Mother of girl who killed herself after rape speaks out

The mother of a schoolgirl who killed herself after she was gang raped has urged the boy who acted as a lookout during the assault to come forward.

Cassidy Trevan, was 13 when a school bully planned for her to be raped by two boys at a house in Melbourne’s south east in February 2014.

After continuing to be tormented by bullies and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and panic attacks, Cassidy committed suicide in December the following year.

Her mother Linda has campaigned for police to reopen the case and get justice for the death of her only daughter.

Now, she is calling on a teenage boy, who she told Nine News was watching the door of the Springvale home while the attack took place. 

The mother of schoolgirl Cassidy Trevan (above) who killed herself after she was gang raped has urged the boy who acted as a lookout during the assault to come forward

Linda Trevan (left, with Cassidy) wants the case into her daughter's alleged rape to be reopened

Linda Trevan (left, with Cassidy) wants the case into her daughter’s alleged rape to be reopened

‘He didn’t partake in it, he was less involved, but he was part of it and he should come forward to relieve his conscience,’ Ms Trevan told Nine.

She said there were five kids in the house – as well as her daughter – when the attack occurred.

In March, Ms Trevan said all she wanted was for her daughter’s alleged rapists to be questioned – and had met with detectives asking for the case to be reopened.

‘All I want is for them to be questioned. For them to not think they got away completely scot-free, no consequences,’ she said.

‘I want them to feel the fear that Cass felt.’

A Victoria Police spokesman told Daily Mail Australia: ‘The investigation is ongoing. There are no updates.’

Cassidy Trevan who killed herself aged 15

Cassidy was gang-raped and bullied while at school

Cassidy was gang raped at 13 while at school in Melbourne as part of a lengthy campaign of bullying that saw her suffer from PTSD, separation anxiety, and insomnia

In a statement provided to Daily Mail Australia in March, a police spokesman said: ‘Detectives work hard to build rapport and trust with victims of sexual offences and to ensure their welfare is looked after as a priority.

‘Breaching a victim’s trust and proceeding with some investigative leads can, in some cases, be a severe detriment to the investigation and the victim’s wellbeing.

‘In this case, SOCIT detectives are confident that they followed all appropriate investigative leads.’

The Melbourne schoolgirl had been led to the house by the leader of a group of girls, who tormented Cassidy so much that she had missed her fourth term of Year 7.

When she returned for two days per week, the girls seemed to be keen to make amends, asking her to be their friend and inviting her to a festival.

But instead of taking her to the music event, the girls took her to a nearby house where Cassidy was raped by two boys who took turns while the other girls sat in an adjacent room.

The boys timed each other while attacking her, Ms Trevan said at the time, while another one stood guard at the door.

Linda is calling on a teenage boy, who she says was watching the door of the Springvale home while the attack took place

Linda is calling on a teenage boy, who she says was watching the door of the Springvale home while the attack took place

The attack left Cassidy suffering nightmares, insomnia, separation anxiety, panic attacks and PTSD.

Ms Trevan said the family met with Victoria Police’s Sexual Offence and Child Abuse Investigation Team more than 20 times.

But Cassidy could not bring herself to give them a statement, fearing that reliving the experience would push her over the edge.

Plagued by mental health issues, Cassidy eventually took her own life in 2015.

And because no official crime report was lodged before she died, the alleged attackers were never questioned over the incident.

Ms Trevan believes the boys, who were 14 and 15 at the time of the attack, may still confess if confronted.

She has said that evidence, including a text conversation with one of the bullies in which she acknowledges the rape, could help the case.

Ms Trevan also said one of the boys also confessed the attack to a male friend of Cassidy’s when confronted – and tried to excuse his actions by saying he was drunk and stoned at the time. 

For confidential support, call the Lifeline 24-hour crisis support on 13 11 14 

‘WARNING TO ALL STUDENTS’ 

Before she killed herself, Cassidy was writing a letter in order to stop what happened to her from happening to others. The unfinished letter, which was found on her laptop after her death, was published subsequently with her mother’s permission. It reads:

I was a student at (school name omitted) and I was raped by some of the students who still attend that school. I know this already probably sounds like attention-seeking but it’s honestly far from it. I have many reasons for doing this which I’ll also explain.

My aim is to warn other people (students mostly but also parents) about what happened because I’m worried if they could do it to me they could do it to other kids like me, or at least try to. You actually have the power to stop this from happening. Remember the people who did this to me were school students at (omitted), it’s hard to believe, I know. But it’s true.

I’m not doing this for revenge to those students that raped me, set up the rape, bullied me about the rape, teased me about the rape or anything like that. I’m also not doing this for attention seeking like I mentioned earlier, I want to make that clear.

I’m doing this because over 1500 students years 7-12 are currently enrolled at the school and they need to be warned. I feel because of what happened to me, and because the staff at the school did nothing to help me (which I’ll talk a bit more about later). It’s now my duty to warn you all and to make you aware of what happened. (Not just what you may have heard around school but what actually happened.)

But I’m also doing this for myself. I want to finally after 1 and ½ years be left alone. It’s surprising just how many students at (omitted) have heard stories of me and weirdly enough still get told stories of me to this day. I still continue to get students I’ve never met contacting me Facebook calling me a slut. I’ve moved schools, I’ve moved house and still I’m being contacted and bullied. I can’t stop people from spreading rumours, but at least I could try and spread what really happened seeing as it’s still being talked about anyway. But as I said this honestly is more so for students who are unaware of this and are in danger of those students.

My name is Cassidy Trevan, and I was raped.

If anyone every tries this on you trust me it’s worth fighting! Fight! If you don’t you’ll regret it for the rest of your life like I do. You can do it.

Be careful. Be warned. Be safe.

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk