A brave woman who was gang-raped in front of her own father is refusing to let the sick thugs win.
Jes Foord, 28, won't be broken by the trauma of the attack, which took place when she and her father Tim, 64, were approached by a gang of men with guns in Shongweni, South Africa, as they walked their puppy Lucy.
The vile gang tied Mr Foord to a tree and held a knife to his throat before attacking Mrs Foord.
They then stole his car and drove off.
Afterwards Mrs Foord, from Waterfall, in South Africa, had to take medication similar to what cancer sufferers take to prevent the risk of contracting HIV, making her hair fall out and leaving her sick for weeks.
But despite this, she was brave enough to go to court to give evidence against the men – who laughed at her in court.
However, they were jailed for a combined 107 years.
“When I saw the men I assumed they would rob us,” Mrs Foord, who has since married, said. “But instead they tied my father to a tree and held a knife to his throat while the others took it in turns to rape me.
“I could have been broken. It could have destroyed us. Instead I am closer than ever to my father.”
Mrs Foord, who has kept her maiden name, told how her father walked her down the aisle at her wedding to Jonathan, 28, last year.
In 2014 Mrs Foord and her partner Jonathan, 28, had twins, Layla and Daniel.
She said: “I felt so numb while they took the swabs. I was put on medication similar to chemo to block HIV.
“I lost my hair and was sick for weeks. I had to take the morning after pill, plus TB and STD medication.”
Mrs Foord spoke out because she wanted other rape victims to come forward, and is concerned about South Africa’s low conviction rate for rape.
She said: “When it happened, I decided I wasn’t going to let it control me.
“They took something from me and I couldn’t prevent that, but the rest of my life is mine. I have my babies to keep me going.”
Recounting the day of the attack in March 2008, she said: “We were taking Lucy for her first dip in the lake.
“The sun was blazing and Lucy was just splashing around. I heard a noise, it was a man shouting.
“I turned around and saw a muscular, young man holding a gun.
“Instinctively, I dropped to the floor throwing my hands in the air. My dad did the same.”
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