A teenage victim and her family have thanked the Essex Restorative and Mediation Service for its support after a man convicted of sexual offences against her wrote to her to apologise.
In a letter to the Service, the girls’ father said: “Thank you to facilitators for their kindness and patience. You really made a difference!”
Trained facilitators from the Service met with both the victim’s family, the victim and offender separately to make sure the letter was being written for the right reasons. The victim’s wishes and needs were always kept paramount throughout the process.
After several meetings, the victim decided that she would accept the letter but understood she might not get all the answers she wanted. She asked that the letter was not signed by the offender and that she was not addressed by her first name.
After reading the letter, she requested that the facilitators took the letter away and hold it until such a time as she would like the letter returned to her or be destroyed. Once she had read it, in that moment she had nothing that she wanted to pass back to the offender. However, if the situation ever changed, she would get back in touch with the team.
