Woman’s DNA helps convict her father for rape
- Published
Carvel Bennett was sentenced to 11 years in prison after the daughter he conceived by rape came forward
A rapist has been jailed for 11 years after his daughter - who was conceived in the attack - provided DNA.
Carvel Bennett, 74, was found guilty of raping a 13-year-old in Birmingham in the 1970s, leaving her pregnant.
His daughter, who was adopted as a baby, campaigned for justice after first discovering details of her conception from birth records when she turned 18.
Police opened an investigation after the BBC highlighted her story in 2019.
DNA results showed the defendant was 22 million times more likely to be her father than any other unknown Afro-Caribbean man unrelated to him, the court heard.
A jury at Birmingham Crown Court took less than two hours to reach a unanimous guilty verdict.
His daughter said he had evaded justice for too long.
'Scared child'
The woman's mother, who cannot be named, told the court she was 13 when Bennett told her to take her clothes off and lie down while they were alone in a bedroom.
She said she was a scared child and told him: "I don't want you to do this." But he replied: "Do not say anything."
"I didn't want this to happen, and I've done what he said," she said.
"I can't fight him. He just told me to keep quiet."
Bennett, who was in his late 20s at the time, did not deny having sex with the victim but claimed he thought she was 16 and consenting. She strongly denied both claims.
'Brushed under the carpet'
The victim initially did not tell anyone she was pregnant, but later told her parents and social services who the father was and that he had raped her.
She said it was "brushed under the carpet by the adults" and she had blamed herself for many years.
Social services records from the time named Bennett as the father, recorded their ages and the allegation of rape.
The woman's daughter requested her adoption records when she turned 18, and traced her birth mother.
After discovering details of her conception, she asked the police to use her DNA and the files to pursue a so-called "victimless prosecution", without the need for her mother to give evidence.
She was told by police that she was "not the victim", and so no case could be brought.
Bennett was charged after her mother decided to give a statement to police, more than 40 years after the incident.
'I am more than evidence'
Facing her father in court as he was sentenced, his daughter said in her victim impact statement that it had taken incredible strength to continue fighting for justice.
"The pain you have caused is immeasurable," she told him.
"To know I exist because you chose to rape a child, to know you are the sum, the embodiment, of one of the worst things that can happen to someone, to be pregnant by your perpetrator.
"I am more than evidence, I am more than a witness, I am more than a product of rape.
"I am not your shame, and I will not carry the horror of what you choose to do."
She is now campaigning for changes in the law to help people conceived by rape, including to be legally recognised as victims.
"We are not our father's sin, we are not rape babies, we are not the rape clause for benefits, we are not the bad seed," she added.
Judge Martin Hurst said Bennett's crime had destroyed two lives, and his daughter was unquestionably as much of a victim as her mother.
Commending her for pursuing justice "doggedly and with determination", he encouraged others in her situation to do the same.
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