HEARING the guilty verdict, Maggie Rastall and Ffion Pemberton felt an enormous rush of relief.
The two women had been complete strangers before they were brought together in harrowing circumstances – and now share an unbreakable bond.
Both are victims of depraved rapist Lee Mullen, 38, who carried out sick attacks on Maggie, 62, and Ffion, 32, 11 years apart.
Mullen was jailed for 11 years in 2015 for his vile assault on then-girlfriend Ffion, during which he gagged her with parcel tape and repeatedly raped her while she was recovering from a broken leg.
He had been released on licence two weeks before he viciously attacked grandmother-of-10 Maggie in a hospital toilet in December last year.
Ffion was horrified when she heard Mullen had struck again, and attended his hearing at Mold Crown Court in January, where he was branded a “monster” for beating Maggie 30 times before sexually assaulting her.
It was there that the two women met, and struck up an “instant bond”.
Ffion, a health support worker, told The Sun: “I felt nothing but admiration for Maggie and how strong she had been reading her statement.
“I told her I was so sorry he’d been allowed out.”
The two women – who have both bravely waived their right to anonymity to share their stories – became friends, and are united in their mission to ensure Mullen is never released again.
Delivery driver and mum-of-two Maggie had been visiting a friend in Glan Clwyd Hospital, Denbighshire in north east Wales when Mullen followed her into the women’s toilets.
“You’d think being in a public hospital toilet you’d be really safe,” she recalled.
“I remember going into the cubicle and when I opened the door I found myself face to face with a 6ft man.
“I will never forget the ‘dead’ look in his eyes. He blocked the cubicle doorway and there was no escape.
“Instead he lunged at me. I could smell the alcohol on his breath. He told me he wanted sex and my voice was almost a whisper, I was so terrified, but I managed to say ‘no’.
“He became very angry and punched me full on in the face. Then one punch after another.
I remember the taste of warm blood in my mouth and my front teeth were in pieces, but he didn’t stop
Maggie Rastall
“There must have been 30 blows or more and I collapsed to the floor.
“I remember the taste of warm blood in my mouth and my front teeth were in pieces, but he didn’t stop.
“He tugged at my trousers and put his hands inside my pants. I didn’t move and just played dead. I thought he was going to kill me.”
Mullen only stopped when Maggie’s husband, Karl, called out to her wondering why she was taking so long, which disturbed him and he ran off.
‘Terrible nightmares’
Covered in blood and battered, Maggie was rushed to the hospital’s A&E department and given a CT scan to find out the extent of her head injuries.
Her face was so bruised and swollen she could barely speak.
An hour and a half later detectives visited Maggie, having looked through hospital CCTV and found a bag left behind by her attacker.
“They knew exactly who he was,” Maggie said.
“I was horrified to learn he was fresh out of prison – he’d only been released for two weeks before he attacked me.”
Mullen was arrested at his flat the following morning, after police traced him there following CCTV footage showing him climbing over a fence between a nearby Costa Coffee and the A55.
Mullen had been at the hospital visiting a relative of his own, who revealed he had been drinking wine and taking cocaine.
Maggie lost 15kg in weight after the attack and didn’t want her grandchildren to see her because she didn’t want to frighten them with the horrific bruising from the beating she’d received from Mullen.
“We are such a close family and it was awful not being able to see my family because of what he had done to me,” she said.
“I’ve suffered terrible nightmares since the attack and I’m still too traumatised to be in any confined space. I’ll never be able to use a public toilet again.”
‘Extremely dangerous man’
On January 10 this year, Mullen, of Church Street, Flint pleaded guilty and on February 21 he was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of seven years for his attack on Maggie.
He admitted sexual assault by penetration and inflicting grievous bodily harm.
The judge called Mullen an “extremely dangerous man” and imposed a sexual harm prevention order and a restraining order, both to run indefinitely.
Maggie’s courage was commended by the judge. She said in a statement: “I’m normally a strong lady but this has broken me… I tremble from head to toe at the sight of a hospital – somewhere I’m supposed to feel safe.”
The court heard Maggie’s son paid for her replacement dentures, costing £1,300, after Mullen shattered them and left her with a “bite misalignment”.
Her husband also said he has “never felt guilt like this” after he didn’t stop Mullen from leaving the toilets, and has “lost trust in the world”.
Maggie added: “I want the old (me) back… I don’t think she will ever come back. She’s gone.”
I’m normally a strong lady but this has broken me… I tremble from head to toe at the sight of a hospital – somewhere I’m supposed to feel safe
Maggie Rastall
Ffion had begged the parole board not to release convicted rapist Mullen because she was certain that he would strike again, but he was deemed low risk and let out in March 2024.
He was recalled once but then released again in June 2024.
When Ffion heard he had struck again she was furious.
“I appealed the decision but I was ignored. I was devastated but there was nothing I could do,” she said.
“I was halfway through my 12-hour shift when I got a call telling me that Lee had attacked another woman. I wasn’t surprised at all.
“I had warned the parole board what a dangerous man he was. I knew him on a personal level and knew what he was capable of.
“I went to court to see Mullen jailed again and it was then I met Maggie and told her I was his first victim.
“We had an instant bond.”
‘I didn’t stand a chance’
Ffion first met Mullen in 2013 when she was 20. Then 26, he had served time for a car theft but appeared kind and gentle at first.
“We began dating in 2014 and I’d broken my leg,” she recalled. “Lee was wonderful as I was in lots of pain and on crutches. Soon after he moved in with me.
“He’d carry me to the sofa and tuck me in under a blanket. He painted, wallpapered and even fitted a new carpet. I felt so lucky!”
But as the months passed, cracks began to appear. Mullen would disappear with his friends, getting drunk and doing cocaine .
“One night in June 2015 he came home drunk and threw my crutches out of my reach,” Ffion recalled.
“He dragged me around by my hair, pulling out my extensions. He was over 6ft and I was a tiny 5ft. I didn’t stand a chance, he was too strong.
For the next few hours he violently raped me, all the time taunting me, asking me if I was enjoying it
Ffion Pemberton
“Next Lee rolled up a sock and stuffed it in my mouth. Then he gagged me with parcel tape and bound my hands. He threw me on the bed and punched me hard.
“For the next few hours he violently raped me, all the time taunting me, asking me if I was enjoying it.”
After the brutal attack Mullen stripped the bed sheets and put them in the washing machine to destroy any forensic evidence.
“He warned me that if I reported him to the police he would come for me,” Ffion added.
Mullen was arrested two days later. He wrote begging letters to Ffion asking her for forgiveness and pleading with her not to go to court.
“I somehow mustered up all my strength to give evidence,” Ffion said.
Standing united
In October 2014 Mullen pleaded not guilty to the charges against him but was convicted of actual bodily harm, sexual assault, rape and perverting the cure of justice.
He was jailed for 11 years.
Now he is back behind bars and Maggie and Ffion are standing united, determined to ensure he is never released again.
“In the future we will attend parole board meetings together. We will share our devastating stories to protect other women. Together we won’t let him hurt anyone else,” Ffion said.
Maggie added: “Ffion is half my age but she has such fierce determination. We understand exactly how the other feels.
“Finding her has helped me so much.
“My husband Karl and my family have been incredible and so supportive. I think now, slowly, I’m feeling more like me again.”
Even though Mullen is safely behind bars he may be eligible for release in 2032.
“My greatest wish is that he can never, ever do this to anyone again. I said in my statement ‘I will rise like the phoenix from the ashes’ and I meant it,” Maggie said.
“Together we will do all we can to make sure that monster stays behind bars forever.”
Help after rape and sexual assault
If you've been sexually assaulted it's important to remember that it was not your fault. Sexual violence is a crime, no matter who commits it or where it happens. Don't be afraid to get help.
There are services that can help if you’ve been sexually assaulted, raped or abused.
You don’t have to report the assault to the police if you don’t want to. You may need time to think about what has happened to you.
But you should get medical help for any injuries and because you may be at risk of pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections (STIs) . If you want the crime to be investigated, it’s best to have a forensic medical examination as soon as possible.
Try not to wash or change your clothes immediately after a sexual assault. This may destroy forensic evidence that could be important if you decide to report the assault to the police (although you can still go to the police even if you have washed).
Where to get help
Sexual assault referral centres (SARCs) offer medical, practical and emotional support to anyone who has been raped, sexually assaulted or abused. SARCs have specially trained doctors, nurses and support workers to care for you.
Other places you can get help include:
- a doctor or practice nurse at your GP surgery
- a voluntary organisation, such as Rape Crisis , Women’s Aid , Victim Support , The Survivors Trust or Male Survivors Partnership
- the 24-hour freephone National Domestic Abuse Helpline, run by Refuge , on 0808 2000 247
- the rape and sexual abuse support line run by Rape Crisis England and Wales – you can call the helpline on 0808 500 2222 or use the online chat (both are free and are open 24 hours a day, every day of the year)
- a hospital accident and emergency (A&E) department
- a genitourinary medicine (GUM) or sexual health clinic
- a contraceptive clinic
- a young people’s service
- call NHS 111 or get help from 111 online
- the police, or dial 101
- in an emergency, dial 999.
