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During his service on a jury panel in the year 2018, Dan Cooper understood he had to seek accountability for his own case after being violated in the year 2004.

Hearing the individuals giving evidence, I could clearly visualize myself in the identical scenario,” the survivor shared following the relinquishment his privacy rights.

After the trial, the now 39-year-old from the town of Watton decided to approach law enforcement again to detail his attacker.

In late February 2024, twenty long years following the assault, the convicted individual from the area of Oulton Broad was given a term of 8 years in jail after being found guilty of two counts of rape and a single charge of penetrative assault.

The survivor had been 17 when he met 21-year-old Shaun Gilder in Norwich in 2004, and their meeting evolved into his initial romantic involvement.

During a weekend evening in May of that year, the couple had gone to a BBQ when Gilder consumed excessive alcohol and requested Dan to transport him home.

At about midnight, Gilder told Dan to halt the vehicle on a quiet road near the James Paget Hospital in Gorleston, Norfolk.

The perpetrator assaulted Dan and left him with severe physical damage which caused him being taken to the hospital on three occasions that summer.

Deeply affected, Dan was somehow able to take the perpetrator home before heading to his family residence.

“I remained in bed for a long time reflecting, ‘what just occurred? what transpired?’,” he explained.

In September that year, Dan approached the law enforcement and detailed the incident.

Dan said he had provided a statement at the time, but it was not advanced any beyond because he was “very ill at that time”.

His grandparents and other family members were unaware he was homosexual, he added.

“Life was different back then,” he commented.

Currently, Dan works as a project lead for the civil service, but he was once engaged in a detention center, where he said he would frequently fight back tears when prisoners discussed their own abuse.

The survivor also mentioned he was physically confronted on the job, which also resulted in traumatic recollections.

“Later, while serving on the jury. Flashbacks back to the assault once more. It was a continuous loop that needed to stop,” he said.

The witnesses who helped secure a conviction in the 2018 hearing in which he was a panel member were “motivational”, as stated by Dan.

“It was profoundly impactful to see them appearing and giving evidence and dealing with the difficult questions being directed at them,” he noted.

“I had been employed at Stansted Airport as an border agent at that time, and I had to take several weeks away for health reasons.

“That was when I once more notified [the attack] to the authorities and I petitioned to advance the case for me, which they consented to handle,” he added.

Graphic Evidence

Two detectives from Norfolk Police were allocated to Dan’s case in the year 2018, and it advanced to a charge and trial at the crown court in November of 2023.

Through his court submission, Dan detailed how he had been identified with complex post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) linked to the rape.

“I’ve experienced, and still have, recurring contemplations of suicide,” he stated.

One in four of adult women and nearly six percent of adult men have been subject to sexual assault, or attempted violation, based on the national crime survey.

An investigation found that 44% of a group of 180 who were confronted with graphic evidence in court reported signs resembling PTSD.

“Past trauma experiences, mental health difficulties and immediate stress responses during a court case can intensify emotional and stress reactions,” experts highlighted.

During that year, The survivor’s parent approached the perpetrator when he appeared to check on her son in hospital after Dan had informed her what had occurred.

“An anger surged as if ignited inside me. I was deeply enraged,” she remembered.

The perpetrator departed and it was the last time she encountered him.

In conversation with her son, she said: “I felt so proud of you for persisting with what you had faith in and pursuing it to the end. It was rightful vindication. You’d put in tremendous effort.

“Emotionally, the experience really taken a toll on you and we could see how you had difficulties.”

Dan said his current work as an on-call firefighter for the local fire department had contributed to the emotional rehabilitation.

“Serving the public has given me something to direct energy toward and live for,” he said.

The survivor noted he now cared for his canine companions, biking and travelling.

Since May he has initiated production of digital content about his story and uploads them on digital networks, where he now has 12,000 subscribers on the social platform.

“It has assisted a numerous others. The number of direct communications I’ve had to say it’s helped others is substantial,” he commented. “{I’ve got to do