“I am unfortunately his daughter. The one whose name I don’t even want to have. The one I never want to see again in my life.” These words capture the horror felt by the daughter of the 74-year-old man who was declared unanimously guilty of sexual abuse of his grandchildren, the woman’s children.
A few hours earlier, the Court of Heraklion had unanimously declared the man guilty, imposing a total sentence of 19 years in prison.
“You know, I’m the children’s mum,” she told Cretalive, visibly devastated.
The 74-year-old’s daughter is the mother of four children. She was absent from home for hours and her father helped her with the children and their extracurricular activities.
“In this man, I had blind trust. He was my father… my father… who would have thought, who would have thought, who would have imagined that he would do so much harm to his blood, to his grandchildren. I watched him in court and I felt hatred. These people want to see hang. He is a beast.” The woman’s voice overflowed with pain, bitterness, betrayal, and anger.
It was her son who first confided what had happened to his grandfather. This is how the other children were “untied” and opened up.
“I thought about killing him. My children kept me. I stayed up all night. I had to think about what I was going to do. At no time did I think for a moment that my children were lying. I had to protect them at all costs.”
The perpetrator’s daughter says in shock.
She found the phone number of the Association of Members of Women’s Associations of Heraklion and Heraklion Prefecture (Hostel of Abused Women), which was for the mother of many children, as for so many other women, a guardian angel.
“Without the support of the Association, I would not be here today. I feel boundless gratitude. Speaking. It’s never too late. Let’s not keep our mouths shut. No more violence against the children of the world. No such harm to my enemy. Sometimes we say now is too late. It’s never too late. Remember that.” The woman breaks into sobs. “It’s never too late…” she adds.
