in the world, and it’s like I’m in prison. No matter where I go, I don’t feel safe.”
Katie Russell of Rape Crisis said: “This should certainly be avoidable. It should be easy to track a registered sex offender.”
NHS Forth Valley said: “If staff are made aware of any concerns regarding potential contact with other service users, they would do everything possible to address these.”
Falkirk Council said they could not comment on individual cases.
