'I was blackmailed into performing sex acts blindfolded for years - then I discovered it was my dad'

Warning: Sensitive content. Charlene Masterson, 32, was harrowingly blackmailed and sexually abused by a 'stranger' in her family home for seven years - then discovered it was her father all along

A woman discovered her abuser was actually her own father after seven years of repeated sexual assault.

Charlene Masterson, 32, is the brave survivor of a blackmail plot and campaign of sexual abuse at the hands of her dad, David Masterson, 56. Charlene, who has courageously waived her right to anonymity, was 18 years old when she received an anonymous text message from a stranger who claimed to have damaging information about her.

They threatened to leak the material to her dad and get him fired from his job if she did not perform sex acts. When Charlene approached David with the worrying information, he encouraged her to do it, over 'fear' of getting the sack. She was blindfolded and forced to listen to music while her dad let a dangerous 'stranger' into their family home.

In July 2021, Masterson, from Dublin, Ireland, was jailed for 17 years after pleading guilty to six counts of rape, sexual assault and incest carried out between March 2007 and June 2014. Charlene - who says she is a survivor and not a victim - has since campaigned to encourage others who have suffered rape and sexual abuse to not stay silent.

Speaking on The Indo Daily podcast this week, Charlene told of how it all started. She said: "I randomly got messages from a number. I didn't know the number, and it read, 'I know what you did', and anyone that knows me knows I hate being in trouble, so I immediately panicked."

The blackmailer threatened to have David fired from his role at an airline at Dublin airport if she didn't meet his demands and perform sex acts on men. She explained: "The one person you go to for help is your dad, and I did, and his response was, 'You're going to have to'. It wasn't the reaction I was expecting.

"It was him, so he knew I didn't do anything, I don't even know how he concocted this whole thing, he knew exactly what I had done, which was nothing." It was arranged that Charlene would be blindfolded with earphones playing while her father let a person into their home to sexually abuse her.

"I remember it vividly, sitting there in whatever he had demanded I wear that night and he would be looking out the window going, 'Oh he is coming across the field'," she said. David would then pretend he was the stranger and force her to give him oral sex. He would always wear condoms at the insistence of Charlene.

After the attacks, he would "play the hero" and be a "doting father" again. Charlene would have to strip the bed and clean up after the abuse, and she would shower and scrub to try and cleanse herself. The abuse escalated to Charlene having to engage sexually with two other men while blindfolded.

Charlene finally discovered that her father was her abuser when she was helping her grandmother install a programme on her laptop, and found a DVD with a recording of two of the abuse incidents. She said: "I didn't watch past the first 10 seconds. When he came home, I was still getting messages from the stranger and I replied, 'I know you are my dad'."

Charlene recalled how her father "screamed" and denied any involvement, but the blackmail messages immediately stopped. Then the sexual assault turned into "open abuse" at home, where David would physically grope and rape her. When Charlene was 25, she was finally able to open up to a friend, who was a trainee social worker.

The friend then told Charlene's mother about the years of abuse, and she kicked David out of their home. He has since had no contact with either of them, aside from seeing Charlene in court and at his mother's funeral. The Central Criminal Court heard that Masterson went on to defile three girls, having sexual encounters with two teenagers and a sexual relationship with a third.

When David was sentenced in court, his barrister said there was "no remorse" for his actions. Charlene said: "It was gut-wrenching, you'd think that he [would] be a little bit sorry. I am never going to get an apology. No remorse, but he has to live with that." David confirmed there were other men involved, but only told police he knew one of their names.

In her victim statement in court, Charlene said there was still a "massive stigma" in Ireland around rape, and after seven years of processing the abuse, she was finally on the "other side". Speaking on RTÉ radio after the case, Charlene said: "I feel it's an important story, and I know by waiving anonymity, I could help even just one person to speak out."

If you have been affected by this story, contact Rape Crisis England & Wales for free confidential support and information on 08088029999 or their website or 08088010302 if you're calling from Scotland. You can contact the Domestic and Sexual Abuse helpline on 0808 802 1414 if you are in Ireland.