My male friend sexually assaults me – why am I always drawn back to him?

Sad young woman sitting on the sofa at night at home and sulking.

DEAR DEIDRE: I’M in a toxic friendship with a male friend who has sexually assaulted me on several occasions, and I can’t understand why I keep being drawn back to him.

Part of me thinks I should report him to the police, but he says if I do that, he’ll kill himself. 

I don’t want him to go to prison, but I need him to understand that what he’s doing is wrong.

I’m 26 and he’s 27. We’ve known each other since university days.