WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT Lydia Gouardo was just eight when she was locked up by her stepfather, Raymond Gouardo, who would go on to rape her and force her to have six children with him
Oliver Radcliffe GAU Writer
09:00, 23 Oct 2025
Gouardo has come out to say how the world turned a blind eye to her ordeal(Image: OLIVIER LABAN-MATTEI/AFP via Getty Images)
A woman has bravely shared her harrowing 28-year ordeal at the hands of her stepfather, during which she was subjected to beatings, torture, rape and forced to bear six children with him.
Now aged 62, Lydia Gouardo endured a reign of terror that spanned 28 years, beginning in 1971 when she was imprisoned in an attic at the tender age of eight.
Despite managing to escape from Raymond Gouardo’s clutches several times in the early years of her torment, Lydia was returned to her abuser by French authorities each time, despite the attacks leaving her with burn marks across her body after being scalded with boiling water and hydrochloric acid.
Following this, the abuse continued unabated until his death in 1999, without arousing suspicion in the quiet village of Crecy-la-Chapelle just outside Paris.
Her stepmother, Lucienne, also abused Lydia, who says the nightmare began when she was a child, when her mother forced her into a scalding hot bath, leaving her with third-degree burns and causing her to miss school, reports the Mirror.
Frenchwoman Lydia Gouardo has spoken out about her ordeal(Image: OLIVIER LABAN-MATTEI/AFP via Getty Images)
Lydia decided to share her story in 2008. Speaking to French Radio RTL, she revealed she was raped “in the morning, in the evening and the night” by Raymond Gouardo.
She also claimed her stepmother, Lucienne Gouardo, was aware of the abuse and would simply tell her husband to “get on with it”.
Lucienne Gouardo received a four-year suspended prison sentence for failing to prevent the abuse, but Lydia feels her horrific ordeal was largely ignored by the world.
She wrote a book about her experiences with French journalist Jean-Michel Caradec’h, titled ‘Le silence des autres’ (The Silence of Others), revealing she found the courage to speak out after hearing about the chillingly similar case of Josef Fritzl in Austria.
Fritzl imprisoned his daughter Elisabeth for 24 years, subjecting her to repeated abuse and rape, resulting in the birth of seven children.
Josef Fritzl kept his daughter locked up for decades(Image: Getty Images)
In this case too, despite Elisabeth’s pregnancies and injuries, neighbours, teachers and social services failed to detect the abuse or raise any concerns.
In her book, Gouardo expressed a desire to befriend Elisabeth, believing she could offer support having survived comparable traumatic experiences.
However, she also criticised both French and international media for their lack of coverage of her case at the time, noting that attention only came following the Fritzl case.
Gouardo now resides in a small town just outside Paris, where she has raised her nine children. She wears long clothing to conceal the acid scars on her body, but maintains a day-by-day approach to life.
She said: “I live from day to day. But I love life. When people complain, I say life is beautiful. I am fighting back now. When a bill comes through the door, I am happy. I am here, I exist.”