The victim of the former Truro School pupil convicted of rape, George Gray, spoke exclusively to the West Briton.

THE VICTIM raped by former Truro School pupil George Gray spoke exclusively to the West Briton about her "nightmare" experience.

The teenager was studying for A levels at the time of the attack at a party near Truro in October last year.

Despite the ordeal she managed to start at a top university this year but had to return to give evidence at the trial of her attacker.

She said: "It's such a long process – it was 14 months from the incident to the sentencing.

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"At the start I stayed in the house – I didn't leave my room. I would not go out, I would not eat, I would not look at myself – it had an extreme effect for weeks.

"You get to a stage when you have to get back into things and then you are in a state of limbo when you are just waiting."

Gray was arrested on the night of the attack but was released on bail.

She said: "I badly didn't want this to stop me from carrying on with university. I sat my exams. I was in such a state but I did sit them.

"Then I had to come back – it was the biggest nightmare. You are away in a new setting and I was settled and happy and had to come back here and face it all again."

She was cross-examined on the first day of the trial at Truro Crown Court on November 21.

"I was so shocked by the questioning. It was so personal. I was confused by what he was getting at. I thought it was horrible.

"I was prepared to talk about the incident but not to have my character ripped apart. I thought it was so unfair how they could try to discredit my character."

The trial lasted four days and the unanimous guilty verdict left Gray looking stunned.

After he was jailed for four years last week, his victim said: "I was immensely relieved. If they had found him not guilty my life would have been ruined all over again."

But she took no pleasure in the outcome of the trial.

"It's not something that sits comfortably with me," she said. "Somebody is going to prison.

"I feel so sorry for his parents but it's not my fault."

Gray's father, Colonel Mark Gray, MBE, issued a statement following the sentence which criticised the police, the justice system and the "honesty" of the victim.

The teenager told the West Briton: "I completely understand that his parents will be hugely upset and not find this an easy thing to accept but that is the outcome.

"I would not have gone through this unless it were true. Even now that the verdict has been passed it's still not a nice position to be in.

"It's pulled friendships apart and I've lost some of my own friends."

The teenager now hoped to concentrate on her degree and added: "Stuff with guys is entirely different – I'm just scared full-stop. I don't know if I'll ever feel normal but I will try and move on."