Child sex survivor Kylie Bailey speaks about abuse at hands of pedophile stepfather Jeffrey Brant
For decades, Kylie Bailey felt she had no voice as her vile abuser walked free. Forty years on, she’s telling her story so other survivors know it’s never too late to seek justice.
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Kylie Bailey had to wait 43 years for justice.
A young, bright girl who had her entire world in front of her, Ms Bailey was just three years old when she was subjected to horrific abuse to fulfil her stepfather’s sick and twisted needs.
Jeffrey Thomas Brant walked free for decades, likely thinking he would never receive repercussions for his heinous secret.
And for a long time, he manipulated and silenced Ms Bailey, telling her no one would believe her and she would hurt her mother if she said anything.
But Ms Bailey, now 45, has won back her voice and power and courageously told The Advertiser her story to let other survivors know it’s never too late to be heard.
An evil pedophile no-one suspected
Like many other pedophiles, Brant carefully cultivated the persona of being a loving husband, a doting stepfather and someone who could be trusted around children.
And for all that time, nobody but Ms Bailey knew the true monster he really was.
After starting a relationship with Ms Bailey’s mother, Ann, in 1981 and moving in with her, his sickening abuse started almost instantly.
Ms Bailey recalls first being abused by Brant when she was only three years old, with it continuing for more than 10 years while her mother was at work or showering.
Brant also plied Ms Bailey with alcohol and drugs during her teenage years, which she used as coping mechanisms for the trauma.
For decades Ms Bailey stayed quiet, but the mental scars from Brant’s abuse continued to eat away at her, more and more, year after year.
But after a conversation with her partner Darren Williams in 2019, and realising how much Brant had destroyed in her life, she knew she couldn’t stay quiet anymore.
Ms Bailey said telling her mum – who was still married to Brant at the time – was one of the most horrific days of her life.
But Ms Bailey’s mother – who has been one of her biggest supporters – never doubted her for a second and kicked her husband of 37 years out instantly through text messages to his son.
“I was bedridden for two weeks straight after telling mum. So ill I couldn’t eat and I just wanted to sleep to not feel sick anymore,” Ms Bailey said.
Ms Bailey then went to the police to report Brant and after several hours of interviews and years of waiting while they put their case together, he was finally charged.
Brant’s decades of secrecy, manipulation and deception had finally come to an end – but not before robbing Ms Bailey of her childhood and inflicting her with lifelong trauma.
The court process
It had been more than 40 years since Brant’s reprehensible abuse of Ms Bailey began, and the physical evidence against him was nearly non-existent.
But Ms Bailey knew her truth, unwavering evidence and powerful testimony was more than enough to convince a jury.
Brant, now 68, was unanimously found guilty of maintaining an unlawful sexual relationship by a jury in the District Court last week.
Ms Bailey said having to hear Brant – who took the stand in his own defence – continually denying the abuse and making her out to be a liar was something she wouldn’t wish on anyone.
She said having her aunt, Sharon Mason, as her court companion during the trial was absolutely vital and such an important source of strength for her.
It’s not the first time Brant put Ms Bailey through the hell of a trial, having been found unanimously guilty of the same offence in 2022 and sentenced to more than 13 years in jail.
However, after winning an appeal and retrial Brant was again out free in the community within months of his sentence.
Ms Bailey said the first trial was probably one of the worst things, besides the actual abuse, that she had endured.
“When he got let out I didn’t cope well with that at all,” Ms Bailey said.
“I didn’t want to be here, I didn’t want to wake up anymore. If not for my kids I probably wouldn’t have kept going.”
Now the Gumeracha mother-of-three looks forward to staring down her gutless abuser at the next court appearance, with the relief of knowing he finally is behind bars.
“I think one of the most empowering things was reading my first victim impact statement,” she said.
“I’m going to rewrite that because now he’s put me through hell – not only years of abuse but two trials.”
The toll of Brant’s sickening abuse
Ms Bailey said Brant’s abuse affected all aspects of her life, causing her to suffer from anxiety, depression and PTSD.
“I believe that the laws need to change,” she said. “Survivors get a life sentence. They (convicted pedophiles) should get the same,” she said.
When asked how she would describe Brant, the first words that spring to her mind are: “Evil, vile and monstrous”.
“I hope he dies in there (jail), I really do,” she said. “But if he does apply for parole I’ll fight tooth and nail to keep him in there.”
Ms Bailey said it took her a long time to want to be identified but she now realises it was never her shame to bear.
“It (child sex abuse) needs to stop. If I can help one person that has gone through something similar or is going through the same thing it’s so worth it,” she said.
“It’s incredibly hard but there is hope and there is a light at the end of the tunnel.”
Connecting with another child sex survivor in America, after not finding any support groups in Adelaide, was a massive help. Ms Bailey hopes to one day visit the woman in the US to thank her.
Ms Bailey said she would love one day to help other survivors through the court process, a service she desperately sought but was unable to access when she was going through it.
But for now, Ms Bailey has a message for them.
“Speak up, be heard. Even after 40 years it (justice) can still be done,” she said.
“You’re worth it, it’s not your shame and you deserve to live, not just survive.
“It’s my turn to live now.”
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