Teenage girl raped at knifepoint defies attacker and reveals her identity to the world

Newcastle, England: A teenage girl raped at knifepoint has described her terrifying experience, and defied her attacker by revealing her identity to the world.

Paige Bilclough has waived her legal right to anonymity to tell how she is rebuilding her life after the horrific attack when she was just 15.

Paige was walking home from a youth club when Abdul Miah dragged her off the street and on to a piece of wasteland, where he threatened her with a knife before raping her.

Miah, who was just 19 at the time, was jailed for 12 years after he admitted carrying out the attack just days before Christmas.

During Paige's 90 minute ordeal Miah said he would kill her and attempted to humiliate and degrade her by saying, "You will always be the girl that got raped and no-one will like you."

But today the bright, confident teenager has hit back saying it is Miah whose life has been ruined by the attack.

Now aged 17 and speaking to the Evening Chronicle, Paige said: : "He's got what he deserved, he's behind bars now, and that's the life he's going to live from now on.

"I'm getting on with my life, but he's lost everything. I'm not ashamed of what happened to me. He's the one that should be ashamed."

Paige, who lives in Newcastle's West End, was walking to her aunt's in Rye Hill when she was spotted by Miah, on December 18, 2012.

She had just parted company with friends when the predator approached armed with a knife.

Paige told how he put the blade to her throat then marched her down a dark alleyway to a secluded piece of wasteland. Once hidden from view he stuck his knife in a tree, ordered Paige to strip and raped her.

"He told me to take my clothes off," she said. "I was frozen and scared but

I tried to do everything he said just so he wouldn't stab me.

"When you are in that situation you just focus on surviving. Before it happened to me I thought I would have fought back, but you just do what you have to do to survive. "

Miah kept his victim at the scene for more than 90 minutes, and raped her three times.

At 10pm Paige's mum, who had been expecting her home, became worried and began ringing her mobile. But when the phone was answered she heard a man's mumbles instead of her daughter's voice.

After the attack Miah ordered Paige to dress, and then told her to empty her bag before grabbing her cash and phone and fleeing. Freezing and crying, she ran to her aunt's.

Paige's family immediately reported the attack to the police and a manhunt was launched. After trawling CCTV detectives found images of hooded Miah walking along Elswick Road, and his knife was recovered from the scene.

Miah, of Hull Street, Elswick, was arrested five days later after detectives matched his DNA to a saliva sample taken when he was arrested in 2008 after being caught on CCTV at his school, Excelsior Academy, carrying a knife.

He later admitted three counts of rape, robbery of Paige's phone and money and having a bladed article, at Newcastle Crown Court. And in May 2013 the rapist was jailed for 12 years.

Paige had wanted to face her attacker at court. But her mother thought it would be too traumatic.

"I did want to go to court. I thought seeing him might have been a bit of closure for me.

"At the time it happened I didn't see his face. But after he was jailed I looked at the picture of him on the Chronicle website.

"He just looked like a little kid."

Knowing her rapist is safely behind bars Paige is now doing her best to put her ordeal behind her.

"I do still think about it. But there's no point in going over and over it," she said.

"I'm very close to my cousin and we can talk to each other about anything, so sometimes if I'm feeling down I will talk to her about it.

"If I am in an angry mood or I'm upset it does come back in my mind, but then I just shut it away again."

And surviving the ordeal has given her a new strength and determination to achieve her dreams.

"It's really given me a new determination to keep going," she continued.

"It's like I have a new light in my life because I have been given a second chance. I could have died that night, and now I don't take anything for granted."

Of course, the attack has taken its toll on Paige and she said: "I still don't like meeting new people.

"I go out nearly every day to see my aunties who live in Rye Hill.

"But I just stay where I'm comfortable."

But brave Paige will never let Miah win and is determined to build her confidence back up so that she can achieve her childhood ambition of becoming a professional singer.

"I am applying for a college course in singing and vocal coaching.

"I really want to get into singing and it's my dream to be a professional singer," she added.

"I sang at a charity event recently.

"I was really nervous at the time, and at first I could hardly stand on the stage.

"But I got more confident.

"My family were there cheering me on and that built me up.

"I was going to try out for X Factor this year but I chickened out at the last minute.

"But I really want to do it next year.

"It's been hard to get my confidence up but I have loved singing since I was in Primary School so I'm going to work at it."