'His sick attack cast a shadow over my whole life': Mother-of-three, 39, who became pregnant when she was raped by her UNCLE as a teenager finally wins justice 20 years later

Julie, 39, has relived her harrowing story after finally seeing her uncle jailed
She suffered a miscarriage as a teenager after being brutally raped by her uncle
He went on the run before he was arrested and sentenced to 17 years in prison

A mother-of-two who fell pregnant and suffered a miscarriage after she was raped by her uncle has finally won justice 20 years after the attack.

Julie Smith was just 18 when Andrew Robinson, now 66, attacked her while she was staying with him during the summer holidays.

It was almost two decades before Julie, now 39, found the courage to report the crime - prompting Robinson to go on the run before being caught and jailed for 17 years.

Julie, from Edinburgh, has now waived her right to anonymity to relive her harrowing story in a bid to encourage other victims of historic abuse to seek justice.

Julie, whose surname has been changed in this article at her request, said: 'His sick attack cast a shadow over my whole life, but now I can finally try to move forward. I won't pretend it's been easy, but now I have justice and he is finally behind bars, I feel free at last.

'I will not let the actions of one sick man ruin my life any more. I hope anybody reading my story might also find the strength to seek justice.

'It is never too late. It took me almost two decades, but I've done it.'

Julie told how she had gone to stay with her aunt and uncle in Newcastle to work at their ice cream kiosk to earn extra cash before starting a hairdressing course.

She shared a room with her 15-year-old cousin but one weekend she went away and Julie had the bedroom to herself - and Robinson struck.

Julie said: 'I woke in the middle of the night to find a hand over my mouth and realised it was my uncle Andrew.

'I froze in terror as his other hand started touching me under the covers. Then he raped me. I was too scared and shocked to make a sound.'

Her aunt slept in the next room and after the attack Robinson left without a word.

The following morning Julie was too scared to tell her aunt anything. Instead she went into the shower and scrubbed herself clean.

'I just couldn't stop crying,' she said. 'I was away from home for the first time ever and didn't know what to do.'

Robinson told her not to tell anyone about what he'd done, warning her no one would be believe her.

She said: 'Just the sight of him made me feel sick. Thankfully he wasn't in the house much because he was always at work or the pub.'

On one of her last days at the kiosk she suffered stomach pains but was so desperate to get home to her family in Scotland the following day that she ignored it.

Days later she went to A&E at the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh where she began losing blood and screamed for help.

Doctors confirmed Julie had suffered a miscarriage at eight weeks. She'd had no idea that she was pregnant but knew her uncle had been the father.

She said: 'I didn't think I could take much more. I felt too disgusting to breathe a word to anyone and I was still scared that nobody would believe me. I just wanted to act like it hadn't happened and go back to me being me again.'

Julie battled with anxiety and depression and even gave up her hairdressing course, but refused to tell her worried mother what was wrong.

Aged 20, she started a relationship and had a son and a daughter, but the relationship didn't last. Months later she met Mark, and they married a year later, in 2010 before having a son.