She said the local charity supported her from the moment she found the courage to report the abuse, more than 20 years after it happened, and through every stage of the police investigation and trial until the former cafe owner was jailed last week.
The woman, who is now 38, was a vulnerable, impressionable child from a poor background, aged between just 12 and 14, when Carroll indecently assaulted her numerous times and incited her to perform an act of gross indecency while she worked for him at his cafe.
‘I don’t think I would have been able to cope quite as well as I did over the past 18 months without Victim Support. They were brilliant, right from the very start,’ said the woman.
She reached out to the Guernsey Press to tell her story hours after Carroll, 75, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison for the offences, which took place in 2001 and 2002.
The judge told Carroll that his ‘terrible’ offending had stolen from the victim ‘what she described as the best years of her life’ and that she had to carry that with her, but she said the burden was eased slightly by seeing justice finally catch up with him.
‘As a victim, I don’t think any length of time is ever going to be enough. But it’s a relief and a huge weight off my mind.
‘It’s nice to have made it through the process with a positive outcome from my perspective.
‘My family are very relieved as well. They have seen first hand how the whole process has affected me for the past 18 months, and they are equally happy and relieved now.’
The victim came from a single-parent, low-income household. Carroll was a man whom she felt able to trust but instead he took advantage of her immaturity, giving her money to buy alcohol and cigarettes and then assaulting her.
After working at the cafe, she misused drugs, alcohol and sex and got into trouble at school. Her mum struggled to cope with her behaviour. And in adulthood, the sex offences had an impact on her employment.
Since having her own children, she had realised just how young and vulnerable she was when Carroll assaulted her, and she decided to make a statement to the police.
A police officer who was present referred her to Victim Support. She shared her story with the charity and it explained how it could help her and introduced her to other services.
She said that even if she did not want to talk directly about the case, Victim Support was there for her to offload when she needed it most.
‘It was great to have someone available to explain things and provide support. They are just really lovely people.
‘They got in touch before he’d even been arrested and charged. It was really nice to have someone who understands the process, even at that early stage, just to talk it through, and someone who knows all the daunting aspects and the stuff that puts people off going down that route in the first place.
‘They worked with me more leading up to the trial. My mum gave evidence in court and they worked with her too. They took us around the court building in advance, just for a visit and to see how things worked.’
Carroll denied the charges and the victim was required to give evidence to the court, which she did in a video interview, and was then cross-examined by the defending advocate.
Victim Support also acted as a go-between, providing the victim with updates from the police.
She said Victim Support regularly checked with her to see if there was anything she wanted to talk through or which the charity could do to help her or her family.
‘They offered support along the way for my family, asked how things were at home, and they gave me support with other aspects of my life, not just the court case.’
The victim reported the incidents to the police in 2024 after attending an event near the cafe at which another person had mentioned Carroll’s name and that he might be emigrating to Australia. She wanted to tell the police before he left the island, believing that may be her last chance of justice.
Victim Support manager Jenny Murphy said that the woman’s praise for its services meant a great deal to her small team.
‘It’s really important for us to get good feedback, or any feedback really, to make sure that we are doing the best that we can do,’ she said.
‘Of course, it’s great for myself as manager, but also for staff to see that they feel that what they’re doing is worthwhile and that they are giving the right support at the right time.
‘I think it does show just how important those services are to support people through.’