Ealing Vicarage rape victim Jill Saward 'never fully got over' attack, husband reveals

Ealing Vicarage Rape victim Jill Saward never “fully got over” the brutal attack which led to her fighting for victims’ rights, her husband has revealed.

Ms Saward, who died aged 51 in January, became the first rape victim to waive her right to anonymity to speak about a sexual assault after being attacked at her home in 1986 while her vicar father and boyfriend were tied up.

The attack, which came to be known as the Ealing Vicarage rape, received widespread attention after judge Mr Justice Leonard said the trauma suffered by her “had not been so great”.

Speaking to the Mirror ahead of a memorial in Nefyn, north-west Wales, to celebrate her life, her husband Gavin Drake said: “It was always there, it was always something in the background. She lived a full life, a life full of joy, a healthy life.

“But it was always there. She never fully got over it. I don’t think many people do.”

Ms Saward once wrote she had no issues with being “tagged” as a rape victim, as it had enabled her to challenge politicians and work for change.

Her work over the last three decades saw her advise police and the judiciary on how best to deal with sexual assault and rape cases, as well as numerous media appearances campaigning for the rights of victims of sex attacks.

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Mr Drake added: “So much change has been brought about by Jill’s work, but the way victims are treated is still appalling. There is still so much under-funding from government for sex assault services.”

Martin McCall, then 22, was jailed for five years for raping Ms Saward and five years for aggravated burglary. Christopher Byrne, 22 at the time, was sentenced to three years for rape and five years for aggravated burglary and assault.

Gang leader Robert Horscroft, then 34, who played no part in the rape, was sentenced to 14 years for burglary and for assaulting Ms Saward’s father.

Byrne’s brother Andrew was beaten unconscious in prison before he could be questioned by police and died after spending four years in a coma.