HEARING the phone ring, I had no idea that what happened next would blow my world to pieces. It was my husband, Kipp Walford, telling me he’d just been interviewed by police.
Insisting it was a misunderstanding that had been blown out of proportion, he explained they were investigating him for inappropriately messaging a teenage girl he’d met at a sports club. In shock, I believed him – but, as I was soon to discover, the allegations were true. And there was worse to come.
Author Lauren Trevan reveals the horror of realising she was married to a paedophile
Lauren and Kipp on their wedding day in 2005
Kipp, now 55, and I met in March 1999, when I was 19 and he was 28.
A talented, charismatic sportsman, he was the kind of guy people stopped and listened to – he made you feel important.
When he asked me out, I couldn’t believe my luck. While I was a broke trainee nurse, he owned his own home and had a good job in banking.
He was affectionate and loving, taking me on surprise holidays and showering me with gifts and compliments.
My parents and friends thought he was great, and I fell madly in love.
After a year of living together, however, Kipp began to have angry outbursts.
One night, he came home drunk at 4am, demanding to know who I’d had over.
“The toilet paper is hung differently,” he insisted.
Shocked, I reassured him I would never cheat, and put it down as a one-off incident.
But as time went on, he became more and more controlling.
If I folded his socks wrongly or bought a different type of margarine, he would criticise me.
In between these episodes, he was his usual loving self, so when he proposed on my 25th birthday, I said yes, telling myself that the good outweighed the bad.
I screamed at him that he sounded like a paedophile and not to come home
Lauren
We got married in November 2005, and had our daughter three years later, followed by our son in March 2012.
As the years passed, he became more controlling and distant, spending more and more time away from home.
When he was around, he was good with the kids, but he constantly made me feel inadequate, and “joked” in front of friends about how getting married and having children had ruined his life.
They told me to leave him – and I did try once, in May 2015, but he promised to change and, foolishly, I gave him another chance.
We muddled along, until just two months later in July 2015, when he phoned to say he was being investigated by police.
I told myself it couldn’t possibly be true as he’d never shown any signs of being interested in young girls.
Three days later, we were called to a committee meeting at the club about the allegations.
I assumed it would clear everything up and Kipp would be exonerated, but instead, we were told the girl’s parents had emailed nine pages of transcribed messages between them.
I was handed the transcript and almost vomited. Kipp had been texting her late at night, saying things like: “I’d love to be off work today with a little hottie like you,” and asking to massage her.
In the girl’s replies, you could sense her awkwardness.
She was obviously trying to shut it down and get him to leave her alone, saying things like: “I’ve got to go to school now.”
Jumping to my feet, I raced outside with Kipp following me.
As I got in the car, I screamed at him that he sounded like a paedophile and not to come home.
Back at our house, I sat in stunned silence, trying to make sense of it all.
Lauren with her newborn daughterCredit: supplied
Kipp kept texting me long messages insisting he was innocent, until I blocked his number.
Telling our children, who were then aged six and three, that their daddy had done something bad and couldn’t live with us any more was devastating.
They were so upset and confused. I couldn’t bring myself to confide in anyone, until a week later, when a man phoned our house to say he knew what Kipp had done and he was going to kill him.
Terrified in case someone targeted our house, I fled to my parents’, who were so supportive.
But the nightmare was just beginning. In the weeks that followed, six more victims came forward with allegations of not only inappropriate messages, but also sexual abuse.
He applied for unsupervised visits with our children
Lauren
Kipp was charged with more than 20 offences, including three counts of rape, indecent acts with a child under 16, and sexual penetration of a child under 16.
The girls were aged 11 to 17, and the accusations spanned seven years.
One allegation was that he had raped a 16 year old in our home while I was away.
Thinking of how frightened and alone those brave girls must have felt broke my heart – I didn’t doubt them for a single second.
Trawling through my memories for something – anything – I might have missed, I blamed myself, even though I was sure there were no signs.
The thought of having shared a bed with him turned my stomach, and I wondered if the only reason he’d married me was to keep up appearances as a devoted husband and father.
Unbelievably, despite the fact he was facing sexual abuse charges, he applied for unsupervised visits with our children, and I had to endure endless court hearings before I was finally awarded sole custody.
In October 2017, Kipp appeared in the County of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia.
He pleaded not guilty to all charges, meaning his victims had to testify.
The following March, he was convicted of 21 offences, including indecent acts with a child under 16 and the rape charges.
The judge sentenced him to 14 years in , with a non-parole period of 11 years.
I attended court for the closing arguments, the verdict and the sentencing, and my heart went out to those young girls as I imagined what they’d been through – what chance did they stand against Kipp, who was 6ft 3in and well-built?
They know their dad did something horrendous and is in prison, but they’ve chosen not to know the full details
Lauren
Staring at the man I once loved, he looked more angry than remorseful.
In June 2019, the children and I moved to a different state for a fresh start and I began studying criminology.
It took a lot of counselling and support before I stopped blaming myself and believed my therapist when he said that I was a victim, too.
Four years later, I became a volunteer with a charity.
I also decided to write a fictionalised book based on what happened, called Now I See You, to serve as a warning to other women to not fall into a similar trap.
I think of those girls he abused every single day, and pray they have found some peace.
My children are now 16 and 13, and thriving.
They know their dad did something horrendous and is in prison, but they’ve chosen not to know the full details.
The court mandated no contact with Kipp until they’re adults, and it will be up to them if they want to see him.
I’m with a loving new partner – a colleague I grew close to after our divorces – who’s helped me realise what a healthy
