Ashley Taylor Loughton, 22, was found guilty on charges of incest and indecency in an ACT Supreme Court trial in late 2024. Photo: Albert McKnight.
CONTENT WARNING: This article refers to child abuse and family violence.
A teenager whose older sister was found guilty of sexually and indecently assaulting her has allowed her abuser’s name to be revealed.
Her claims were dismissed when she first reported them to the figures of authority in her life, but at the end of an ACT Supreme Court trial, a jury believed her.
Her sister, 22-year-old Ashley Taylor Loughton, was found guilty of the crimes.
Speaking to the media several weeks after Ashley was sentenced earlier this year, the now-18-year-old survivor was asked what she would say to others enduring family violence.
“Even though the process is hard and long, it is worth it and one day you’ll look back on yourself and see how far you’ve come,” the teenager said.
“Keep telling people until you find someone who will believe you.
“If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t be here right now.”
She was 14 and 15 while Ashley was 18 and 19 when the latter indecently touched her body and digitally raped her twice earlier in the 2020s.
In late 2024, a jury delivered guilty verdicts for two counts each of incest on a person under 16 and committing an act of indecency on a person under 16.
Ashley, a supermarket worker with an advanced diploma in interior design, was sentenced to one year and two months’ jail to be served by an intensive corrections order, which is a community-based sentence.
Initially, she was legally unable to be named as doing so would identify her younger sister. But after the sentencing, the survivor consented to Ashley being identified and the Supreme Court discharged the non‑publication order on her name.
When asked why she allowed Ashley’s name to be published, the teenager said there were still people who didn’t believe she committed her crimes.
“I don’t want to ruin her life, I just don’t think she should get away with it,” she said.
“What she did to me will have a life-long impact.
“I think I just want her to know the harm that she’s caused. The biggest thing for me is that she doesn’t acknowledge it.”
The teen said that before the abuse, Ashley was her best friend.
After it began, she claimed she told their mother and a teacher, who dismissed her allegations, which she found really disheartening.
“I wanted to give up and pretend it didn’t happen and be quiet, but what was that going to do?” she said.
“I just got to a point where I was so over it and so sick of it.
“The more that people kept dismissing it, the more I was like, this isn’t right, I need to say more and do more. I won’t just let this happen.”
She told a manager at work who contacted police and her journey through the criminal justice system began.
This journey was arduous, and there were a number of times she wanted to tell the police she didn’t want to pursue the charges anymore.
But the lead prosecutor in the case was “really, really good”, while police were “amazing” when it came to supporting her.
“I’m really, really happy that I did it, I have no regrets,” she said.
“It’s really good to see someone did believe me.”
The teen moved out of home into a youth refuge when she was 16 before finding a home of her own. She has a job she enjoys and said life is now good overall, but questions remained.
“What I want to know is why. I’ve wondered that for years,” she said.
Even the judge who sentenced Ashley said the motivation for the offending “remains obscure”.
Justice David Mossop also accepted that there was no clear motivation.
“It was conduct engaged in without appreciation of its gravity”.
“The offender has demonstrated no remorse as she continues to deny the offending,” he added.
While the teenager said she will never truly know why her sister abused her, she was planning for the future. She wanted to travel “the whole world” and was thinking about applying to join the police force because of how the police supported her.
“I want to be that person for someone else,” she said.
“I look back and I see how different I am.
“It’s the crazy thing, looking back and realising I made it out.”
If this story has raised any concerns for you, 1800RESPECT, the national 24-hour sexual assault, family and domestic violence counselling line, can be contacted on 1800 737 732. Help and support are also available through the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre on 02 6247 2525, the Domestic Violence Crisis Service ACT 02 6280 0900, the Sexual Violence Legal Services on 6257 4377 and Lifeline on 13 11 14. In an emergency, call Triple Zero.
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