A rape survivor has expressed disgust at a prison in south Wales for its failure to keep victims safe. Rieve Nesbitt-Marr, 21, waived her right to anonymity to reveal that she had received seven letters within 10 months from her rapist, despite repeatedly pleading with authorities to intervene. HMP Parc in Bridgend was already facing criticism after 10 inmates died in three months earlier this year. Harding was given a restraining order banning him from contacting Ms Nesbitt-Marr directly or through third parties, but the letters continued. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison, but continued to send Nesbitt-Marr unwanted letters.
In her statement to the BBC, Nesbitt-Marr described receiving the missives as akin to the attacker “handing me the letters himself”. Her father, Paul, who worked in prisons for 20 years, said that preventing letters from reaching victims was a basic duty outside prison administrations. Gwent Police are investigating the letters regarding Nesbitt-Marr’s case.
Violence against women and girls campaigner Ellie Wilson praised Nesbitt-Marr for speaking up and said survivors were often treated as an “afterthought” by the justice system. Ms Wilson’s own attacker was found guilty on similar charges and sentenced in July 2022 after she provided an audio recording of him confessing to raping her. She also campaigned for a Scottish pilot scheme to give victims free access to court transcripts.
Sara Kirkpatrick of Welsh Women’s Aid warned that Nesbitt-Marr’s case was not isolated, adding that the organisation often received calls from people receiving unwanted contacts from inmates in prison. She urged victims to share the information with the police, prison authorities or support workers. Nesbitt-Marr lifted her anonymity so that she could protect other victims and hopes her situation will show other victims that they are not alone. She also hopes for an apology from the prison and that the unwanted contact from her attacker ceases
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