Claire (not her real name)

I was a victim of Eamon Cook from the age of 13.

Today, we have words for what happened to me.

Child sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, statutory rape, coercive control, psychological abuse, violence and threats, complete control.

At that time, I was dating a young man.

He was targeted because of his association with me.

I did occasionally visit his flat and had we been there on the night of the attack, we could both have been killed.

Eamon Cook changed his plea to guilty on the morning of his trial.

As witnesses, we were left to watch proceedings unfold while he ultimately avoided serving a prison sentence.

That remains a source of profound hurt.

He left the court accompanied by an underage girl.

For all of this, I feel I received no justice.

In 1986, newspaper reports described me as Eamon Cook's girlfriend.

In 2026, people finally recognised the truth.

I was not his girlfriend.

I was his victim.

Right now, I cannot fully tell my story.

The Irish courts did that to me.

They took away my voice.

Eamon Cook never served one hour in prison for what he did to me.

I am a survivor, but there has been a huge cost to surviving what I lived through.