by Lynn Cox

A mum has spoken out about the hell her family has been through after a former boyfriend of her disabled daughter abused her on the internet for months.

Sylvia Hooper and her son Robert found themselves before a judge after they went to their daughter's abuser's home to demand he say sorry for his actions.

The incident led to Robert, 19 (pictured left with sister Kim), and Sylvia and another friend, being charged with assault and kidnap, after Robert punched his sister Kim's abuser, Christopher Berwick.

Sylvia was given a conditional discharge and Robert a community order which involves him carrying out 120 hours of unpaid work.

Sylvia, 52, has said she was only driven to confront him when she snapped after Mr Berwick wrote on social networking site, Facebook, that Sylvia should have had an abortion and that she only had Kim because she felt sorry for her.

Speaking at the family home in Heathfield Close, Chatham, she said: "I've never been in trouble before, It was quite scary going to court.

"I was put in the police cell, I felt let down, the whole thing was has been a bit of a haze.

"It's been really traumatic. I was only trying to protect my family; no one else was giving us help.

"I've not slept properly since it happened, I can't sleep.

"I seem to be taking one step forward and several backwards; It's been hell for all of us.

"Sometimes I've just wanted to crawl under a rock."

The family's troubles started when Kim, who was seeing Mr Berwick for about eight weeks, decided to break things off, after she claims he began telling her lies.

Kim, who is studying to become a travel agent, added: "When we all first met him, everyone thought he was a nice guy.

"Even mum said to me I had found a good man, but then he started being horrible.

"I was also arrested on conspiracy to kidnap, and I was kept in the police cells and in custody for about seven hours.

"It was horrible, but not as horrible as the abuse he had given me and I am now on anti-depressants and I have an eating disorder as a result of what I've been through.

"When he started abusing me, blocked him on Facebook but he then made up another name and it all started again.

"He even said he would kill me at one point, I felt like committing suicide it was horrible, I find it hard to trust people now."

• To read a full interview and more about the family's hell, see Friday's edition of the Medway Messenger.