When Chelsea Hern, now 23 years old, woke up the next morning to discover a stranger in her bed, her happy celebration of receiving a new job offer took a terrible turn. Even though she is currently in a relationship, Chelsea still flinches whenever someone touches her suddenly from behind because of the terrifying encounter that damaged her trust. Even though she is in a relationship now, Chelsea still flinches when someone abruptly touches her from behind. A courageous young woman has given up her right to remain anonymous in order to talk about the horrific experience she had at a party that left her emotionally damaged for years to come.

In the summer of 2021, at the age of 21, Chelsea Hern, a Wigan native, received an invitation to return to a friend's house when she was out enjoying a new job offer. After the sizable gathering at the house, it was determined that she would spend the night in a spare room. The "really good" evening was full of "drinking and partying." But when she went to bed at approximately three in the morning and woke up to see someone else in the same bed caressing her neck and shoulders, things turned for the worse. Chelsea dismissed him with a shrug and moved toward the wall, figuring he would eventually stop. However, Frank Manase, the male, approached her and reached up to touch her breasts.

Then, he tried to slide his hands down Chelsea's pants, even though she repeatedly asked him to stop. In an attempt to stop him, Chelsea turned onto her stomach, thinking that he would "get the message and go away." But she yelled for her companion and fled the bedroom as soon as she realized it wasn't going to happen. "I had no idea what to do."

"Normally I'm quite talkative and quick to respond, but in that instant, I was frozen." It was make-or-break time. You can never predict your own reaction. I ended up spending quite some time freezing. I had no idea what to do. I yelled at my buddy after hearing her in the adjacent bedroom. I darted from the bedroom and hurried downstairs as soon as I heard back. After telling her what had happened, she followed me. "To be honest, I was numb," she continued. I wasn't unhappy at first; I wasn't sobbing or acting hysterically about it. I believe it was resentment for a few weeks. Then I began to get annoyed by it.

I was afraid to go to sleep because I was having nightmares. Even though she is currently in a relationship, Chelsea still flinches whenever someone touches her suddenly from behind because of the terrifying encounter that damaged her trust. "I don't feel like I'm as naïve," she declared. I won't go out and get as wasted as I used to, but it shouldn't have occurred. I dislike being in the company of strangers. Chelsea claims that although she had chatted with Manase all evening, she had never met him before the gathering. She says he apologized to her via phone following the attack. "After, he made an attempt to come up to me and apologize," Chelsea continued. "Just stay away from me, I said. He was messaging me and phoning me.

He was unaware that what he had done was improper. Following the incident on May 16, Manase was taken into custody, prosecuted, and subsequently given a sentence at Liverpool Crown Court. He was sentenced to 11 months in jail, with a 12-month suspension period, 150 hours of unpaid labor, and 45 days of rehabilitation. Chelsea went on, "I was afraid to be alone after the assault." The effect this has had on me is difficult for me to describe, but it will never truly go away. The dreadful recollections and anxieties of what transpired are brought back by having to speak with the police about the occurrence for the first time and again afterward. I was so helpless and ashamed to talk about what had occurred.

I believed that in order to give myself the best chance of happiness, I had to start my life again. Often, I would wake up in a panic, afraid that someone else was in the room with me. I still have extreme anxiety when I am reminded of what transpired, whether it be through conversations or job applications. Chelsea claims that after the attack, she hated the flesh she was in, felt "sick" every time she thought about the episode, and would weep herself to sleep at the "thought of another man touching" her body without permission. Says she:

 It caused me to detest the skin I was wearing. It's difficult to put into words, but it took me a long time to stop feeling helpless and to feel like my own body. I will always feel awful when I consider what he did. I'm no longer embarrassed or ashamed of what transpired. I can't erase the fact that this wasn't my fault, but at least I can try to prevent it from happening to anybody else. I will never be at peace with what happened to me and it will always be a part of me, but I am prepared to speak out about it and use my voice to attempt to remove the stigma that many others, including myself, feel about it.