"Please don't hate me"': Teenager whose grandfather killed himself after she accused him of raping her writes letter asking her grandmother for forgiveness

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Megan Morrison, 17, who accused her grandfather of raping her, leading him to commit suicide during his trial, has written a heartfelt letter to her grandmother asking for forgiveness.

Megan, of Sinfin, Derby, gave evidence in court saying she was raped and sexually assaulted by her grandfather Malcolm Harrison, 74, between the ages of 8 and 10. He denied the charges and was later found dead in a burning car in a suspected suicide on the final day of his trial before he could be convicted of any offences. Police believed he doused his vehicle with petrol and set himself alight at Sinfin Moor car park.

After his death, Megan stood by her story and this resulted in an estrangement with her grandmother Vivienne Harrison, 62. The teenager has made several attempts to make peace with her grandma but they still aren't talking. After waiving her right to anonymity to speak out about her ordeal, the teenager says she hopes to rekindle the strong bond she used to have with her grandmother.

In the emotional handwritten letter, Megan tells her grandma: "I still love you."

She adds: "Everything I said was true. I know it's hard to believe because he was your husband. I miss you so much....Please don't hate me."

Miss Morrison, who works part-time at McDonald's while studying hair and beauty at college, said: "I just want her back. We used to have such a strong relationship.

"I have written nan a letter telling her that everything I told the police and said in court is true and that this did happen to me. I have told her in my letter that I know it is hard for her to believe because he was her husband and I didn't say anything because I didn't want to lose her. I love my nan so much and I just want her to believe what happened to me and we can be friends again. I would take her back in a heartbeat.

"He would say to me 'don't tell your mum, this is our little secret'. But when I was 10 I told him if he didn't stop then I would tell someone and the abuse did stop then."

Meghan's mother Vanessa White and her husband, Craig White (Meghan's stepfather) have been standing by her all through and it's also affected their relationship with grandma Vivienne.

Vanessa, who works as a nurse, added: "When I found out about the allegations, she started crying down the phone saying she didn't want to lose her nan. I told her that we had got to do the right thing and we called the police. The reason we are doing this is because we want Megan to get her relationship back with her nan.

"I don't care what my mum thinks about me, I just want her and Miss Morrison to be friends again. When she was born my mum used to help me with Miss Morrison. She was going on holidays with her, Miss Morrison used to do some baking with her - she used to do absolutely everything with her.

"After dad was arrested I called mum to say sorry but she just put the phone down. She hasn't spoken to me or Megan for a year."

See Meghan's full letter to her grandma below.