Rape victim: 'I feel nothing, I feel numb, I feel empty - that man has destroyed my innocent outlook'

'Since I was raped I have withdrawn into myself, reeling from a deep feeling of hatred. I have become terribly intolerant and impatient.

When I'm not busy, I feel depressed and panicky, and sometimes have fits of crying and rage because I am totally incapable of managing my life at the moment.

I have missed loads of lessons at school, as the thought of spending time with people and forcing myself to talk to them normally while trying to control my emotions, have been way too much to handle, and it has been impossible to concentrate in class.

So, I have cut myself off from people. I can't and I don't want to share the horror that I went through, and this has made me physically sick. I can't sleep properly anymore, and I hate going to sleep because I keep waking up from nightmares, and I always feel sick as I relive the scene.

I am constantly exhausted and lethargic, and this has obviously had a disastrous effect on my school work. I have no inspiration, no motivation. I don't care.

The images that fill my head are terrifying; I was powerless, incapable of doing anything for fear. I thought I would never see my family again.

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Although I was fortunate to get out of this alive, I am totally scarred. Nothing surprises me anymore. I feel nothing, I feel numb, I feel empty.

It has also created a distance between me and my family, because although all they want to do is to help me and be there to support me, it just makes me angry because I just don't want to talk about anything.

I don't want to relive everything and discuss how I feel. I want to be alone. I need to change my environment; I need to forget. And so I push them away, and this has created a lot of tension, frustration, anger and sadness.

The idea that I will have to speak about this rape, speaking about something that is so intimate and uncomfortable and that delves into my private life, and in front of strangers, makes me feel sick to the stomach, and fills me with rage and shame.

I have no idea how I'm going to manage this. I would never have believed that at 18, I would have to do this one day, and yet, I am indifferent to what's going on in life.

Maybe one day my self-esteem and my desire to succeed will come back, but for the moment, I don't exist in the here and now.

That man has destroyed my innocent outlook on life, my naivety, my joy of living, my trust in people, my friends, my school year, my family."

The victim's mother then spoke of her own anguish

"How can a mother begin to express the multitude of emotions that erupt within when they witness their daughter 's panic, disgust, fear, bewilderment, filth, fury and distress after having been raped?

"My daughter has become my focal point, she fills my head. My only wish is that she gets through this with minimal emotional damage, and that she doesn't shut it away in a box for it to come out later in life to haunt her.

"I try to be rational, and not transfer my unease to her when she goes out but I always have that fear in the back of my head that it could happen again. I can't describe the anger I have in me towards this person. May his sentence be harsh, and may it weigh heavily on his conscience for the rest of his life."

Konstantinos Papanikolaou, 52, was jailed for 12 years at Wolverhampton Crown Court, and given a further five years on licence, for raping the teenager in Streetly and another victim in Great Barr.

The teenage student, who summoned the courage to attend court for her attacker's sentencing, was comforted by a police officer as the powerful four-minute statement was read out by her mother.