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While serving on a trial jury in the year 2018, Dan Cooper realized he must chase legal recourse for his experience subsequent to sexually assaulted in 2004.

Listening to the individuals giving evidence, I could literally see myself in the exact position,” the survivor shared after waiving his confidentiality privilege.

After the trial, the now 39-year-old from Watton, Norfolk chose to contact local authorities once more to detail his perpetrator.

On 27 February 2024, twenty long years following the assault, the convicted individual from Oulton Broad, Suffolk was given a term of an eight-year sentence in prison after being convicted of two charges of rape and an additional count of penetrative assault.

Dan was 17 when he came across 21-year-old the assailant in Norwich in 2004, and their meeting evolved into his earliest partnership.

One Saturday night in May that year, the duo had gone to a outdoor grill when Gilder became intoxicated and instructed Dan to transport him home.

Around midnight, the perpetrator instructed Dan to halt the vehicle on a secluded street behind the James Paget Hospital in Gorleston.

The perpetrator assaulted Dan and caused severe physical damage which caused him being hospitalized three times that season.

Severely shaken, Dan was managed to transport the assailant back before heading to his mom’s home.

“I remained in bed for hours thinking, ‘what just occurred? what transpired?’,” he shared.

In September that year, Dan contacted the police and detailed the assault.

The survivor stated he had provided a statement at the time, but it did not proceed any further because he was “in poor health at that time”.

Relatives and other kin had no idea he was gay, he mentioned.

“Times were unlike at that time,” he said.

Presently, the survivor serves as a project manager for the civil service, but he was once engaged in a prison, where he said he would often suppress emotions when inmates discussed their own mistreatment.

He added he was physically confronted on the job, which also resulted in flashbacks.

“Then the jury service. Recollections of the rape again. It was a continuous loop that required cessation,” he remarked.

The female witnesses who helped achieve justice in the 2018 hearing in which he was a jury member were “inspirational”, in the words of Dan.

“It was just remarkable to see them stepping forward and giving evidence and handling the tough interrogations being thrown their way,” he said.

“I had been employed at Stansted as an border agent at this time, and I had to take three weeks off sick.

“At that point I again disclosed [the attack] to the police and I requested to take it forward for me, which they said they could do,” he concluded.

Graphic Evidence

Law enforcement officers from the local police were tasked with Dan’s case in 2018, and it advanced to a legal proceedings at the judicial venue in November 2023.

Through his court submission, Dan described how he had been diagnosed with severe trauma (PTSD) connected to the violation.

“I have had, and presently suffer, regular thoughts of self-harm,” he expressed.

A quarter of female adults and approximately 6% of male adults have been the victims of assault, or unsuccessful attacks, according to the national crime survey.

A recent study found that 44% of 180 people who were exposed to graphic evidence in court reported signs resembling PTSD.

“Past trauma experiences, psychological challenges and acute anxiety during a court case can worsen emotional and stress reactions,” experts highlighted.

In 2004, Nicki Duffield approached Gilder when he visited her son in hospital after Dan had informed her what had happened.

“An anger surged like a fire burning internally. I was so angry,” she remembered.

The perpetrator departed and it was the ultimate instance she encountered him.

While talking to her son, she remarked: “I was immensely proud of you for persisting with what you were convinced of and pursuing it to the end. It was your justice. You’d put in tremendous effort.

“Emotionally, the experience deeply affected on you and we could observe how you faced challenges.”

The survivor explained his existing position as an on-call firefighter for Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service had helped him with the healing process.

“Assisting the public has provided me with something to concentrate on and live for,” he expressed.

The survivor noted he now enjoyed his canine companions, mountain bikes and travelling.

Since May he has begun creating digital content about his journey and uploads them on online platforms, where he now has a following of 12,000 on TikTok.

“It has assisted a lot of people. The quantity of private messages I’ve had to indicate it has aided people is immense,” he stated. “{I’ve got to do