'I was forced to have my stepdad's 6 children after being raped and tortured for 28 years'
WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT Lydia Gouardo was just eight years old when she was locked in an attic by her stepfather Raymond Gouardo, who raped her 'in the morning, in the evening and the night'
A woman has bravely shared her harrowing 28-year ordeal at the hands of her stepfather, during which she was subjected to beatings, torture, rape and forced to bear six children with him.
Now aged 62, Lydia Gouardo endured a reign of terror that spanned 28 years, beginning in 1971 when she was locked up in an attic at just eight years old.
Despite managing to escape from Raymond Gouardo's clutches several times in the early years of her torment, Lydia was returned to her abuser by French authorities each time, despite the attacks leaving her with burn marks across her body after being scalded with boiling water and hydrochloric acid.
Following this, the abuse continued unabated until his death in 1999, without arousing suspicion in the quiet village of Crecy-la-Chapelle on the outskirts of Paris.
Her stepmother, Lucienne, also abused Lydia, who says the ordeal began when she was a child, when her mother forced her into a scalding hot bath, leaving her with third-degree burns and causing her to miss school, reports the Mirror.
Lydia decided to share her story in 2008. Speaking to French Radio RTL, she revealed she was raped "in the morning, in the evening and the night" by Raymond Gouardo.
She also claimed her stepmother, Lucienne Gouardo, was aware of the abuse and would simply tell her husband to "get on with it".
Lucienne Gouardo received a four-year suspended prison sentence for failing to prevent the abuse, but Lydia feels that her horrific ordeal was largely ignored by the world.
She penned a book about her experiences with French journalist Jean-Michel Caradec'h, titled 'Le silence des autres' (The Silence of Others), revealing that she found the courage to speak out after the chillingly similar case of Josef Fritzl in Austria emerged the previous year.
Fritzl imprisoned his daughter Elisabeth for 24 years, during which time she was subjected to repeated abuse and rape, resulting in the birth of seven of his children.
In this case too, despite her pregnancies and injuries, the abuse went unnoticed by neighbours, teachers and social services, who failed to raise any alarm.
In her book, Gouardo expressed her desire to befriend Elisabeth, offering her support based on their shared traumatic experiences.
However, she also criticised the French and international media for their lack of coverage of her case at the time, noting that attention only came following the Fritzl case.
Gouardo now lives in a small town just outside Paris, where she has raised her nine children. She wears long clothing to conceal the acid scars on her body, but maintains a day-by-day approach to life.
She said: "I live from day to day. But I love life. When people complain, I say life is beautiful. I am fighting back now. When a bill comes through the door, I am happy. I am here, I exist."