'Sexual assault by friend left me feeling betrayed'
A woman who was sexually assaulted by a friend after a night out has described the devastating impact the attack had on her life.Bryony Piggin, 20, waived her right to anonymity and told the BBC she felt "betrayed" by her former best friend.She spoke out after Stefan Nikolic, 20, of Coast Road, Bacton, in Norfolk, was found guilty of assault by penetration. On Friday, Recorder Simon Levene sentenced him to two years in prison, suspended for 24 months, and told him he had "misread" the situation.
'Trauma'
Describing her friendship with Nikolic before the attack, Ms Piggin said: "We were inseparable."The pair had been on a night out with friends in Norwich when the assault happened in April 2023.The court heard that she had agreed Nikolic could stay at her home in the city, but when she woke up, he was assaulting her."It was incomprehensible that my best friend would do something like that to me," she said.Ms Piggin, who is now unable to work due to her mental health, said the assault left her with a sense of "confusion, betrayal and sadness".She said she could not believe her former friend "abused" the trust she gave him. The attack on 29 April 2023, has left Ms Piggin with anxiety issues and led to her dropping out of her Open University course. "I avoid leaving the house... Trauma makes it impossible to carry on."
Nikolic denied assault by penetration, arguing he had consent, but a jury at Norwich Crown Court found him guilty on 31 March. Giles Fleming, for the prosecution, said that even two years on, Ms Piggin was still suffering. Reading from her victim impact statement, he said the "consequences were devastating" and that she was suffering with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). "He didn't just violate my body, he took the person I was. "Even now, two years on, I can still feel his touch," she said in her statement. The court heard how Ms Piggin still scrubs herself "raw in the shower" following the sexual assault.Recorder Levene said the pair had a "warm, affectionate relationship" before the incident."You entirely misread the situation," he told Nikolic, adding "I do take into account your lack of maturity."Nikolic was also handed a five-year restraining order.
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