COWERING in bed as she heard footsteps coming towards her room, Lizzie Jones knew that her dad wanted to play his sick “games” with her again.
She had been repeatedly raped by her evil father, David Terrence Pethig, since the age of four. But it wasn’t until Lizzie’s childhood home was burgled many years later that the shocking abuse finally came to light in the most harrowing way.

Lizzie Jones suffered two decades of rape and sexual assault at the hands of her father… and the truth only came to light after a home burglary rumbled him Credit: SWNS

Lizzie, pictured aged one, with her dad, David Terrence Pethig Credit: SWNS
Pethig, now 70, would take advantage of his wife being at work and sneak into his daughter’s room to abuse her.
As well as his abuse of Lizzie, now 49, he had downloaded thousands of images of child sexual abuse, which eventually led to his arrest.
His sick deeds were discovered in 2011 when his laptop, filled with 8,500 paedophilic images, was stolen during a house burglary.
So disgusted by the images on the computer, the thieves handed the laptop to the police.

Pethig admitted to 17 charges of making indecent images, and two of possessing indecent images and video, but he was spared a prison sentence at Mold Crown Court.
Lizzie’s mother, Denise Pethig, unaware of her husband’s depraved ways, then left him and moved into a new home with her daughter.
This enabled Lizzie to break free from her father before coming forward on her own.
However, it would be another eight years until she revealed what Pethig had done to her.

Speaking to The Jattvibe, Lizzie says: “The abuse would take place in the evening when my brother went to bed because he was only a baby.
“It happened nearly every night. He would say, ‘Do you like it, girl?’ and when I said ‘No’, he would do it harder.
“He used to shove a thermometer inside of me, saying that he would check my temperature, and I would say, ‘I’m not ill’, and he would say, ‘But I have to check it’.

“I thought this was what dads used to do to their children. He said he would hurt my mum and I would never see her again if I told her what he was doing to me.
“I’d try to get away, I’d cry and scream, and he would say, ‘Don’t cry, just keep still, it won’t hurt if you keep still’.
“Some nights, when my mum was downstairs, he would touch me; he had no fear of getting caught.
“He used games to get near me – when he used to try and give me a hug, I would say, ‘Don’t touch me’, he would hug me and squeeze my bum even when I was an adult.”
She was 11 and in secondary school during the 90s when the abuse, which had started during the previous decade, escalated, and Pethig started raping her regularly.

My mum always knew there was something wrong about him

It happened “quite a lot” because her dad would abuse her while her mum was working nights.
At one point, she “couldn’t take it anymore” and even tried to run away.

Lizzie adds: “I wanted to tell my mum for years and years, but I just couldn’t bring myself to.
“When I would hear him going up the stairs to my room, I was scared – my heart started racing, all I wanted to do was to jump out of the window.”
By the time she was an adult, whenever she visited her parents, Pethig would beg her not to tell anyone about what he had done to her.
However, at the age of 42, more than 30 years after the abuse started, Lizzie told her mum.
She said: “My mum swore and she said, ‘Are you strong enough to tell the police?’ and I said, ‘Yes, let’s do it’.
“The police came straight away, and the case went to the CID [Criminal Investigation Department].

Lizzie would cower in terror as her dad crept into her bedroom while her mum was at work Credit: SWNS

Pethig’s sick deeds wouldn’t have been discovered if not for the home burglary in 2011 Credit: SWNS
“My mum always knew there was something wrong about him.
“She said to me that she wouldn’t have let anything happen to me if she had known.

“But when you are a kid, you believe it when your father says you will never see your mother again.”

I’ve got him locked up, but it doesn’t take away all the memories.

Lizzie

In February 2023, Pethig was charged with 15 indecent assaults, three rapes, an assault by penetration and what would have been charged at the time as attempting to commit a serious sexual assault.
The judge handed him a sentence of 19 years, comprising an 18-year custodial element and a 12-month extended licence period.
‘I still get night terrors’
However, her mum died before the case went to court, and so never learnt of the outcome.
“I have all I wanted – I’ve got him locked up, but it doesn’t take away all the memories,” Lizzie says.
She added that she has a lot of flashbacks from the abuse and has engaged in self-harm, even trying to take her own life twice.
And despite feeling that justice has been served, she still suffers regular nightmares about Pethig.

At the age of 42, more than 30 years after the abuse started, Lizzie told her mum Credit: SWNS

Lizzie was 11 and in secondary school during the 90s, when the abuse escalated Credit: SWNS

Lizzie also blames her epilepsy on the stress her monster dad caused her Credit: SWNS

She says: “He was horrible.
“It’s been hard for me. I have written poetry books about the abuse, and have engaged in self-harm as a coping mechanism to deal with the trauma.
“Now I’ve started therapy, hopefully that will help the night terrors.”
The terrible abuse has affected her in other ways: Lizzie blames Pethig for never having had the chance to build a family, as she struggled in relationships with men.
In addition, she believes the trauma from her dad’s abuse has caused other issues, including making her develop epilepsy, which meant she could no longer work as a chef.
“He has ruined my life.
“I believe my epilepsy is related to the stress he caused me.
“I used to love my job, that’s all I ever wanted to do, but he took that away from me.”

Survivors of rape or sexual assault can self-refer to The Bridge, a Sexual Assault Referral Centre, which is available 24/7 365 days a year, visit its website, or call 0117 342 6999.