A rape survivor who inspired a BBC documentary after helping her sexually abusive treadmill trainer in prison has killed herself, her boyfriend has revealed on TV.
Katie was abused by trainer Paul North, who was convicted of multiple assaults and a rape charge in 2002 and received ten years in prison.
Former Sky Sports presenter Charlie Webster, who presented Nowhere to Run: Abused by Our Coach for the BBC, broke the news of her boyfriend’s death on her Twitter account. Mrs. Webster was also abused by North.
She paid tribute to her “brave and strong” friend, who was found dead at her home in Australia on Sunday. “I am so sad, hurt and distressed to say that Katie has sadly passed away,” she wrote in a message to her Twitter followers.
Katie was abused by trainer Paul North, who was convicted of multiple assaults and a rape charge in 2002 and received ten years in prison.
Former Sky Sports presenter Charlie Webster (pictured), who presented Nowhere to Run: Abused by Our Coach for the BBC, announced the news of her friend’s death on her Twitter account. Webster was also abused by North
Ms Webster, 40, explained that she and Katie met when they were children at the same running club in Sheffield. She said the two were best friends at the time and described the running group as “like family”.
Then, in 2021, Ms Webster made the hard-hitting documentary about how her respected trainer, Paul North, exploited the young girls – grooming them and their friends and subjecting some of them to horrific attacks.
“Katie is my girlfriend, was part of my running group that I made my BBC documentary Nowhere to Run: Abused by Our Coach about. Katie committed suicide,” she said.
“We were so close, we shared everything, our highs of winning races and breaking personal bests, and our lows of pushing each other in training and the pressure our coach put on us,” Ms Webster wrote on a furnished GoFundMe page to help Katie’s mother repatriate her body from Australia.
“What Katie and I didn’t share, as neither of us did at the time, was the sexual abuse we simultaneously endured at the hands of our trainer.
“Our coach robbed us, he manipulated us and got into our heads. He created friction in the group, fear and pitted us against each other to make sure no one told anyone what was going on. We were just children,” mrs. Webster wrote.
She said Katie North acted bravely in court and helped put him behind bars.
Then, in 2021, Charlie Webster made the hard-hitting documentary about how her respected trainer, Paul North, took advantage of the young girls – grooming them and their friends and subjecting some of them to gruesome sexual assaults. In the photo: A young mrs. Webster with North in a photo featured in the documentary
Pictured: Webster and Katie’s running club, seen in a vintage photo from the 2021 BBC documentary
“She was incredibly brave, strong and brave enough to stand up in court and testify against him. Paul North was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Katie saved so many other children from being sexually abused by this despicable rapist. We know girls have been abused before us, but Katie made sure there were no girls after us.”
Katie started to make a new life for herself in Australia, Katie said in her tribute, after years of struggling with the trauma of abuse.
“Katie was trying to start a new life in Australia, she was trying to get by as best she could and she was fighting every step of the way, she was an incredible and dedicated athlete. Through adversity, Katie has reached an elite level in Muay Thai, CrossFit and yoga,” Ms. Webster wrote.
“The beauty of the trauma of sexual abuse is that it doesn’t just go away. What happened to Katie made her feel like she wasn’t enough and, as is common with all survivors, including me, it had an impact on her mental health.”
Ms Webster recently said Katie’s parents tried to persuade her to return to the UK. Now the athlete’s family are “absolutely distraught” after “Katie’s mum knocked on their door” […] it’s every mother’s worst nightmare.”
Now the broadcaster wrote: “She just wants her back to calm her down.”
“Katie was a daughter, a sister, an aunt and a friend – with a cheeky sense of humour, a determined personality and a twinkle in her eye,” she said.
“Katie deserves so much better. We want to do what we can to honor Katie as she deserves, to speak her name, to live up to her legacy, to continue to help other survivors of abuse, and to make sure Katie is grieved and celebrated.
“To show Katie that she was and will be loved.”
Former Sky Sports presenter Charlie Webster broke the news on Twitter (pictured)
As of Friday January 13, the GoFundMe page had raised more than £6,000 of the £5,000 target for the repatriation of Katie to the UK after only being online for a day.
The documentary saw how Ms. Webster tracks down her old running group and talks to them about her own experiences of being abused by North.
He was arrested when Mrs Webster was 19 and in the BBC documentary she recalled reading a newspaper report about his crimes: ‘It was only then that I realized I wasn’t the only one he abused. I was just shy.”
Charlie cut ties with the girls at her running club in Sheffield but decided to contact her after receiving an email from the mother of one of her friends who said her daughter had also been abused by the coach.
But the documentary ended when Charlie finally caught up with her running group to discuss her experience, and the host said she decided to make the film to avoid abuse in the future.
“I just want to make sure no one else goes through that,” she said at the time.
“I just wanted to do it and for people to understand why, really understand why it has to stop. The people who ignore or cover up, that’s what you ignore and cover up.’
According to archived reports in November 2002, North denied raping a 15-year-old girl three times and indecently assaulting her nine times.
He also denied indecently assaulting another 15-year-old girl.
However, he was found guilty at Sheffield Crown Court of raping his first victim once and indecently assaulting her seven times. He was also found guilty of indecent assault of the second girl.
He was found not guilty of two other counts of rape and two other assaults.
Reports from the time say his crimes came to light when another member of the running club, also 15 at the time, reported being assaulted by North against her father immediately after the incident.
North was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the attacks, which allegedly took place over a two-year period, and was placed on the sex offenders’ register for the rest of his life.
If you are affected by any of the issues discussed in this article, call the Samaritans on 116123 for confidential assistance or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for more information.
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Elizabeth Cabrera is an author and journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a talent for staying up-to-date on the latest news and trends, Elizabeth is dedicated to delivering informative and engaging articles that keep readers informed on the latest developments.
