Television Presenter Charlie Webster Reveals Sexual Assault Trauma

Television host Charlie Webster has revealed she was sexually assaulted as a teenager, waiving her right to anonymity to "break the taboo about abuse".

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 live's Phil Williams, she said her attacker was her athletics coach.

Webster, who has worked on Sky Sports News, said her coach preyed on her because of her innocence. She was 15 at the time of the assaults.

She told Williams: "You start to trust them when you're a young kid, and he started to take me for a few private sessions because he said I was good and I could do with some extra sessions because that would really help.

"He abused the fact that I was an innocent person who wanted his support and his compassion and his care as my running coach. He was a male role model to me.

"You should never touch a young girl anyway, but he very, very manipulatively and very slowly sexually assaulted me."

Webster said she did not tell anyone about the abuse because she did not know it could be reported. A younger girl recorded the abuse and contacted the police.

"I didn't understand. I really lacked confidence. I didn't know what he was doing was wrong.

"Not one time in my head did I think 'I'm being sexually assaulted', because if I did, I would have done something about it."

According to Webster, sexual abuse was "one of these taboos, like domestic abuse is now".

She said: "That's why I'm here as well. It might help someone else bring it to light. I want to break the taboo about abuse as a whole."

Webster's abuser was later given a 10-year sentence and placed on the sex offenders register.

Webster will undertake a 250-mile run between 40 football grounds for the charity Women's Aid, on January 26th.