Woman's horror after being molested by her stepfather from the age of seven until her school prom - before her own family accused her of lying when she revealed the abuse

A woman has revealed the horrific sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her stepfather from the age of seven. Aged 16 she found the courage to report him to the police Leah, from Birkenhead, Merseyside, is bravely waiving her anonymity to encourage other survivors of abuse to come forward and report their abusers Sick messages Falconer sent Leah on the night of her prom aged 16 Leah met Falconer when she was four after her mother started dating him, and soon she called him 'Dad'. Often, when Falconer stayed over for the night, he'd abuse Leah in her room and would always threaten that no one would believe her if she told Eventually, the family moved in with him when she was 13 and Leah's abuse continued In November 2024, Falconer was jailed for 16 years for five counts of sexual activity with a child, attempted rape, one count of sexual assault and one count of possession of indecent photograph/pseudo photograph of a child After showing a friend his text, she was encouraged to report him to the police. Falconer plied Leah with alcohol until she felt dizzy and vomited Sick messages Marty sent Leah when she got a boyfriend aged 15 In July 2019, seven months on, on the night of her prom, Falconer forced Leah to pose in pictures with him Leah says: 'After years of fighting for justice, finally I'd been believed. Last month, Martin Falconer, was found guilty of five counts of sexual activity with a child, attempted rape, one count of sexual assault and one count of possession of indecent photograph/pseudo photograph of a child at Chester Crown Court.