Victim of sexual assault urges other women to come forward

A woman has urged victims of sexual assault to come forward and get support after seeing her brother jailed for raping her 20 years ago.

Andrew McQueen, aged 30 and of Thomas Street, Cirencester, had previously admitted nine non-recent sexual offences against his sister, Charlotte, at a hearing earlier in the year.

He was sentenced at Gloucester Crown Court following an investigation by Gloucestershire Constabulary's Criminal Investigation Department.

Charlotte McQueen, who has waived her right to anonymity, is now encouraging other victims and survivors of sexual abuse to come forward.

Speaking after the sentencing, 28-year-old Charlotte said: "As a victim, I never chose for this to happen or chose for him to do what he did.

"It makes you feel full of shame and guilt, but that is not yours to carry.

"I allowed him to have control over my life until now – that was 19 years of my life."

McQueen was aged between 11 and 15 at the time he committed the sexual abuse.

The court heard that Charlotte had come forward to police in February 2025 after her brother had texted her to ask for her forgiveness for his actions as a child.

As the conversation escalated, he then began to send threatening messages aimed at her and her children.

Charlotte then disclosed to police at that time that her brother had raped her multiple times between the ages of nine and 13.

Officers arrested Andrew and he eventually admitted sending the texts and raping his younger sister when they were children.

He told police he had been drunk at the time the texts were sent and that he had issues with his own mental health.

Charlotte told the court: "Andrew, my big brother, was supposed to protect me. Instead I spent four years of my childhood living in fear of sexual and physical violence from him.

"Andrew took my innocence, my mental health and my happiness. Because of his actions, I spent ten years battling with my mental health.

"He has stolen my childhood. I struggle to remember the happy times because they are tainted by the misery and the pain that he caused me. I look at happy family photos and I feel the fear and the pain that he caused me.

"He made me feel like this was all my fault and I believed it. That's why I didn't speak out at the time and why I turned to self-harm. He punished me every time I succeeded and every time he struggled or got into trouble. 

"I know that the sexual abuse happened years ago. I tried hard to 'forgive and forget' but his behaviour has prevented that from happening. He has used it as a badge of honour, constantly reminding me. I tried to hide it and never went into any details about what he did, until I spoke to police.

"His threats against my family made me realise that I could not allow him to use this against me anymore and I could not allow him to threaten or intimidate my children."

On 13 June Andrew McQueen was sentenced to five years in prison, and must serve at least two years and eight months before being eligible for release.

Speaking after the sentencing, investigating officer Detective Constable Sarah Riordan said: "This has been a difficult case and I want to commend Charlotte for coming forward and bravely confronting her brother for the sexual abuse he committed against her so many years ago.

"The pain and mental anguish he subjected Charlotte to has remained with her throughout her life, but her determination to see justice now be done is a credit to her strength and courage.

"I hope that Charlotte can now find peace and closure on the terrible ordeal she experienced as a child.

"It is never too late to report a rape or sexual assault. You will always be believed and we will do everything we can to investigate and bring any perpetrators to justice."

Charlotte echoed how coming forward is allowing her to begin to rebuild her life and credits the “amazing” support of her family, police officers and the judge.

She said: “Andrew was adamant that nobody would believe me; that I would get my younger brother and sisters taken away from me.

"But I want anyone going through this to know that you will be believed and that it will be okay.

"Nobody questioned whether I was telling the truth or not. It will be hard and, mentally, it will be challenging, but the support that you will receive makes it manageable.

"Now I can get back to living my life; I can access support without this big secret hanging over me."

Police have specially trained officers who can investigate these type of offences.

Call 999 in an emergency, report by calling 101 or online here: https://www.gloucestershire.police.uk/ro/report/rsa/alpha-v1/v1/rape-sexual-assault-other-sexual-offences/

First Light provides support for all victims and survivors of sexual violence, for more information visit: https://www.firstlight.org.uk/