Jessica Jones, 32, was forced to flee her home after a neighbour who sexually abused her was released from prison and went on to taunt her through his window. The mum-of-three from Powys, Wales, is now waiving her anonymity to speak about her experiences for the first time and encourage other survivors to seek support.
Abuse at age nine
Jessica was just nine when a male family friend attempted to rape her while babysitting her at his house. Abuser Raymond Longstaffe persuaded her mum to let Jessica stay the night. He then led Jessica into his bedroom, stripped off her clothes and attempted to rape her while threatening to kill her mum's partner if she told anyone what had happened.
Longstaffe was sentenced to eight months' prison at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court in 2003 and was registered as a sex offender for 10 years. But after his release he moved back into his home opposite Jessica's, where he would taunt her and her family from his window - even pulling faces.
Forced to move and change schools
His presence forced Jessica and her family to move house and she later changed schools because she was so afraid he would find and harm her or her family. Speaking of the aftermath of her abuser being released, Jessica said: "My abuser got back to his house, which was opposite ours, so I thought he'd threaten us, and so we had to move house. He was in the window a lot of the time. If he saw my mum, he would pull a funny face and stick his tongue out. We moved schools, which I did feel a bit safer because he didn't know where I had moved to."
She gave a harrowing account of her abuse, saying: "He was very persistent and said we would be fine, we could play games, and reassured my mum that we would go to bed. I just remember him coming in and prodding me and pulling the duvet off me. I was just really confused, wondering why he wanted me to go with him in the middle of the night."
Earlier assault and aftermath
Jessica revealed that she had been the victim of an earlier assault, aged six, when an older boy pinned her down and began undressing her at a holiday park playground. She had been away with her grandparents and had wandered off at the caravan park before her grandmother found her and intervened. No further action was taken.
But, she said it impacted her response when her neighbour attempted to rape her three years later. She said: "I was getting a bit scared because this had happened to me at six, so I was more aware." She said she "pushed him away" but was scared "he'd try to kill" her if she ran.
"He was saying, 'Make sure this is our secret, or I'll come and kill your mum's partner with a sledgehammer'. I remember I went back to my bedroom, and I just didn't go to sleep; I was so frightened," Jessica added. The next morning, she told her mum what had happened. Jessica recalled: "She screamed her head off, and all the neighbours came out wondering what was going on. She rang the police, and they turned up. They arrested him."
Dyfed-Powys Police interviewed Jessica, who underwent a medical examination at hospital before later attending court proceedings. Jessica said: "I was then taken to hospital and was examined. I remember nurses and doctors around me, and I felt really embarrassed. Court proceedings I had to go and attend those - that was very traumatic."
Life-long impact and recovery
Jessica says the abuse she suffered as a young girl shaped her life, contributing to struggles at school, difficulties with relationships and years of poor mental health. She was eventually expelled in Year 10, saying: "That was my way of asking for support. They just thought I wanted attention."
She sat her exams before working at a local pharmaceutical factory and later qualified as a hairdresser before moving between jobs. Jessica met her husband, Tom Jones, while working at the factory. The couple went on to have three sons, but not before enduring five miscarriages between pregnancies. Her first son was born in August 2017, her second in February 2020, and her third in July 2022.
During her third pregnancy, Jessica developed perinatal depression after becoming overwhelmed with fears of losing another baby. She said: "I went to my midwife appointment and just broke down in tears. They diagnosed me with perinatal depression. I felt this heavy weight on my shoulders. I didn't feel like I was alive. I didn't feel any happiness at all."
Initially after her son's birth, her mental health improved. But 10 months later, things got worse, with Jessica admitting: "I was having suicidal thoughts. I would wake up in the morning and think, could it be night time again?"
She sought help and eventually discovered somatic bodywork and EMDR therapy, which she said were transformative in helping her process the trauma she had carried since childhood. The experience inspired her to qualify as a somatic bodywork facilitator in July 2024. She is now raising money for Rape Crisis and hopes her story will encourage other survivors to seek support.
"For so many years I felt like my family never wanted to speak about it, and I always felt shut down," she said. "Because I struggled for such a long time, I understand why other survivors don't speak up because they feel this massive shame. When I was really struggling talking about it, I felt my throat would tighten and shut. I feel like I am now able to physically speak, and I just know there are so many other people this has happened to. I just want them to know that it's ok to speak."
She's now raising funds for Rape Crisis via a GoFundMe campaign.
