A rape survivor who impressed a BBC documentary after she helped to jail her sexually abusive operating coach has died by suicide, her broadcaster pal has introduced.
Katie was abused by coach Paul North, who was convicted of a number of counts of sexual assault and 1 count of rape in 2002 and jailed for ten several years.
Former Sky Sports activities presenter Charlie Webster, who presented Nowhere to Run: Abused by Our Coach for the BBC, broke the news of her friend’s loss of life on her Twitter account. Ms Webster was also abused by North.
She paid tribute to her ‘courageous and strong’ mate who was located lifeless at her dwelling in Australia on Sunday. ‘I’m so sad, damage & pained to say Katie has unfortunately passed absent, she wrote in a message to her Twitter followers.
Katie was abused by coach Paul North, who was convicted of many counts of sexual assault and one particular count of rape in 2002 and jailed for ten yrs.
Previous Sky Sporting activities presenter Charlie Webster (pictured), who presented Nowhere to Operate: Abused by Our Coach for the BBC, broke the news of her friend’s loss of life on her Twitter account. Webster was also abused by North
Ms Webster, 40, spelled out that she and Katie fulfilled by way of remaining aspect of the same functioning club in Sheffield when they had been youngsters. She claimed the pair were ideal buddies at the time, describing the functioning group as currently being ‘like a family’.
In 2021, Ms Webster went on to make the tough-hitting documentary about how their highly regarded coach, Paul North, preyed on the youthful girls – grooming her and her buddies and subjecting some of them to horrific sexual assault.
‘Katie is my close friend, was portion of my jogging group that I produced my BBC documentary Nowhere to Operate: Abused by Our Coach about. Katie died by suicide,’ she stated.
‘We have been so restricted-knit, we shared anything, our ups, profitable races and smashing individual bests, and our downs, pushing ourselves in training and the pressures our mentor place on us,’ Ms Webster wrote on a GoFundMe web site set up to assistance Katie’s mom repatriate her entire body from Australia.
‘What Katie and I didn’t share, as did none of us at the time, is the sexual abuse we have been suffering at the exact time, at the hands of our coach.
‘Our mentor preyed on us, he manipulated us, and he received in our heads. He made friction in the group, anxiety and pitted us versus just about every other, all to make confident nobody informed any person what was likely on. We had been just youngsters,’ Ms Webster wrote.
She stated Katie bravely faced North in courtroom, and assisted place him driving bars.
In 2021, Charlie Webster went on to make the difficult-hitting documentary about how their respected coach, Paul North, preyed on the youthful ladies – grooming her and her mates and subjecting some of them to horrific sexual assault. Pictured: A youthful Ms Webster with North in a photograph demonstrated in the documentary
Pictured: Webster and Katie’s managing club noticed in an previous photograph that highlighted in the 2021 BBC documentary
‘She was very courageous, potent and so courageous to stand up in courtroom and testify in opposition to him. Paul North got 10 yrs in prison. Katie saved so numerous other young children from staying sexually abused by this abhorrent rapist. We know there ended up ladies abused ahead of us but Katie built confident there had been none just after us.’
Katie went on to make a new daily life for herself in Australia, Katie stated in her tribute, getting struggled for decades with the trauma from the abuse.
‘Katie tried to begin a new existence in Australia, coping the greatest way she could and fighting every step of the way, she was an incredible and devoted athlete. Katie obtained an elite amount in Muay Thai, CrossFit and yoga through adversity,’ Ms Webster wrote.
‘The factor about the trauma of sexual abuse, it doesn’t just go away. What occurred to Katie produced her experience worthless like she was not ample, and it impacted her psychological overall health, as is typical for all survivors, me including.’
Ms Webster reported not long ago, Katie’s parents had been attempting to persuade her to come residence to the British isles. Now, the athlete’s spouse and children have been left ‘utterly distraught’ just after ‘Katie’s mum experienced a knock on her door […] that is each and every mother’s worst nightmare.’
Now, the broadcaster wrote, ‘she just needs to get her back to lay her to rest’.
‘Katie was a daughter, a sister, an auntie, and a close friend – with a cheeky feeling of humour, a determined character and a twinkle in her eye,’ she stated.
‘Katie deserved so significantly greater. We want to do every little thing to honour Katie the way she warrants, to communicate her identify, are living her legacy to continue on to aid other survivors of abuse, and for Katie to be grieved and celebrated.
‘To demonstrate Katie she was and is beloved.’
Former Sky Sports presenter Charlie Webster broke the news on Twitter (pictured)
As of Friday, January 13, the GoFundMe page had recieved around £6,000 of the £5,000 focus on to get Katie repatriated to the Uk, following just a person working day of getting on the internet.
The documentary saw Ms Webster observe down her outdated working group and speak to them about their very own activities of being abused by North.
He was arrested when Ms Webster was 19 and in the BBC documentary she recalled examining a newspaper article detailing his crimes: ‘It was only then I realised I was not the only a single he experienced abused. I just felt utter humiliation.’
Charlie experienced lower off all get in touch with with the girls from her functioning club in Sheffield, but decided to get in touch with them right after obtaining an email from the mother of one of her buddies, saying her daughter experienced also been abused by the coach.
But the documentary finished with Charlie at last meeting up with her operating group to explore their ordeals, and the presenter said she decided to make the movie in order to avert abuse in the potential.
‘I just want to make confident no person else goes through it’, she claimed at the time.
‘That’s what I just desired to do and for persons to understand why, to definitely fully grasp why this has to halt. The men and women that dismiss or deal with up, this is what you might be disregarding and covering up.’
According to archived reports from November 2002, North denied raping a 15-12 months-outdated girl 3 moments, and indecently assaulting her nine periods.
He also denied indecently assaulting a further 15-12 months-outdated woman.
Nevertheless, he was discovered guilty at Sheffield Crown Court docket of raping his to start with victim after and indecently assaulting her on seven occasions. He was also convicted of indecently assaulting the next woman.
He was located not guilty of two further rapes and two even more indecent assaults.
Reviews from the time say his crimes came to light when a further member of the operating club, also 15 at the time, claimed that she experienced been indecently assaulted by North to her father straight after the incident.
North was sentenced to 10 years for the assaults, which reviews mentioned took place more than the span of two decades, and was established to be positioned on the intercourse offenders register for the relaxation of his lifetime.
If you have been impacted by any of the problems lifted by this report, for private assist simply call the Samaritans on 116123 or pay a visit to a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for aspects.
