A RAPE victim has told how she agreed to marry the “absolute monster” – after he sexually assaulted her.

Caroline Lyons, 42, admitted she didn’t know how to say no when she dominated Steven Noon they insisted on flying to Thailand together and tie the knot.

6

6

6

6

6

6

But she bravely later joined two other victims and gave evidence against the 42-year-old thug, who was jailed for 16-and-a-half years for a series of horror attacks over a period of two decades.

Now she has waived her right to anonymity to speak about her ordeal – two years after being nailed to the High Court in Edinburgh.

Caroline, from Haddington, East Lothian, told The Scottish Sun on Sunday: “I married a rapist, a serial killer, an absolute monster. She had been my childhood sweetheart.

“I thought it was a fairy tale, but it turned into a nightmare.

“He raped me in front of me marriage. I didn’t want to marry him.

“But he controlled me so deeply that I couldn’t find a way to say no.

“While it was planning our wedding day, I was planning my escape.

When I discovered he had attacked others woman we came together to get justice.

“Now it’s behind BARS and should lock the door and throw away the key’.

Caroline and Noon first met when they were 16 years old school.
They broke up, but years later, she was delighted to run into him Facebook profile after her previous marriage ended in 2015.

The parent of four recalled: “I was excited when I found it online.

“I often wondered what happened to him.

“We arranged to meet and as soon as I saw him it felt like no time had passed, it felt so good.

“He really was funny and it would make me laugh.

“He was charming, always giving me compliments, opening doors for me and treating me with respect, just like when we were together. BOYS.

“The electricity was still there.”

Within two months, window cleaner Noon had moved.

But he started constantly pressuring Caroline to have sex.

Another red flag came when she received a text from a woman urging her to run away from Noon because he raped and assaulted her.

At first, Caroline refused to believe her claims.

But she recalled: “One night, when I refused his advances, Steven forced me to have sex.

“He went on and on, asking me for sex. He knocked me down. I gave in just to get him to stop.

“I felt a deep uneasiness afterwards that it was wrong.”

“He controlled me so deeply that I couldn’t find a way to say no.”

Another night, after taking sleeping pills, she woke up terrified to find Noon raping her.

She pushed him, then asked leave THE Next day.

But Noon begged to be taken back. Customer service advisor Caroline admitted: “He swore he would change.

“I wasn’t even sure I loved him. I just didn’t know how to say no.

“I was so emotionally attached to him, like I was under some kind of spell. I felt like I was in the middle of a nightmare that I couldn’t wake up from.”

“What I endured was the darkest chapter of my life.”

Once back together, he insisted on getting married. Caroline revealed: “We had a fairytale wedding and honeymoon in Thailand.”

But Noon’s sexual advances resumed upon their return home and she finally found the strength to tell him to leave for good.

Weeks later, while out shoppingshe came across a third victim who disclosed that Noon had assaulted her.

Caroline reconnected with the woman she had previously contacted as the trio set out to exact justice.

She said: “I apologized for not believing her.

“I knew what the other women were telling me was the truth because he did the same thing to me.

“I was so emotionally attached to him, like I was under some kind of spell. I felt like I was in the middle of a nightmare that I couldn’t wake up from.”

“I couldn’t live with myself knowing that he would go ahead and do the same to another woman.

“I picked up the phone and told him police everything and so are the other two women.”

police then launched a probe. And Noon was hit for 16 offenses between 1999 and 2021, inclusive rapesexed assaultassault on danger of life and abusive behavior at a trial in December 2022.

“I couldn’t live with myself knowing he was going to go ahead and do the same thing to another woman.”

Explaining why she decided to open up about her trauma now, Caroline said: “What I endured was the darkest chapter of my life.

“But I share my story to remind others. If a man violates your boundaries or forces you to do something you don’t want to do, that’s a crime.

“I would like to thank the other victims for coming forward.

“After his conviction, we got in touch and said ‘we got him.’

“It’s never too late to seek justice.”