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During his service on a court jury in 2018, Dan Cooper realized he needed to pursue legal recourse for his experience after being sexually assaulted in 2004.

Listening to the individuals giving evidence, I could literally see myself in the same situation,” Dan stated after waiving his right to anonymity.

Following the court case, the now 39-year-old from the town of Watton decided to approach the police once more to detail his assailant.

In late February 2024, two decades after the attack, the convicted individual from Oulton Broad, Suffolk was sentenced to eight years in prison after being convicted of two counts of sexual assault and an additional count of sexual penetration.

The survivor had been 17 when he met then 21-year-old Shaun Gilder in Norwich in 2004, and their encounter developed into his earliest partnership.

On a Saturday evening in the May of 2004, the pair had been at a BBQ when Gilder got drunk and instructed Dan to take him back.

Near 12 AM, the individual demanded Dan to pull over on a secluded street near the medical facility in the Norfolk area.

Gilder attacked Dan and caused significant internal harm which caused him being admitted to hospital three times that season.

Severely shaken, Dan was managed to transport the assailant back before returning to his mother’s house.

“I stayed lying down for a long time reflecting, ‘what took place? what transpired?’,” he stated.

In September that year, Dan went to the law enforcement and disclosed the incident.

The survivor stated he had given an account at the time, but it was not advanced any furthermore because he was “extremely unwell at that juncture”.

Relatives and other kin were unaware he was a member of the LGBTQ+ community, he added.

“Times were unlike back then,” he reflected.

Currently, Dan works as a project manager for the civil service, but he was once engaged in a prison, where he said he would frequently fight back emotions when inmates discussed their own abuse.

He added he was assaulted on the job, which also led to recurring memories.

“Subsequently, during jury duty. Recollections of the assault anew. It was a non-stop cycle that needed to stop,” he expressed.

The women testifying who helped secure a conviction in the 2018 hearing in which he was a panel member were “empowering”, according to Dan.

“It was incredibly moving to see them appearing and sharing their accounts and handling the tough interrogations being thrown their way,” he said.

“I was working at the airport as an border agent at the period, and I had to take several weeks away sick.

“At that point I re-reported [the attack] to the police and I petitioned to advance the case for me, which they consented to handle,” he continued.

Disturbing Testimony

Law enforcement officers from the authorities were allocated to Dan’s case in 2018, and it proceeded to a charge and trial at the judicial venue in November of 2023.

In his victim impact statement, Dan detailed how he had been identified with severe trauma (PTSD) linked to the rape.

“I’ve experienced, and presently suffer, regular thoughts of suicide,” he wrote.

25% of female adults and nearly six percent of adult men have been subject to sexual assault, or unsuccessful attacks, as per the official statistics.

An investigation found that 44% of 180 individuals who were exposed to graphic evidence in court reported signs resembling PTSD.

“Historic incidents, emotional struggles and instant stress reactions during a hearing can intensify traumatic impacts,” experts highlighted.

Back in 2004, Nicki Duffield confronted the perpetrator when he visited her son in hospital after Dan had informed her what had transpired.

“I felt furious similar to flames internally. I was extremely upset,” she stated.

The individual exited and it was the ultimate instance she laid eyes on him.

When speaking to her son, she said: “I felt so proud of you for persisting with what you had faith in and seeing it through. It was your justice. You’d strived intensely.

“Psychologically, it really taken a toll on you and we could observe how you struggled.”

He mentioned his existing position as an fire service volunteer for Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service had helped him with the healing process.

“Doing this for the local residents has offered me something to concentrate on and live for,” he said.

The survivor noted he now took pleasure in his canine companions, mountain bikes and travelling.

Starting in May he has begun creating recordings about his journey and shares them on online platforms, where he now has a following of 12,000 on the video app.

“It has supported a numerous others. The number of private messages I’ve had to express it provided support is substantial,” he said. “{I’ve got to do