Two sisters have seen their half-brother jailed for 17 years after a video tape from 1997, showing one of them as a six-year-old describing the abuse, proved crucial in the case.
Abuse began in the mid-1990s
Mellissa Arkwright and Nikita Dallisson were abused by Adrian Austin, their half-brother ten years older, while living in Clayton and Blackley in the mid-1990s. Austin was around 14, and his sisters were aged between five and six. The abuse continued when he babysat them alone at his flat after moving out.
Nikita reported the abuse to police in 2021, prompting an investigation. Mellissa initially struggled to recall the abuse, but a tape of her 1997 interview was located in a storage room at Grey Mare Lane police station.
Critical evidence found
Detective Chief Inspector Chris Preston described the moment the tape was played: "It's playing, and there is six-year-old Mellissa sitting on an armchair speaking to a child psychologist and her feet don't even touch the floor. Telling her story, which remarkably, is the same story her sister Nikita told 24 years later."
The tape was described as "vital corroboration" and made the case "water-tight", even though there was already a strong case without it.
Trial and sentencing
Austin, 45, of Hurworth in County Durham, was found guilty of six counts of sexual intercourse with a girl under 13, indecency with a child, and four counts of indecent assault. He was sentenced on July 31 at Manchester Crown Court.
Both sisters gave detailed accounts, with Mellissa recovering a specific memory through EMDR therapy. Nikita gave evidence in person without protective measures, saying: "I was ready to face him. He couldn't even lift his head or look me in the eye. That was the moment I realised he had no power any more, and that was really healing."
Speaking out
The sisters waived their automatic right to anonymity. Nikita said she has received messages from people inspired to report their own abuse: "It's heart-wrenching, but very empowering to be able to give that to someone else. It's the most terrifying but also the most freeing thing I've ever done."
Mellissa said: "We were always raised with the saying, what happens in the family stays in the family. It shouldn't have to. I'll tell the whole world and I have no guilt or shame. I won't be hushed by anybody."
Detective Constable Rebecca Lovekin praised the sisters' "immeasurable courage, support and heart" and acknowledged the 1997 investigation fell short. She said GMP has since apologised and improved how it investigates sexual abuse, adding: "No matter when you report, we will be here for you. We will listen, we will believe you, and we will act."
