My grandad was loved by everyone but robbed me of my childhood – I exposed him as a predator with secret recorder
TO ONLOOKERS Alan Drake seemed like the perfect grandfather who was looked up to by family and peers.
But to his granddaughter Katie Billing he was the monster who had preyed on her from the age of eight and had stolen her childhood.
Now Katie, 25, from Surrey, has revealed how she snared the predator and achieved justice for herself, 12 years on.
Worried no-one would believe her, aged 20, Katie secretly recorded Drake on her iPhone in a shocking confession that got him sent down.
Now, Drake has been imprisoned for 18 years for his horrendous campaign of abuse, thanks to Katie’s incredible bravery.
Katie says: “Everyone in our life adored Grandad, but they had no idea he was a secret, vile paedophile who ruined my life.
“I’m so proud of myself for taking matters into my own hands and taking action.
“Now, after snaring him, I’m the one in control. He took my childhood but I’ve made sure he won’t rob me of my future.”
To everyone else, Katie had a picturesque family life. She grew up with her mum, dad and had five siblings. They spent all their time with their grandparents.
Katie says: “My grandma married Alan when I was two. I thought Grandad was the best.
“Most afternoons and weekends we spent together with our grandparents.
“Grandad would play games and read us stories. We went on trips to the zoo and family holidays together.”
Over the years, although Drake was a warehouse worker and night porter at a hospital in Surrey, his passion at home was music.
He had a music room upstairs in his house, filled with keyboards, harmonicas, guitars and other instruments.
Katie, who’s currently unemployed but used to be a care-home assistant, says: “I adored playing in the music room, having a go on the instruments.
“But one day when I was eight, Nan popped out and Grandad called me to the music room.
“As I played with the instruments, he kept pulling me closer to him. Ignoring him, I moved away.
“He got angry and intense, forcing his hand down my trousers. I didn’t understand what was happening.
“I wondered whether it was what grandfathers did and thought it must be normal. I didn’t tell a soul.
“After that, Grandad would call me into the music room often. He’d touch my private parts, or force me to grind against his lap, as the family were all downstairs.
“Once, Nan nearly walked in. So Grandad quickly pushed me into the cupboard before the coast was clear.
“Soon, it began happening in his car whilst on food or school runs. Another time, he tried to use the hoover between my legs.
“He’d tell me after each time that it was just a dream. As a confused little girl, I told myself it wasn’t real.”
As Drake continued to prey on Katie, the family were constantly together and remained close.
They celebrated every Easter, Christmas, birthday and occasion together, even going on family holidays.
Katie claims her grandfather was extremely loved and looked up to by everyone. Sadly, no-one knew what was going on behind closed doors.
Katie says: “Soon, I started refusing to go up to the music room when he called me. But he would threaten to touch my siblings instead.
“I was terrified and didn’t want him to harm my siblings. I did what he said, trying to protect my family.
“In 2010, when I was turning 10, I knew I was being abused. I hated what he was doing to me.
“I started to distance myself, avoiding being left alone with him.”
Katie focused on her school-work and used it as an excuse to stop visiting her nan and Drake as much.
That year, after nearly two years, the abuse came to an end after Drake gave up and left her alone.
Katie says: “Over the years, I really believed it had all been a dream just like he’d told me.
“I tried pushing the abuse to the back of my head, determined to move on.
“As I hit my teens, Grandad still appeared as the perfect, doting grandad to everyone.
“Whilst Nan was brainwashed, thinking she had an amazing husband. But I’d catching him giving me weird, creepy looks. Some days he’d call me sexy.
“When I was 18, he saw me heading out in a red dress, to go clubbing. Grandad gave me a long stare.
“Days later, he cornered me and said ‘You looked damn sexy in that dress, have sex with me.’
“I felt sick to my stomach. I never wore the dress again and hid my body.
“His sleezy comments made all the abuse come flooding back.
Sexual abuse in numbers
669,000 adults are sexually assaulted in England and Wales every year
- 1 in 5 women (8m) in the UK have been sexually abused
- 1 in 6 men (5m) in the UK have been sexually abused
- 1 in 20 children in the UK have been sexually abused
Sexual abuse has been attributed to:
- 15% of all suicides in the UK
- 11% of all common mental health disorders in the UK
- 7% of alcohol dependence disorders
- 10% of drug dependence disorders
- 15% of eating disorders
- 17% of post-traumatic stress disorders
(Source: Safeline)
“I developed depression and crippling anxiety. I went down a bad path, turning to intoxicants, trying to numb my pain.”
After years of suffering in silence, Katie was 20 years old in 2021 when she hit her breaking point.
She could no longer keep the abuse buried, and she wanted to come forward.
Katie says: “But I knew it had happened 11 years before, and there was no evidence. Just my word against his.
“So one night, after having dinner with him and Nan, he gave me a lift home. I secretly put on a recorder on my phone.
“The car radio was on, although playing quietly. I asked him, ‘Did you actually touch me as a little girl?’
“He then answered, ‘I don’t think it was the right thing to do.’
“I shouted at him, asking if molesting me was a good thing to do. To which he replied, ‘No, I’m sorry for that.’ Moments later, we pulled upside my house.
“I rushed out the car, gripping my phone in my hand and closed the door. I played back the recording and burst into tears.
“I knew I had him. That night I played it over and over. The next day, I played it to Mum and she broke down.
“Her world was flipped upside down, so was my sibling’s. The man they’d trusted and loved was a monster.”
Katie’s mum, and siblings all convinced her to go to the police. That day, she took the recording to her local station.
Right away, Drake was arrested at his home, but despite his full confession on tape, he denied the charges against him.
Katie says: “He was evil for forcing me to go through the pain of a trial. I couldn’t breathe from the stress.”
In August 2024, Katie faced Drake at Guildford Crown Court. During the trial, they continually played the recording to the court.
Katie says: “Grandad called me a liar, and that I’d edited the recording. But they proved it would have been impossible for his words to be re-jigged.
“Especially as the radio played consistently in the background.
“I could see Grandad didn’t care what he’d done to me, he showed no remorse.
“Thankfully, in the end, the jury believed me.”
That week, Alan Drake, now 64, of Sunbury-on-Thames, was found guilty of 13 counts of sexual assault against Katie. He was sentenced to 18 years.
Katie says: “For what he’d stolen from me, it wasn’t enough. But it was his turn to suffer for a little while.
“Now, I still feel ashamed of who I am and who I want to be. I’ll live with the effects of this forever, and am unsure whether I’ll ever be repaired.
“But, I know I deserve to be happy and loved. I’m happy I got him put away.
“I want other women to know they shouldn’t live with shame like I have. Please, set yourself free.”