Her pregnancy sparked national outrage, and she couldn\u2019t step outside without being recognized.<\/p>\n
At the time, Tressa claimed the baby\u2019s father was a local boy\u2014but the truth was far more shocking\u2026<\/p>\n
Tressa Middleton was born into poverty
\nTressa Middleton was born in 1994, in Broxburn, Scotland. She was forced to grow up fast when she was taken into care at just four years old.<\/p>\n
Reflecting on her early childhood, Tressa said: \u201dMy mom was homeless, and I had to go into care. All my friends were older than me. I also started drinking when I was eight or nine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201dI remember one day, my foster carers arranged a birthday party for me at McDonald\u2019s and let me see my brother, Jason.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Tressa was finally able to move back in with her mother, it was into a chaotic existence. Her mother struggled to make ends meet, and when winter arrived, their apartment became very cold and dark.<\/p>\n
Her mother\u2019s income was rarely enough to even turn on the gas, and when Tressa woke up, she could see the clouds of her breath escaping from her mouth. If there was money for heat, it went to a small radiator in the living room. Often, there was only one meal a day for Tressa to eat.<\/p>\n
![\"Tressa](\"https:\/\/cdn-main.newsner.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2024\/12\/12104710\/tressamiddleton.jpg\")
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Took the child from her
\nTressa was just 11 years old when her pregnancy became public, and it was believed to have resulted from an alcohol-fueled encounter.<\/p>\n
Raised in a troubled and poor home with a mother struggling with addiction, Tressa gave birth shortly after finishing elementary school.<\/p>\n
Two years after the birth of her daughter, Annie, the baby was taken from Tressa.<\/p>\n
The young mother was unable to care for her daughter and struggled with depression and addictions to alcohol and cigarettes.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was given to new parents, but I was allowed to see her every day for about six months before contact stopped. The last time I saw her was at a cr\u00e8che \u2013 but she was crying for her new parents. It broke my heart,\u201d Tressa told Closer.<\/p>\n
All this pressure, public scrutiny and heartbreak became too much for Tressa to handle. And there was also another issue that haunted her \u2014 the identity of the child\u2019s father.<\/p>\n
Nobody knew the truth
\nInitially, Tressa claimed that a young local boy had gotten her pregnant, but the truth was much darker. The father\u2019s identity remained a secret until 2009 when the young mother broke down and confided to authorities that she had been sexually abused by her older brother, Jason Middleton.<\/p>\n
Tressa had became pregnant after her brother, then 16, took her to a construction site where he attacked her.<\/p>\n
\u201dWe used to go there and play our bikes. One minute he was absolutely find and the next everything was different,\u201d Tressa told ITV.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t long after the incident that Tressa\u2019s body began to change.<\/p>\n
Her friend was the first to suggest she might be pregnant. She pulled Tressa aside one day and mentioned the possibility, but Tressa tried to deny it. Her friend insisted they should check, so they had her friend\u2019s father buy a pregnancy test<\/p>\n