Mum weeps as she relives moment teen daughter said stepdad sexually abused her before killing herself days later leaving note telling him to 'rot in hell'

A MUM wept in court as she relived the moment her teenage daughter told her she had been allegedly sexually abused by her stepfather before killing herself just days later.

Jennifer Connell said the 16-year-old was physically shaking and sobbing as she claimed she had been repeatedly molested by Brett Connell, 36, when she was aged 13 or 14.

A court heard Georgia Walsh alleged he had kissed her by putting his tongue in her mouth, and touched her breasts and private parts, often when he tucked her in bed at night.

Six days after confiding in her mother she also gave a detailed account of the alleged abuse to police.

But tragically the teenager killed herself four weeks later on March 17 last year.

Connell was on police bail at the time, having denied the allegations.

In an emotionally-charged trial at Maidstone Crown Court in Kent, Georgia's video recorded interview has been played to the jury.

The teenager spoke of how her stepfather allegedly left her feeling “confused, scared and lost”. She withdrew from her school friends and believed she had to “stay silent” about what was happening.

It has also been revealed that before she took her own life she wrote a note in which she said: "Make sure that b****** rots in Hell for what he has done."

Mrs Connell told the court she came home from work on February 8 last year, knowing that her daughter was very angry and upset following a row with her stepfather.

However, after Connell left the property, Georgia told her mum she needed to talk to her, but warned she would not like what she had to say.

Choking back tears, Mrs Connell said her daughter was crying and she had to repeatedly ask what was wrong.

She said: "I put my hands on the top of her arms and said 'Just tell me'. It was said in panic. I raised my voice and was really concerned. It was to reinforce what I was saying. I just wanted her to tell me.

"She put her hand to her face and said 'You can't let him back in the house'. I said 'Who?' She said 'Brett'. I asked her what she was talking about.

"She said 'I didn't want to tell you. I'm really sorry'. I told her I didn't understand. She said 'It's Brett. He's been doing stuff."

Having heard the full extent of the alleged abuse, Mrs Connell video called her husband on WhatsApp.

She told the court she wanted to see his face when she confronted him about what Georgia had said.

Mrs Connell informed her husband that “really bad stuff had been happening that shouldn't have been happening”.

She told the court Connell replied he had not “done anything” or “touched” anyone, even though she had been “very careful” not to mention touching.

Asked why she had not referred to such specific detail Mrs Connell added: "I knew that anything I said would hinder a criminal investigation, and I knew there would be a criminal investigation because of what he had done and so I deliberately didn't say anything."

Mrs Connell also denied during cross-examination by her husband's defence team that she was distressed and crying when she contacted him, or had implied sexual touching had occurred by the way she spoke and the nature of her call.

"I never made any reference to touching. I was very careful not to say anything," she maintained.

Mrs Connell said she then told her husband not to contact her again and hung up. She then called police.

The court also heard that a few years earlier Georgia had told her mum of she saw someone taking a photo of her through a glass window above the bathroom door while she showered.

The teenager later told police she recognised Connell's phone and the watch on his wrist.

But Mrs Connell dismissed her daughter's claim at the time as 'ridiculous', telling her she must have seen a reflection of light.

She cried as she told the jury of nine women and three men that she also threw away a note Georgia wrote about what she said she had seen.

"It was exactly what she had said to me, that someone had taken a photo through the window of her in the shower," recalled Mrs Connell.

"I took the page off her and said 'Don't be so ridiculous. You can't write things like that. Don't be silly'."

It is alleged by the prosecution, however, that this “spooked” Connell and he stopped abusing his stepdaughter in fear of what else she might say.

Asked if her daughter's behaviour or attitude to her stepfather had changed in any way at that time, Mrs Connell said Georgia started wearing “loads” of clothes around the house.

In her interview with police, Georgia spoke of how she at first felt confused and scared by what her stepfather did to her, and did not realise it was sexual assault.

She then revealed how the alleged abuse progressed, and she felt she could not tell anyone.

"I knew that it was wrong and I was just scared and didn't know what to do. That's when I was really confused," the teen told police.

"I just didn't know what to do and couldn't tell anyone and just had to stay silent. That's when I started withdrawing from everyone.

"I started withdrawing from my friends. I was scared and wouldn't talk to them. My teachers would say 'There's something strange about Georgia' but I wouldn't tell anyone. I just became withdrawn."

Georgia also told how she froze after Connell allegedly put his hand down her pyjama bottoms and inside her knickers.

"I kind of stood there and froze. I didn't know what had just happened. I cried after. I stood there for a good 10 minutes thinking about what had happened and then I cried. I got scared."

Connell, a coffee shop worker from Sevenoaks, Kent, denies five offences of sexual activity with a child in relation to Georgia. He also faces 11 other sex offences unrelated to Georgia.

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Victims of alleged abuse in England and Wales are granted automatic anonymity throughout their lifetime. Georgia's tragic death therefore means she can be identified.

The jury was told at the start of the trial not to be tempted to “jump to the conclusion” that Connell was responsible for Georgia killing herself.

The judge, Recorder Peter Guest, warned: "You must keep an open mind, listen to the evidence, speeches and summing up before reaching any conclusions."

The trial continues.

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