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A terrified little girl was locked in a wardrobe for five years by her own parents so she could be used as a sex slave to satisfy their twisted desires.

Lauren Kavanaugh was banned from eating, tortured and raped nightly by her mother and step-father.

In events disturbingly reminiscent of the abuse carried out by Austria's notorious sex fiend Josef Fritzel, Lauren's childhood was spent living captive in a 4ft by 9ft closet from the age of three, separated from her brothers and sisters and the rest of the world.

When she was pulled from the tiny cupboard aged eight, she weighed just 25.6 pounds - the same as the average two-year-old.

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The evil paedophiles called Lauren their 'little secret' – only bringing her out to rape and torture her – but were caught when they showed her off to a horrified neighbour who alerted police.

She was rushed to surgery where she was fitted with a colostomy bag, but her organs were shutting down.

Lauren, now a 21-year-old student, is bravely speaking out about her horrifying ordeal so she can help other survivors of sexual abuse.

“One day mum was so sick of me sobbing," she said.

“She grabbed my arm and told me, ‘get into the closet.’

“I was huddled in there for hours under a rail of dresses and shirts. I thought it was a punishment.

“There was no water or food, just darkness.”

(Image: PA)

Lauren recalled later being pulled out of the closet and raped.

She was only three years old.

“They put country music on blaring to hide my screams," she said.

“After hours of abuse, I was bundled back into the closet, confused and in agony.

“From then on, it became my new home.

“I couldn’t do anything in the darkness. I slept in there and had to use it for the bathroom. The carpet was drenched in urine and I lay under a thin, wet blanket.”

(Image: PA)

Lauren was also tortured and burnt with cigarettes.

While she endured endless days of misery and horror, she could hear her brothers and sisters laughing and playing outsise, who were not abused.

She said: “I was weak from hunger and was tied down so I couldn’t fight back.

“I had to eat anything I could find in the closet.

“I was only let out for torture.

“One day, mum ran me a bath and pushed my head under water.

“When I was six mum put a bowl of macaroni cheese in front of me.

“She told me I could chew it – but then had to spit it out.”

(Image: PA)

After being rescued in 2001, Lauren Sabrina and Bill Kavanaugh adopted her – but her early trauma had a lasting impact and she would hide food for later, worried it would vanish.

She did not even know how to play with toys.

She also had the mental age of someone much younger and would try and sleep in her wardrobe every night.

“The first time I saw grass I was eight and I thought it was biting my feet,” she said.

“When I had baths I would yell, ‘don’t drown me.’"

(Image: PA)

Lauren returned to school and completed her exams.

She now supports other victims of sexual abuse.

“I’ve started studying psychology at college,” she said.

“I plan to go to university next year. My dream is to qualify as a counsellor.

“But I really want to help victims like me to overcome their abuse and be strong. I’ve been in their shoes and came out the other side.”

Her mother Barbara Atkinson and stepfather Kenny Atkinson, from Dallas, Texas, were convicted of abusing Lauren in 2002 and jailed for life.

They are not eligible for parole until 2031.