Boxer opens up on his rape ordeal aged 10 by bully who sneered: 'This is what happens at big school'

Boxer Callum Hancock has faced some tough fighters but his hardest battle was outside the ring... bringing a bully who raped him to justice.

For 17 years, Callum was haunted by the memory of evil Jason Lyttle subjecting him to a terrifying attack when he was just 10.

Lyttle lived close by and repeatedly preyed on helpless Callum. The confused lad endured years of self-loathing, ended up in jail and was driven to the brink of suicide.

But the worst of the nightmare is over after Callum, 27, finally confronted his attacker and this month saw justice as Lyttle, 31, admitted his guilt in court.

For Callum, years of pain, anger and frustration were replaced by a feeling of sheer relief.

He said: “I called all my family and girlfriend into the living room and broke the news. We all jumped up and down, sobbing and hugging.

"It had taken 17 years but it was finally over. The weight I had been carrying on my shoulders was gone. I could start living again.”

Callum has bravely waived anonymity in the hope that other victims of abuse will speak out rather than bottle up their pain.

His ordeal started back in his home city of Sheffield in 2001 – first with beatings, then the rape and subsequent sexual assaults.

Callum said: “For as long as I remember, Jason, who lived at the back of my house, bullied me. He’d beat me up, whip me with sticks and even locked me in a garage.”

Of the rape, he added grimly: “Jason smirked and said ‘This is what happens when you go to big school... it’s a bit like smoking – everyone does it’.

“I tried to scream for help but Jason put his hand over my mouth. We were only metres from my back garden and I prayed my younger brother would come and find me or my mum would call me in for dinner.

“But no one came and I had to endure the excruciatingly painful attack that would shape my life for the next 17 years.

“After, I desperately tried to wipe away my tears, not wanting the further humiliation of Jason seeing me sob.

“But he just laughed and said: ‘What are you crying for? Stop being a f*ggot. It’s what you do when you are older’.

“I’d never been as scared in my life. I ran home and although my mum was there I knew I couldn’t tell her. I was confused and frightened and believed what Jason had said and that this is what everybody did.”

Lyttle sexually assaulted and beat Callum on several other occasions before a house move brought some respite.

At 14, he began to realise the significance of what Lyttle subjected him to and took up boxing to vent his frustration.

Callum went on: “My fears turned to rage and anger. I hated Jason. I was confused, I had sleepless nights, hated being alone and even questioned whether I was gay.”

Resentment continued to fester after school and into his adult life. Things came to a head in March 2015, a week after Callum lost a close friend to suicide.

Then aged 23 and a middleweight boxer, he exploded during a bust-up on a night out and left a doorman with a broken eye socket and jaw.

Callum was jailed for GBH. He recalled: “Three weeks before the case, my distraught parents sat me down and demanded answers to why my behaviour had spiralled out of control. I told them everything.”

Mum, Liz, 47, a weight-loss consultant, said: “I was devastated. Suddenly the last 13 years made sense – I now understood why Callum had swung from a brave defender to periods of very low moods and beating up a doorman.”

Callum served six months inside – and was suspended from boxing.

He said: “It was another kick in the teeth. I’d made so much progress in prison. But when I couldn’t box, I felt like Jason was ruining my life all over again. I had to expose his evil secret.”

Callum confronted Lyttle twice, admitting: “The red rage I fought to suppress boiled inside me. I wanted to kill him.”

They bumped into each other at the shops but Callum’s girlfriend and best friend averted trouble by taking him home. He insisted on a second meeting with his abuser, who by then was in a relationship and had two daughters.

Callum added: “For years I’d just wanted this brute to admit what he’d done – how his evil actions caused me to spiral into a very dark place, even prison. But he couldn’t even look me in the eye.

“Instead of admitting what he’d done, he kept looking down saying ‘I just can’t remember, Callum.’ I left the house devastated. I was absolutely broken.

“All I wanted was him to look me in the eye and say out loud what he’d done. Jason had taken everything from me – my self-pride, dignity, any hope of a normal life. It left me with a burning rage.”

Callum finally agreed to go to police after advice from his heartbroken dad Nigel, 49.

He went on: “One minute I was attempting suicide and the next thinking about how I could murder Jason so he could suffer like I had.

"It was then my dad sat me down and said: ‘Whether you go down a negative road and destroy your life, or whether you choose a positive path in life and make a go of things, you have still been raped’.

"That was my lightbulb moment. I had to go to the police instead of pushing the self-destruct button.”

Callum’s closure came at Derby Crown Court when Lyttle admitted three sex assaults. He is awaiting sentence.

Now Callum is preparing for a ring comeback. And he is determined to break the taboo of male rape.

He said: “I’m working with Survivors Manchester and want other victims to realise it’s not their fault. They are still men and with the right help they can get through this.

“But I’m not doing this behind closed doors. I’ve put away my demons and am ready face the world to help others.”