#A rape victim lost custody of her daughter to her rapist and now has to pay him child support

[coochiequeens]

A male judge just awarded custody of a teenage girl to the rapist who attacked her mother when she was the same age as the girl is now.

A watchdog group in Louisiana has asked outside authorities to investigate a recent ruling by a judge that granted an accused rapist full custody of the daughter his accuser — who became pregnant when she was 16 and the father was 30 — birthed nine months later.

Court records obtained by PEOPLE confirm that Judge Jeffrey Cashe also ordered Crysta Abelseth, 32, to make monthly child support payments to John Barnes, the man she alleges raped her in late 2005. 

Cashe awarded Barnes, 46, full custody of the girl on March 21, 2022, despite allegations made by a child that Barnes had been sexually, physically and verbally abusive. Those allegations were first brought to the state's Department of Children and Family Services by a school counselor. Barnes has not been charged with a crime in connection with those allegations.

"I just want my daughter home safe and my perpetrator out of our lives for good," Abelseth tells PEOPLE. "My quality of life has suffered tremendously and it has bankrupted me financially. It is my faith in God that has kept me strong for my daughter because this is truly more than anyone should ever have to endure."

The court documents, which were viewed by PEOPLE, include DNA test results, which confirm that Barnes is the biological father of Abelseth's daughter. Abelseth got pregnant when she was 16 and Barnes was 30, which means the encounter, even if consensual, would have amounted to statutory rape. In Louisiana in 2005, the age of consent was 17, as it is today.

According to WBRZ, the Metropolitan Crime Commission, a corruption watchdog group, has asked that an outside agency investigate the ruling.

Sean Cassidy, an attorney for the non-profit Louisiana Foundation Against Sexual Assault, tells PEOPLE he finds Cashe's decision "awfully baffling," given the allegations. "I don't know how something like this happens," Cassidy says. 

WBRZ reports that Barnes owns a web company called Gumbeaux Digital Branding that counts the Ponchatoula Police as a client. (Abelseth alleges Barnes raped her in Ponchatoula.)

"I have seen some bad decisions. I've seen some indifference by law enforcement. I've seen what looks like bias from some judges," Cassidy continues. "But I have never seen the father of a child born out of a rape not only be awarded custody and some sort of payment, but also, that person even seeking custody. It is not something you see."

We 'Absolutely Dropped the Ball,' Police Admit 

In 2015, Abelseth filed a complaint with the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office against Barnes, alleging he'd raped her on Dec. 13, 2005, after they'd both been drinking at a bar in Hammond, where Abelseth said she got in with a fake ID.

Abelseth told investigators Barnes had offered her a ride home. Instead, she said, he took her to his place in Ponchatoula. "I had woken up on the bathroom floor nude," Abelseth wrote in her statement, saying she was unable to give consent as she was unconscious during the encounter. Abelseth further alleges in her written statement Barnes had threatened to seek full custody of the girl, should she ever pursue criminal charges against him.

Barnes has never been charged with a crime. 

Abelseth's 2015 complaint wasn't assigned to a detective until this year, the court records show. The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office in a statement acknowledged they did not properly investigate that allegation and said the case was turned over to prosecutors on Wednesday.

"In tracing this case back to the time the initial complaint was filed on July 1, 2015, it was discovered that the report never made it through the proper channels within the department to be assigned for investigation," reads the statement. "Therefore, our department absolutely dropped the ball, and we simply must own our mistake. This is a mistake, however, that simply has never been a problem before or since, and we must make sure to keep it that way."

Abelseth alleges in the filings that she didn't report the alleged rape for years because she thought victims had only 24 hours to go to the police after such crimes occurred. She ended up reporting the rape after learning the statute of limitations for rape was 30 years after the victim turns 18.

Custody Battle Began After Barnes Learned He Had Child 

The custody battle began in 2011, after the girl turned 5, and Barnes learned he might have a child; Abelseth tells PEOPLE she has no idea how he discovered the daughter's existence. Barnes took Abelseth to court, and once paternity was established, Barnes sought and was awarded shared custody of the child, despite their ages at the time Abelseth became pregnant. 

"I was under the impression I had no choice to let him be involved in my child's life," Abelseth tells PEOPLE. "He was threatening me. My attorney at the time knew he raped me and she didn't advise me of my rights."

According to documents obtained by PEOPLE, Barnes started paying $428 a month in support for the child in April 2013. 

Judge Cashe took over the case in August 2015 — a month after Abelseth reported the rape to police, and several months after Barnes asked the court to find her in contempt for allegedly violating some of the terms of their custody agreement.

Six months later, a split-custody agreement was reached, and Abelseth was ordered to pay $78.41 to Barnes each month. That sum increased to $117.72 per month in 2017.

Abelseth requested that Barnes' custody be limited, but Cashe denied that motion. Months later, Barnes began filing motions seeking to have Abelseth held in contempt after giving the daughter a cell phone; in a previous decision, Cashe barred the girl from owning a phone.

On Feb. 2, 2022, Cashe found Abelseth in contempt over the phone, and she was ordered to pay $500. He again told the mother not to get the girl a phone.

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In a March 18, 2022, hearing before Cashe, a child's abuse accusations against Barnes were brought up, and Abelseth asked for full custody. But Cashe said criminal charges were never pursued against Barnes and that the evidence failed to support allegations he had abused a child. 

Days later, Barnes filed for full custody, claiming Abelseth provided their daughter with a second phone. Cashe granted the request the same day. Abelseth tells PEOPLE the allegations made by Barnes she provided her daughter with a cell phone were "false."

Cashe did not respond to PEOPLE's repeated requests for comment. But on Wednesday, he filed a Reasons for Judgement, a document explaining his decisions in the case. In it, he says the allegations Barnes abused a child were only put forward by Abelseth after Barnes had asked to have her held in contempt.

Custody Trial Scheduled for July 15 

Cassidy tells PEOPLE the judge should have realized the 2005 sexual encounter between Barnes and Ableson — consensual or not — amounted to statutory rape. He notes that state law bars men from having contact with any child that is the product of rape. 

Barnes did not respond to requests for comment at press time. Neither did the Tangipahoa Parish District Attorney's Office or Gov. John Bel Edwards, who is the brother of Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff Daniel H. Edwards as well as Frank Millard Edwards, the chief of police in Independence, a town in Tangipahoa County. 

The issue of the daughter's custody is set for trial on July 15, PEOPLE learns.

"This case is the ultimate example of a judicial system that has failed this rape victim and her daughter deplorably," says Stacie Triche, founder and executive director for the non-profit SAVE LIV35 Foundation, who is working with Abelseth on her case. 

"I thank God for the trauma counselor who advised her of her rights to file charges against her perpetrator in 2015, because her attorney at that time failed to do so. She has been drug through the mud in this court system by her rapist for ten years. I cannot fathom how this mother was forced to not only hand her 5-year-old daughter over to the man who raped her, but also forced to pay him child support and legal fees by the same system that is supposed to protect her rights."

Adds Triche: "I pray justice is served and that child is brought home to her mother where she belongs — and the perpetrator is put behind bars where he belongs."

Abelseth tells PEOPLE she hopes her story "will encourage women going through similar situations to have hope and to not give up."

#lousiana #Statutory rape #john Barnes raped a minor #Litigational abuse #A judge barred a teenage girl in the custody of a rapist to not have a phone #Get judge Jeffrey Cashe off the bench #A rape victim lost custody of her daughter to her rapist and now has to pay him child support

[searchingwardrobes]

Priceless: 9/9

Here it is, finally, the long-promised happy ending! This chapter varies the most from the movie because I felt that it left a lot of questions unanswered. Mainly, how Joel Smallbone's character managed to avoid going to jail. I've also worked some canon CS into this chapter, which required changing things up.

Is Regina's legal strategy for Killian realistic? Well, I'll confess, I'm not a lawyer, but I figured if John Grisham can write a bestselling book that became a hit movie in which a main pleads not guilty to murdering his daughter's rapists in cold blood, in broad daylight, in a crowded courthouse, then I can damn well write this fic the way I want to.

Thanks once again to my beta @xhookswenchx​ for looking this over!

Summary: Summary: Desperate men often find themselves in places they never thought they would go, but for Killian Jones it would finally force him to be the hero his daughter always thought he could be. The job was simple: drive the truck, don’t open the back, don’t ask questions. But Killian Jones has never followed instructions very well …

An AU of the movie Priceless starring Joel Smallbone of For King and Country.

Rating: M for themes

Trigger warnings: This story is about human trafficking so there are discussions of rape and non-con, some of it involving minors. None of it is portrayed as positive nor is it graphically described. If you have any specific questions or concerns before reading, feel free to message me.

***But this chapter we finally leave all of that behind for the happy ending - whoop, whoop!***

Words: A little over 4k in this chapter

Also on Ao3 and a part of my series Captain Swan is My Favorite Rom-Com: 2nd Edition. This chapter ends that series! There’s also a First Edition.

Tagging: @snowbellewells​ @whimsicallyenchantedrose​ @kmomof4​ @thislassishooked​ @welllpthisishappening​ @bethacaciakay​ @teamhook​ @let-it-raines​ @wellhellotragic​ @winterbaby89​ @kday426​ @ekr032-blog-blog​ @shady-swan-jones​ @sherlockianwhovian​ @shireness-says​ @spartanguard​ @superchocovian​ @scientificapricot​ @stahlop​ @delirious-latenight-laughs​ @resident-of-storybrooke​ @vvbooklady1256​ @tiganasummertree​ @nikkiemms​ @jennjenn615​ @profdanglaisstuff​ @shipsxahoy​ @cat-sophia​ @artistic-writer​ @thejacketandthehook​ @hollyethecurious​ @ultraluckycatnd​ @branlovestowrite​ @dassala​ @allofdafandoms-blog​ @snidgetsafan​ @pocket-anon​ @optomisticgirl​ @flslp87​ @onceuponaprincessworld​ @courtorderedcake​ @distant-rose​ @lfh1226-linda​

Three Months Later . . .

My hands were sweating, and I wanted to rub them on my dress pants, but Regina was adamant that I wasn’t to show any signs of nerves today. Yesterday when Emma took the stand, I had been unable to keep the emotions at bay, especially when the DA cross examined her like she was a criminal and not a victim. Yet my bloody brilliant lass hadn’t let him rattle her for a second.

I knew what a gamble this all was - pleading “not guilty.” Yet Regina thought it was my best shot at avoiding prison, and even one day back in that place was the last thing I wanted. I couldn’t be away from Alice again, and the sentence for pulling out a firearm in public was three months to a year plus a thousand dollar fine. Yet with my record, a judge could have levied an even harsher sentence if I pled guilty.

The DA was giving his closing arguments - a passionate speech about the dangers of vigilante justice and of the innocent lives that could have been lost. It sounded pretty convincing, even to me, and I worried that the jury was swallowing every bit of it. I glanced back at Liam, and he gave me the smallest of nods and smiled. Regina nudged me with her knee. Don’t look at your family and friends had been her other order, one I continuously had a difficult time obeying. Liam’s arm was still in a sling from the gunshot wound in his shoulder, and I knew he was sometimes still in pain. Yet here he was, supporting me. Elsa sat next to him, squeezing his hand comfortingly. They had both also taken the stand yesterday.

Once the DA took his seat, Regina Mills stood regally and smoothed her sensible business skirt. I had learned over the last few months that though she was no-nonsense and a bit snarky at times, she had a passion for justice and truth. The girls were in the US legally now because of her, with Anna enrolled in the local high school.

“Ladies and gentleman of the jury,” Regina began, giving them a confident smile, “I ask you to contemplate something for a moment. Why is my client on trial? First of all, he didn’t even fire his gun. That violence occurred because of the criminals he was trying to thwart. So again I ask, why is he on trial? For ensuring that Robert Gold, the head of a massive human trafficking ring, is in jail? For helping the Nevada Bureau of Investigation bring down that ring? For saving the lives of three innocent women, one of them a minor? If that’s why he’s on trial, then I’m confused. Aren’t you? Didn’t he do all he could to do the right thing, even at risk to himself? Is this behavior our society should punish?”

Regina paced for a few moments, probably to give the jury time to mull over her questions. Then she drew closer to the jury box.

“The DA says my client is a vigilante. He says my client should have gone to the police, but my client DID go to the police! It ended up that the police were involved in the trafficking ring. What was my client supposed to do? He could have walked away. He could have forgotten all about these innocent victims. But he didn’t. Instead he did the same thing that many of our forefathers did during a different era of slavery. Just like those who worked the Underground Railroad, he broke the law. He broke the law to free slaves. He knew the risk he was taking, but he took it willingly to help the oppressed. Will you join him? Will you do your part to end slavery today? Will you stand up against even our own justice system that so often looks the other way? Stand up with my client. Find him not guilty. For he isn’t a criminal - he’s a hero. Thank you.”

Regina barely glanced my way as she sat, cool and composed. It was quite the speech, though I wasn’t sure I was as noble as she had led the jury to believe.

The jury filed out of the room to deliberate, and the rest of the courtroom was given a recess by the judge. David and Mary Margaret paid my bail when I was arrested, so I didn’t have to go back into custody. Instead, I embraced Emma and squeezed her hand as she smiled tremulously up at me. Liam came over and clapped me on the shoulder. Even Tiana had come all the way from New Orleans to support me. Mary Margaret was babysitting Alice, however. We didn’t want to expose her to the details of the trial.

“I don’t know why the jury even has to discuss anything,” Emma told me as she took both of my hands gently in hers.

“It was an amazing closing argument, Regina,” my brother said, squeezing my shoulder and beaming at Regina.

“Well, let’s not celebrate yet,” she cautioned, “you never know how a jury will go.”

“I thought you said this was my best chance!” I exclaimed.

Regina waved her hand dismissively in the air. “Oh, it is, but we discussed the risks, remember.”

“Way to build my confidence,” I grumbled.

“Hey, none of that,” Tiana admonished, placing a hand on my forearm, “everything Regina said is true. You deserve thanks, not punishment. Alice is so proud of you, and so am I.”

I swallowed a sudden lump in my throat at her words. Tiana didn’t give forgiveness and second chances easily, and I was humbled to have received both from her in the past few months.

Emma still hadn’t released my hands. If anything, she was clasping them harder. I suddenly realized she was trembling.

“Emma?” I asked gently, tipping her chin up. I was alarmed to see that she was crying.

“If they send you to jail for this -”

“Hey, hey,” I soothed, bringing her closer and wrapping my arms around her, “it’s going to be alright. I’m a survivor, love.”

She turned her face into my chest, and I felt her tears wet the fabric of my shirt. I wished I could promise her that they wouldn’t find me guilty, but how could I? I pulled out a gun that I didn’t even have a permit for in a public park. A man died because of me. I may not have pulled the trigger that sent the bullet through Neal Cassidy’s heart, but that didn’t mean I didn’t have a hand in his death.

Although I’d be lying if I said his death was heavy on my conscience. It wasn’t. I couldn’t muster a modicum of remorse for him. Emma was safe and alive, so was Elsa. We had gotten Anna out of there before her innocence was shattered forever. I would do it all again if I had to, even if I went to jail for the next three years. It would shatter my heart to be away from Alice, but at least I could look her in the eye without shame.

Much too soon, the jury filed back in, and the judge called for everyone to take their seats. I wanted to ask Regina if a short deliberation was good or bad, but my nerves were too on edge. I clasped my hands in my lap and stared at them, unable to gather enough courage to look at the jury.

“Has the jury reached a verdict?”

“We have your honor.”

I held my breath.

“We the jury find the defendant . . . not guilty.”

Behind me, my friends and family cheered. I felt Liam’s good arm come roughly around my shoulders, and he shook me in an exuberant hug. Overcome, I lifted both my trembling hands to my face and couldn’t stop the tears of relief.

It was over. Finally.

On shaking legs, I rose and turned to those who had supported me so well throughout this entire nightmare. Emma let out a cry and flung herself into my arms, peppering my face with chaste kisses. I cupped the back of her head, threading my fingers through the strands of her ponytail. I was pulled from her arms, however, by first David, then Tiana, then Elsa. Even Regina embraced me. But my mind was never far from Emma and the future we could now have together.

***********************************************

I knocked on the door frame of Emma’s room at the Nolan’s, but she didn’t even turn to look my way. I hadn’t pursued anything more than friendship with her for the past three months. For one, I wanted her to heal from her trauma, and for another, I knew my future was uncertain. Even now, I didn’t want to rush her, but I also couldn’t hold back my feelings any longer. My love for her had only grown as she had supported me through the trial.

“Come in,” she said softly, her gaze focused on her hands clasped in her lap.

“What do you think?” I asked as I gently eased down on the bed next to her. She turned her face further away from me.

“I think it’s great.”

“Great? The Nolan’s are perfect for this kind of work, and so is this land.”

“It’s been nice of them to put us all up here.” She finally shifted towards me, yet her head was still down. “I think it’s time for me to move on, though.”

I frowned. “Move on? But didn’t you hear them? Didn’t you look at the plans? They plan on building two dormitories on the old grazing land,” I took Emma’s hand gently in mine and added softly, “and several family homes.”

“I know,” she told me, finally lifting her gaze to mine. Tears were welling up in her eyes, but I couldn’t figure out why.

“One of them will be Elsa and Liam’s, you know.”

Emma finally smiled. “Yes, I know. She loves him so much.”

“And he loves her,” I infused emotion into my voice and stroked Emma’s knuckles with my thumb, hoping she would catch my meaning.

She lowered her eyes again and stared at the motion of my thumb. “And Anna will be living here with the Nolans until she graduates at least.”

“Aye, as she should. The Nolans have been named her legal guardians, and it won’t surprise me if they adopt her.”

Only half of Emma’s lips turned up in a smile. “I’m so happy.”

“You don’t sound happy.” I lifted her chin so she would look at me again. Tears were rolling down her cheeks. “My love,” I whispered, brushing at her tears with the pad of my thumb, “what’s wrong?”

“I’m happy for my sisters. Ever since this whole thing started, that’s been my only goal. Get them out, help them start over.” She took in a shaky breath, then let it out slowly, as if gathering her strength. “But it was never for me - starting over. It was too late for me; I’ve always known that. I don’t want their pity, or yours, so I think . . . I think it’s best that I move on. Find my own place.”

Her words were like a punch to the gut. I thought we had grown closer as the weeks had gone by; I thought she shared my feelings. Had I read her completely wrong?

“Emma, none of us pity you. Your sister’s love you. I love you.”

She rose from the bed and stepped away from me, hugging her middle. “I know you all do, and I appreciate all you’ve done -”

I cut her off, “I don’t think you understand me.” I rose and went to her, gently turning her to face me. “I love you Emma, with all my being - body and soul. My heart belongs to you Emma, and I want nothing more than to always, always be by your side.”

Her eyes widened, and she choked on a sob. I cupped her face in my hands and pressed my forehead to hers.

“You deserve so much more, Killian. You deserve a happy ending with Alice.”

“No, love, don’t you understand? It’s you, always you. There’s no happy ending without you as a part of our lives.”

I tried to pull her closer, wrap my arms around her, but she backed out of my embrace. “Killian,” she choked out, pressing her fist to her mouth, “I’m . . . I’m pregnant.”

Sobs overtook her body then, and she pressed her hands to her face. I deflated then, understanding flooding through me. I pulled her tenderly to me, letting her tears wet the front of my shirt as I stroked her hair.

“Regina thought it best I do a paternity test, just to be safe. It’s crazy, but . . . rapists can ask for custody rights.”

My jaw tightened so hard, I felt a headache radiate up to my temple. “Over my dead body,” I vowed.

“Don’t make threats like that, Killian Jones, they aren’t funny anymore.” She chuckled wryly, but I heard a hint of sincerity in her voice.

She stayed there in my arms, accepting my comfort, and I brushed my lips against her temple. She sighed in contentment and snuggled closer.

“It’s Neal’s,” she finally whispered.

Relief rushed through me. I had wondered where Regina would have found DNA samples. She must have suspected - hoped even - that Neal Cassidy was the father. There was no one to threaten Emma and the child, thank God. Emma let out a long, shuddering breath, then gently pushed me away from her. Unable to speak, she backed towards the door behind her, shaking her head. It suddenly dawned on me that this was about more than her pregnancy or even Neal.

“I understand. I can’t expect your love after what I did.”

At first, her brows knit together in confusion. Then she laughed sardonically. “We both think we’re not good enough. But Killian, you can’t possibly want this - want me.”

“There’s nothing in this world I want more than you! But if it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t be in this situation at all. You wouldn’t be in therapy for ptsd, you wouldn’t be carrying that bastard’s child. How can you ever want me, Emma?”

Her eyes widened at my words, her lips parted in wonder. The heaviness that had darkened her face for so many weeks, suddenly cleared. A single tear rolled down her face, but it was different than her previous ones. She crossed the gap between us and took my face gently in her hands. I closed my eyes in shame.

“Look at me,” she ordered in a soft voice, and I reluctantly opened my eyes. Her thumbs caressed my cheeks, and for the first time that day, she smiled. “Let’s say you didn’t take the job to drive that truck. We still would have been in it. You were meant to drive it, Killian.”

Now it was my turn to gaze at her in wonder. I let her words wash over me, the truth of them seeping into my soul. Emma rose onto her tiptoes and pressed a gentle kiss to my lips. She pulled back, her smile brighter as she traced my jaw.

“Killian Jones, you’re so -”

“Handsome?” I interrupted her with a teasing smirk. “Especially when I’m angry?”

She swatted my chest gently and rolled her eyes. “How long are you gonna tease me about that?”

I pulled her close and wrapped her up in my arms. “If I have my way, for the rest of our lives.”

I bent my head, pressing my lips to hers for the first time. My heart nearly burst when she responded with urgency, parting her lips and dragging her fingers through my hair. I felt her tongue swipe against mine, and the taste of her nearly did me in. As much as I wanted to carry her to the bed and make love to her, I broke the kiss, wanting to cherish every step she allowed me to take in our relationship. I would let her take the lead. I rested my forehead against hers, our breaths mingling.

“I love you too, Killian.”

I thumbed her chin. “You are absolutely priceless, Emma.”

Three years later . . .

I saw the girl standing on the sidewalk, clad in a skin tight, animal print skirt. I motioned for Will to pull over, and I rolled my window down. She came closer, leaning against the open window to give me an ample view of her cleavage.

“Looking for some fun?” she asked me.

“I sure am,” I replied. I handed her a slip of paper. “Meet me here? Room 112?”

“I will for two hundred bucks, handsome,” she replied with an arch of her dark brows as she took the paper.

“Sounds good to me.”

She backed away from the cab, tucking the slip of paper into the dip of her low cut top and winked at me. I motioned for Will to drive on.

Fifteen minutes later, I was waiting in a dingy motel room when there was a knock at the door. The exotic brunette was on the other side, and I motioned her in. She retrieved a condom from her tiny purse, then tossed it on the room’s nightstand.

“Okay, what are you into?”

I gestured to the bed. “I’d like to just talk, if that’s okay?”

She rolled her eyes. “So you’re one of those. Whatever, it’s your money.” She sat on the edge of the bed and leaned back seductively, crossing one long leg over the other.

I stepped to the door and opened it. I leaned out and called for Emma. When I ushered her into the hotel room, the girl’s eyes widened. She sat up abruptly and for the first time looked nervous.

“What the hell is this? If you want a threesome, you gotta pay extra!”

Emma shook her head as she sat down slowly on the opposite bed. I stayed near the door, which I left cracked open so the girl wouldn’t feel trapped.

“We don’t want anything like that,” Emma explained gently. “I only want to talk to you.”

The girl’s nerves only seemed to grow as her gaze bounced from Emma to me and back again. “Oh my God, are you two cops?”

“No,” we both assured her softly.

“Religious nuts?”

We both laughed and shook our heads.

“What’s your name?” Emma asked her.

The girl shifted nervously. “Jade.”

Emma shook her head gently. “What’s your real name?”

The girl bit her lower lip, but I noticed it tremble slightly nonetheless. “Jasmine.”

“They called me Swan, but my name is Emma.”

I watched Jasmine’s expression change as realization dawned. “No one’s making me do this,” she told Emma firmly.

“That doesn’t mean you chose it, though,” Emma said softly. “I mean, when you were a little girl, was this your dream?”

Jasmine’s head dropped and she clasped her hands together. “This world is no place for dreams.”

“There is hope, Jasmine, I promise,” Emma said. “Could I tell you a story?”

It was silent in the room for a long, pregnant moment. Finally, Jasmine raised her head to look Emma in the eye and then slowly nodded.

“I came to the US illegally. I trusted these men who said they would help me, but they lied. My sister’s and I were in the back of this truck. It was dark, and we were hungry and dirty . . . “ Emma turned to me and held out her hand. I took it and sank onto the hotel bed next to her. “Then the light flooded in . . . “

************************************************************

I was awakened by Emma’s cold feet sliding between my calves. My eyes fluttered open to find her nuzzled against me, her hair tickling my nose. I wrapped my arms more tightly around her and sighed in contentment. It had been another long Saturday night, but a satisfying one. Jasmine had come home with us, and Mary Margaret had wasted no time getting her settled in the women’s dormitory. Tiana had been alerted, and she would make sure Jasmine met with her for counseling over the next few days. Elsa and Liam had been less successful, unable to get two teenage girls off the streets. They were too afraid of what their pimps might do to them if they left. The work was never easy, and we had to focus on the positive or the enormity of it would become overwhelming.

One of the positives was here in my arms. I would never stop feeling awe over the gift of her love. My hand drifted down to rest upon the swell of her stomach. Emma hummed in contentment against my collarbone and pressed herself closer to me. My body responded to her as it always did, and I lowered my lips to her jaw. She gasped and tilted her head back to give my better access. Her fingers began to scratch at the nape of my neck.

“I’ve got morning breath,” she giggled breathlessly.

“Then I’ll kiss you in other places,” I teased.

She gave out a little mewling sound that made my body thrum even more. Her morning sickness had passed, and in her second trimester she had become a quivering mess of desire. She’d been the same with Henry.

Before our morning activities could go any farther, however, two small bodies hurled themselves onto the bed. Ten year old Alice, all gangly arms and legs, sent Emma and I sprawling apart as she wedged herself between us. Three year old Henry crawled over his mother, dragging his favorite stuffed bear behind him. Emma laughed and rolled over, cuddling Henry close.

“You two still don’t understand how late we have to work sometimes,” I grumbled.

Next to me, Emma only laughed more brightly as she tickled Henry’s tummy. The boy wriggled away, crawling over his big sister who complained loudly as she swatted at him, then straddled me and started bouncing as if I were a horse.

“But we’re supposed to go riding today, Papa,” Alice reminded me, “you promised.”

“She’s got you there,” Emma put in.

“Horsey, horsey, horsey!” Henry cheered, bouncing even more enthusiastically. “Horsey, Papa!”

“I didn’t mean in the morning,” I moaned.

“It isn’t morning,” Alice countered, “I just made me and Henry peanut butter sandwiches for lunch. It’s after noon already.”

Emma slid up against the headboard and opened her arms for Alice. The girl grinned and cuddled up next to her mother, a sight that would never fail to warm my heart. Emma ran her fingers through Alice’s hair while our daughter rested her hand against the swell of her mother’s stomach. Suddenly, Alice gasped.

“She kicked me!”

“She did!” Emma exulted, resting her hand next to Alice’s. “She must want to say hello to her big sister.”

Alice grinned and leaned over Emma’s stomach. “Hello, Hope, I can’t wait to meet you. We’ll have so much fun playing together.”

Emma’s eyes glistened with unshed tears as she caught my gaze, but I knew they were happy ones. The same joy she felt was flooding my own heart. Our family came about in a crazy way, but we were more than blessed with what we’d built together.

***********************************************************

Emma and I walked slowly across the grass, hand in hand. Ahead of us, Alice and Henry raced to the corral. They scrambled up the fence to lean forward and feed the horses carrots they had brought. Their Uncle Liam and Aunt Elsa were on the other side to greet them, their two year old cousin Ian astride a dappled pony. The curly headed boy had a tiny helmet strapped to his head, making an absolutely adorable picture.

Next to me, Emma sighed in contentment as she wrapped her arms around my waist. I lowered my head to brush a kiss to her golden hair. The picture in front of us: our family, the horses, the mountains in the distance, and the bright spring sunshine filled my chest with unexplainable joy. I looked down into Emma’s face; her emerald eyes sparkling in the early afternoon light.

“I love you more than I could ever say,” she told me.

I turned her towards me and cupped her face in my hands. “Emma, you are more precious to me than all the treasure in this world. I have my happy ending now because of you.”

She shook her head gently. “That isn’t what this is.”

My brow furrowed. “It’s not?”

“It’s a happy beginning.”

I lowered my face to kiss her deeply, knowing down to my very soul the truth of her words.

#cs ff #cs modern au #cs movie au #captain swan is my favorite rom com #cs priceless au #angst #angst with a happy ending #brothers jones

[morbid-n-macabre]

Have you watched the documentary "Goodnight Sugar Babe"? I apologise for the length of this post, but there's nothing I can cut out. I will link the documentary below.

Findlay, Ohio

March 26th of 2011-

24 year old Vera Jo Reigle was mentally slow, they say she had the mentality of an 8-12 year old child. She'd had a very troubled childhood, had been repeatedly abused, sexually, by both her biological father and mom's boyfriend. Of course this caused issues between she and her mother; when a 19 year old Vera met a boy, 13 year old Zachary Brooks, Vera was thrilled that his family took her into their fold. When Zachary's mother, Cheri Lynne Brooks, offered for Vera to move in, she jumped at the opportunity. Vera just couldn't see that these were terrible, evil people; they had been kind to her in the beginning, but they had ulterior motives.

So, first things first, let's get this out of the way. Cheri is the mother of 9; she lost her first 5 kids, one at a time, for blatant sexual abuse. Scottie (who is the product of consensual incest with Cheri's first cousin; he is mentally disabled), Michael, Maria, Joshua, and little Cheri were all taken away, one at a time, while they were young. Maria was only removed from the home after she was raped, she was one year old at the time; Little Cheri was thankfully spared her abuse as she was taken at birth. A few of the children who were taken did make their way back to Cheri when they were a bit older. For some reason, even though the first 5 were taken, the next 4 children were left in their mother's custody: Kevin AKA "Punky", Zachary, Garth, and Chuckie. Kevin Brooks Sr. is Cheri's husband and the father of most of Cheri's offspring.

The Brooks family is a well known crime family, their leader being mama Cheri, AKA Sugar Babe- a woman often rightfully compared to Charles Manson. Though Cheri looks harmless, she is disabled and in a wheelchair, do not allow that to fool you! This woman is a baby rapist, a sadist, a criminal, a sociopath, and a master manipulator who has proved again and again that she can convince people to do her dirty work at will. Cheri was sexually abused by her father, big Chuck, beginning when she was merely a toddler. Eventually she was taken away, and placed in the system, but she continued this sexual relationship with her father even after she married Kevin Brooks. When she began having children of her own, the abused became the abuser- the cycle continued, Cheri sexually abused them. Family and neighbors witnessed this, and DCF was called multiple times; it's difficult to understand why all of this deviant's children were not taken from her at once, authorities only took one baby at a time. The others were left in Cheri's custody until there was another complaint, and another, and so on. Since her own children were constantly being taken, Cheri began finding other women to give birth to babies for her; when her children were a little older, Cheri accomplished this by talking her teenaged son's various young girlfriends into getting pregnant. Cheri always hoped for little girls, though it's well known that she had no problem sexually abusing little boys.

It shouldn't be a surprise that the children raised by this pervert grew to become criminals and gang members; they all claim to be members of the Crips, there are even photos of the wheelchair bound older woman throwing up gang signs. Her son, Punky, was known to have been the town's leader of the Crips. Punky was very much feared in this town, until August 5th of 2010 when the 19 year old lost his life in a tragic accident. He and his girlfriend, Heather, had been walking down the road, on their way to score some heroin, when a vehicle slammed into Punky. Investigators determined that this was an accidental death; Cheri never could accept this, she needed vengeance. She told everyone that Punky's girlfriend, Heather, had been responsible for his murder; according to Cheri, Punky had been pushed in front of that vehicle by his girlfriend. This was a lie, of course, but Cheri made sure that the girlfriend paid the price; she asked one of Punky's friends to "beat the hell" out of Heather; Cheri sat and watched the fight. After Punky's death, Zachary took his brother's place as the town gang's new leader of the Crips.

With Vera living at the Brooks house, her disability check was cashed by Cheri each month. Most of the people living at the Brooks home were on disability, it's how the family supported itself; welfare, disability checks, and criminal activity such as the selling of drugs. Soon Cheri began telling Vera her that she expected a baby from her. Vera wanted to make people happy, she obliged; this is when everything began to go down hill. Vera was no longer a girlfriend or a daughter in law; instead she was treated as the family slave, the walking uterus which housed the baby girl which Cheri so desperately wanted. Cheri claimed the infant as her own before it was even born, she even controlled the baby's date of birth! She was adamant that baby Willadean would be born on her own birthday, and Vera was forced to drink multiple bottles of castor oil to bring about early labor- 3 full bottles! Willadean was born on the day after Cheri's birthday, November 4th, more than a month early. Due to her early forced delivery, Baby Willadeen was not well enough to come home at birth, she had heart issues. The baby spent her first weeks of life hooked up to machines in NICU.

Vera dearly loved her daughter and there's little doubt that she'd have been the best mama possible had she been given the opportunity. Baby Willadean was taken from Vera by Cheri; very rarely was Vera even allowed to touch her daughter. If she did touch Willadeen, Zachary or Cheri would savagely beat her. Instead of tending to her motherly duties, Vera's days were spent cleaning the house, or on her knees while rubbing Cheri's feet; this was said to be her "job". She was secluded from anyone outside the family, not even allowed to speak to her own beloved sister. Vera attempted more than once to take her baby and leave, but Cheri wouldn't allow it. Someone was always watching, the baby slept in Cheri's room, and Cheri promised that if Vera ever did leave she'd murder baby Willadean, slash her throat. Vera had no reason to believe this an empty threat, so she stayed and endured the abuse. The more time went by, the worse she was treated. Vera was now the family's whipping girl; Cheri told people that she thought that Vera looked cute with her black eyes, like a little squirrel or a raccoon. Vera was forced to sleep in a closet with a pig; witnesses recount that she was even forced to eat the pig's feces as punishment! On another occasion Vera was beaten because she ate a KitKat bar which belonged to the deceased Punky; by eating the chocolate Vera had intentionally disrespected the dead man. Then there was the mace incident: someone set off a canister of pepper spray in an upstairs bedroom; Vera took the blame for this as well.

The mace story is particularly important because, at the time, Cheri had been trying to talk her son Michael's girlfriend, Shannon, into getting pregnant. There's proof that Shannon was telling people she was pregnant, though she now denies it, there are screen shots proving this. Since Shannon was lying about the pregnancy, she claimed that the fumes from the pepper spray brought on a miscarriage; Vera had caused the death of Shannon's imaginary baby, and Shannon told multiple people she wanted Vera dead for this. Everything and anything which ever went wrong with this family, it was all blamed on Vera.

Police and family services were called on Vera's behalf many, many times; these agencies knew exactly what was going on, they'd been inside this house of horrors! They were fully aware of the conditions in which baby Willadean had been living in, they knew exactly how filthy the home was. They were aware that Cheri didn't even bother using a toilet, she simply urinated in a bucket kept in reach of the toddler! They knew there were actual pigs living inside the home going to the bathroom all over the place! They knew that multiple children had been taken from the home due to Cheri's compulsive sexual abuse, and that baby Willadean shared a bedroom with Cheri! They were aware that Vera was catching beatings on the regular; when police or dcf came to question Vera on the way she was being treated, she was always questioned right there in front of Cheri! Vera was afraid to tell the truth; she was instructed to say that she had fallen down the stairs, or to give some other lame excuse which anyone with an ounce of sense could've seen straight through! During one of Vera's frequent hospital visits, this particular time for a broken nose given to her by Zachary, Vera was forced to say that a "black boyfriend" from the next town over was to blame. But anyone remotely familiar with the situation knew that there had been no other boyfriend, Vera was never permitted to have contact with anyone outside the home!

Now that the baby was born, Vera was a burden. Zachary didn't love her, he probably never did and he wanted to date other girls now. But there was a problem: if Vera were to leave the home, they knew that the young mother could easily gain custody of Willadean and that just couldn't happen. So, Cheri and her extended family began to openly plan Vera's demise. The family debated different scenarios such as overdosing Vera on drugs then leaving her on the railroad tracks for the train to hit her. Cheri had seen a corpse which had been hit by a train before, and she said that the victim's face resembled "hamburger meat". She said that was what needed to be done with Vera.

Daniel Bixler was a cousin who had only been out of prison for 3 weeks at this time, he'd just finished serving a 3 year prison sentence. Cheri was pretty close to Danny, considering his father was the first cousin with whom she'd had that incestuous relationship with; technically Danny and Cheri's son Scottie are half brothers, and their father is in prison for attempting to murder Danny's mom. So, Danny was already a self professed killer, he even had a teardrop tattoo on his face. He and his new girlfriend, 17 year old Nicole Peters, had been staying at the Brooks home in recent weeks. Nicole was curious about what it would feel like to kill someone, and she wanted a teardrop tattoo to match her boyfriend's. Cheri had struck gold, these two were perfect for solving her Vera problem. She told them that it hadn't been Punky's girlfriend who had been walking with the gang leader on the night of his unfortunate death; it had been Vera! Vera was the one who had pushed Punky! Then Vera disrespected her victim by eating his candy bar, and she'd sprayed mace which forced Shannon to miscarry, and Vera abused baby Willadean when no one was looking! Vera needed to die for all that she'd done! Danny and Nicole readily agreed to do Cheri's dirty work.

4 days before Vera was murdered, the worst of the torture began; she was beaten intermittently throughout those days. One of Cheri's sons, Chuckie, tied a padlock to the end a of belt and the family took turns just beating the hell out of poor Vera with this homemade weapon; a paddle was also used, and Vera's head was stomped. Witnesses, including Cheri, have stated that this sort of thing turned Nicole on, sexually. She and her boyfriend would take breaks from the beatings, go lock themselves in a bedroom for a while, then they would come back out and beat on Vera some more. The beatings occurred in Cheri's bedroom, and she was egging Nicole and Danny on the whole time: "Hit her again Nicole! Vera is a whore, Nicole, she wants to sleep with Danny! Hit her again". Considering baby Willadean slept in Cheri's room at night, you know that poor baby was present throughout it all; you gotta wonder how much of her mother's torture 18 month old Willadeen witnessed.

After nightfall on March 26th of 2011, Zachary, Danny, and Nicole demanded that Vera put her shoes on, they were going for a walk. Witnesses who were present that night say that they believe Vera knew she was going to be murdered, she didn't want to go but eventually she did as she was told. They walked to the railroad tracks near the family home, and when they arrived at the predetermined spot, they began to stab Vera with a kitchen knife. The weapon was so dull that it would barely even penetrate Vera's skin, so they forced this poor woman to strip naked- you know, so they didn't have to work so hard at killing her. Vera was stabbed repeatedly and when they thought she was close enough to death, they laid her sideways on the tracks, and left her alone in frigid temperatures to die. After leaving the scene of the crime they threw their murder weapon into a local body of water. The killers knew that a train would be coming around 2 am; they assumed that if Vera was hit by the train, she'd look like "hamburger meat". This would render Vera unidentifiable and they believed that much of the evidence would be lost. Poor Vera, after she was left alone that night she used the very last bit of strength she had to remove herself from the rails; she curled up in a fetal position in the middle of the tracks and died.

When the 2 am train came through, it did pass over Vera's deceased body. The train conductor spotted the body immediately, and he called the police. Amazingly the train did not hit her; Vera's body stood exactly 12 inches off the ground- the train's clearance was 13 inches! The victim was not turned into hamburger meat, as intended; she was identifiable, and the evidence had not been destroyed. Matter of fact, a person who had recently dealt with Vera after a beating yet had done nothing to help just weeks before was the one who identified her corpse.

Autopsy proved that Vera had been stabbed 21 times, her throat had been slashed from ear to ear, and that nearly every bone in this poor woman's face had been broken from that beating she'd received just before her death. She'd been tortured.

Police went to the Brooks home to question the family; again, while the police removed everyone from the home so they could interview the family members one by one, Cheri was allowed to be present throughout it all. It's evident that everyone, literally everyone is terrified of this woman to this very day. Cheri originally tried to blame the murder on someone outside the family, said that Vera's boyfriend must've killed her, but Vera's only boyfriend was Zachary! Police found evidence inside the home such as Nicole's bloody sweatshirt, the paddle, and the belt and lock Vera had been beaten with. Police arrested Danny and Nicole, who confessed; they stated that they'd been given drugs by Cheri, and talked into killing Vera. Cheri even told them how to do it!

Both Danny and Nicole took plea deals; Danny was sentenced to 40 years to life for Vera's death, and Nicole received 23 years for a conspiracy charge. Not murder, but conspiracy; somehow Nicole was the only one who received that charge! How does that happen? Did she conspire with herself? The father of Vera's baby, Zachary, was sentenced to 4 years in prison for obstruction of justice. It doesn't matter that there's security footage, actual video proof that Zachary walked with Danny, Nicole, and Vera to the train tracks that night, it doesn't matter that he was present and likely actively helped stab Vera to death, he was merely prosecuted for obstruction. Cheri's husband, Kevin Brooks Sr. and another of her sons were charged with selling prescription drugs. In 2014 Cheri spent 10 days in jail for inappropriate contract with an unrelated minor, just ten days. As far as Vera's murder, Cheri the ringleader was only charged with obstruction and drug trafficking; in 2015 she was sentenced to 40 months. Cheri was freed earlier this year, and if what I'm hearing has any truth to it, another of her son's baby daughters is currently living with her!

This is the justice Vera Jo Reigle received for her torturous murder. The only good thing about any of this is that baby Willadean was taken away from the Brooks family and adopted out. Cheri threw a huge fit over that; she claimed she had custody of the child.

Vera has been laid to rest in Knollcrest Cemetery; she's recently received a beautiful new headstone which reads "Vera Jo Messersmith". This is a big deal as Vera always hated the last name of Reigle, since her father had sexually abused her.

*This is the most confusing case EVER. I tried my very best to keep names and details straight, and it's taken me more than a week to write this. If I got a name or some other detail wrong, forgive me. Personally I'm just glad to be done with it, I've cried, like ugly cried multiple times over this case. Vera's abusers, her killers are mostly still at large. The woman who planned her murder, a known pedophile, is still out there! Look her up on Facebook, Cheri Lynne Brooks! She even frequents fb pages where Vera is honored! Those interviewed in the documentary admit that they are afraid of this woman, and they all admit that this murder was openly planned. I can't understand why she's not been charged with conspiracy at the very least, or why she's still permitted to have contact with children! And why have the other players not been charged? It seems a dozen different people participated in the abuse, knew of the plan to murder this young mother yet nothing was done! Are the police, the DA, all of those organizations, are they afraid of Cheri too?

* If you haven't seen the doc "GOODNIGHT SUGAR BABE" it is available on Amazon Prime or, here's a link. Tell me what you think.

Goodnight Sugar Babe:

https://youtu.be/eJEAJAE1kZ0

#murder #true crime #true crime blog #crime scene #Injustice #torture

[writefasttalkevenfaster]

Congrats on 1k!!!! You deserve it because you are truly a gifted writer! Could I request a hc on how Barba would feel as his wife being the defense attorney that is on the same case as him. Would it affect how he argues the case?

Omg you are so sweet! Thank you so much!!

Disclaimer: This would never happen, since one of them would have to recuse themselves from the case, since it’s a HUGE conflict of interest, but let’s bend the rules of the realities of the American legal systems a bit why don’t we ;).

Rafael Barba was used to squaring off against the usual attorneys, the usual victims of his legal prowess and wit, so to speak. 

There was Rita Calhoun, who he did miss working with when she was on their side, but it made all the more thrilling when he could one up her. Especially when he got to rub it in over drinks. 

There was Buchanan, who he utterly despised the presence of, as the man knew every dirty defense attorney trick in the book, and then some. 

And then there was you, a general nuisance with cheap paperwork tricks that kept him digging, and brilliant defenses that always had him considering deals, and sometimes taking them. The defense attorney that always managed to poke holes in his case: and then in his defenses, making it past to his heart. 

He did marry you after all. 

But there came the day he was kept waiting and waiting for Rita Calhoun to arrive, as you sat in the gallery, waiting for this arraignment to be over, so the two of you could grab lunch. 

“Judge, the People are not opposed to a continuance, we all have lives that we would like to return to,” As he spared another apologetic glance at you, catching the Judge’s attention. 

“Don’t you work at the same firm as Rita, Mrs. Barba?” And your attention snapped from Rafael to the Judge. “Could you handle this arraignment?” 

Rafael looked helplessly on, as you tried to keep an ounce of decorum, “Judge, wouldn’t that be inappropriate, considering-” But the Judge waved you off, explaining that it would be a greater injustice for this man’s trial to be rescheduled a fourth time, then it would for you to service as his arraignment lawyer. 

And it seemed he left you no choice, as Rafael shrugged, his attention snapping to the front, as he lost the demeanor of a caring husband, and assumed his prosecutorial stance. You were not his wife at this moment, but his adversary. “How does the defendant plead?” You whispered with your client for a few seconds, before clearing your throat. 

“Not guilty, Your Honor,” You answered. 

“People on bail?” And Rafael shifted his gears into action. 

“People request remand, Your Honor, the defendant is a flight risk, he was caught by detectives boarding a plane to Azerbaijan, a country not currently cooperating with U.S. extradition, he has connections both in and out of the country, and no real connections to the community.” Rafael replied, his prepared speech rolling off the tongue just as he had prepared this morning. He would get remand no problem. Or so he thought, until he saw a small smile curling on your lips. 

“Your Honors, my client was caught boarding a plane to Azerbaijan for a business trip, not to escape the country. He had no idea he was under suspicion for his wife’s murder and rape, as the detectives gave him no indication of any sort. And as for connections to the community, how about his daughter, who is right now in custody, but patiently waiting for her dad to be bailed out? To ask that this man be given remand would be a disservice to justice, especially after his hearing has been rescheduled how many times now, on top of having ill-prepared attorney now?” You crossed your arms. “Ordering remand on top of these circumstances would be a greater miscarriage of justice than if we rescheduled this arraignment another two times.” 

And the Judge considered your argument, “I agree, your client must surrender his passport, and wear an ankle bracelet, confined within his home. He also has to cough up $50,000 for bail. Court is adjourned.” 

And Rafael stood there, jaw hanging on the ground, as you shook hands with a man whose case you had been familiar with all of two minutes. 

And though court was adjourned, your time facing off with him in the courtroom sure wasn’t. 

As when you returned home from your firm, you had some news: they wanted you to stay on the case, as your now client, did not trust anyone else at your firm, much less any other attorney. 

Great, Rafael thought, holding his head, He would get to relive his early days of getting his ass handed to him by you. 

Noticing his pouting, you chuckled, “I’m starting to think half the reason you married me was so I couldn’t be on the other side of aisle.” Your arms looped around his neck, as his hung around your waist, pulling you taut against his body. 

He placed a sweet kiss on your lips, a wicked smirk pulling at his lips. “Half? More like the entire reason.” 

And with that Rafael had to start the case from scratch, b/c he knew you of all people weren’t going to give him an easy time. 

You had been working day and night on the case, leaving some morning before 6 AM and returning well after 5 PM. 

And it didn’t help that most days, you came home with a grin on your face, which unnerved him more than many of clients ever could.

He needed some more evidence and he needed it yesterday.

The trial started off with opening statements, and he did his usual spiel as always, but when it was your turn to get up, he quickly realized that this was not going to be difficult as he thought: it was much, much worse. 

But he wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Within your opening statement, you had changed more than half the jury’s minds. 

Calling witnesses was no better, as you managed to tear apart their backgrounds from mouth to anus, and by the end, he wasn’t sure how much of a case they had. 

He had managed to bring it back with Carisi’s testimony along with the physical evidence, but you managed to sneak reasonable doubt into every other element in the crime, including the Prentice’s numerous affairs, business scandals, and overall dislikable demeanor. 

“Ladies and gentlemen of the Jury, everything Mr. Barba said is true: Mr. Prentice is a scoundrel, a crook, and a cheat, but he is not a rapist not is he a murderer. Most of us handle our relationships as we do our business. There is a fine line, between personal and public,” You spared a glance at your husband, who simply rose an eyebrow, as he scrawled notes on his legal pad. “And that line should never be breached, but today it was, in the name of justice. But there would be no greater injustice than to place this man in jail. Mr. Prentice had no apparent reason to murder or rape his wife; they were going to counseling, she had no idea that her husband was cheating, in his business or in their marriage, so why kill her? Mr. Barba presented all this supposed evidence and framed around her husband, but what really differentiates this man’s picture from any other? Motive. And that’s the one thing Mr. Barba doesn’t seem to have an explanation for. If the frames are all the same, then the crime always fits. And though everything Mr. Barba said is true, but if we charge Mr. Prentice with this crime, then what could stop the state from charging you, or you, or you?” You stopped in from the jury foreman, turning on your heel to face them. “Nothing. Nothing at all.” 

And the verdict came around soon enough, three days spent inside, only to pop out and say they were deadlocked. And then finally, the call came. 

He watched as you entered the court, striding in with heels clicking against the marble floor. As you stood, you laid a comforting hand on your client’s shoulder, whispering some reassuring words in his ear. And he couldn’t help but smile. 

He remembered when he asked you why you had become a defense attorney, instead of a prosecutor, and you had paused, as he saw the façade and barriers melt away to real emotion, as you glanced up from your drink, and said: “No man, woman, or even child, wakes up one day and wants to commit murder. They are driven to it, by circumstances, mental illness, or abuse. And I believe they deserve a fair shake in court, the state already has so much power, and it won’t have me as a public servant, but as a worthy adversary.” 

And as the Judge told you to rise with the verdict, he saw you rise with your client, bearing the burden of the verdict together. “Madam Forewoman, what say you?” And she paused, looking up as she read from the note card. 

“We, the jury find the defendant…” And Rafael knew whatever the verdict, he would be content, because you were his adversary.

And he was so glad that he was worthy of being your husband. 

#rafael barba x reader #serendiptious-esparza #rafael barba #rafael barba x you #rafael barba imagine #rafael barba imagines #rafael barba fanfiction #rafael barba fanfic #barba imagine #barba imagines #svu imagine #svu imagines #svu fanfiction #svu fanfic #Raul Esparza #raul esparza fandom #law and order #law and order: svu #Law and Order: Special Victims Unit #law and order special victims unit #svu #svu headcanons #svu hc #rafael barba headcanons #headcanons #hc #rafael barba hc

[themattress]

Ranking OUAT’s Villain Redemptions

10. Mr. Gold / Rumpelstiltskin - What redemption!?  Rumple was an out-and-out villain in S1, and he didn’t truly change at all in S2 no matter how often he publicly restrained himself to appease Belle.  S3 was the only time he made an honest effort at redemption, but it was fraught with failures, temptation, doubt and relapses into asshole behavior.  The only thing that made it succeed was that it occurred in a very specific set of ideal circumstances...and that Rumple died at the end of it all.  After being resurrected and losing his son, Rumple quickly regressed into the villainy he’s comfortable with, becoming the Big Bad of S4.  In S5, we had that brief “hero Gold” arc that was not only morally insulting and nonsensical, but also pointless since he ends up choosing to become the Dark One again by the end of it...the Darkest Dark One, in fact, who is thoroughly unpleasant up until the very end of S6, where - after being faced with the consequences of his own evil actions, consequences that include the potential destruction of the entire multiverse - he does the right thing once, which leads to Belle taking him back, allowing him to help raise their son, and him getting accepted at the big family dinner by all of his victims. What the actual fuck!?  That’s not a redemption - Rumple hasn’t repented of his evil ways, he hasn’t given up his dark powers, he hasn’t sacrificed one damn thing, and he only did something good after his own evildoing backfired on him. He is literally responsible for the crisis he helped resolve.  And yet he gets rewarded with his own “happy beginning” with his abused wife and helpless infant son?  Fuck off, A&E.

9. Regina Mills / The Evil Queen - I technically consider Regina to have the worst redemption on the show since I refuse to accept Rumple as even having a redemption. Regina’s first attempt at redemption happened quickly into S2, some may argue too quickly. While it seemed to be going well at first, it soon became apparent that she was only doing it in order to regain custody over Henry rather than out of any true remorse or desire to change. The moment something goes wrong for her, she turns evil again, and ends up being even more heinous a bitch than she was before.  If the show had been operating under any logic, Regina should have been considered irredeemable at this point.  But instead, she is given another chance, and for most of S3 she does a surprisingly good job...until the last five episodes, where her redemption is suddenly fasts-forwarded so that she receives all the rewards she has not yet done anything to deserve: a new boyfriend, easy reconciliation with Snow and with Henry, a True Love’s Kiss with Henry that breaks the Dark Curse, light magic out of nowhere that defeats her previously more powerful sister, and the complete trust and forgiveness of the entire town despite her past victimization of them. But then one thing goes wrong for her, and while she resists falling back into full-on villainy, she still returns to being a whiny, spiteful, self-pitying woman-child who is always looking for the easy way to get what she wants and occasionally does do evil things to achieve this, yet is paradoxically treated by the rest of the cast as a messianic saint, someone who has come so far and worked so hard and deserves her happy ending, with the narrative frequently giving her all of the big hero moments at Emma’s expense.  In fact, much of her development comes at Emma’s expense, since A&E clearly see her as the true star of the show.  And that show just isn’t any fun to me.

8. Cora Mills / The Queen of Hearts - This one is just bizarre. Cora was a villain of the highest order all the way up to her death, where she had a dying epiphany as to where she went wrong in regards to her daughter.  But for some reason, her death is treated as such a tragedy and as such a source of guilt for Snow (not how she killed Cora, no, just that she killed Cora at all) that one would think Cora redeemed herself before her death, which just isn’t so.  Things got iffier when Cora showed up in the Underworld during 5B, and after doing one good deed in reconciling with her daughters and getting them to reconcile with each other, she is allowed to go to Heaven.  While I personally find this acceptable since Cora actually did repent of her villainy and fully acknowledge that she would deserve to go to Hell if that was her fate, I can see why many would be bugged about one of the most evil villains in the show’s history being shown going to Heaven while other characters higher above her on the moral scale - Milah, Gaston, Auntie Em, and even Prince James in the same episode - are condemned to the River of Lost Souls.  When put into that context, it seems less like a good lesson on divine mercy and more a case of creator favoritism toward the character. Cora probably should have just remained in the Underworld to continue her redemption.

7. Maleficent & Ursula - Two thirds of the Queens of Darkness (the other one, Cruella, was an irredeemable sociopath in life and in death), both of them have things that work about their redemption and things that don’t work.  For Ursula, her redemption comes when, after Hook brings her father Poseidon to town who restores her singing voice, she realizes that her true happy ending wasn’t recovering that but reconciling with her father, who is now repentant of his past patriarchal abuse of her.  This is all well and good, but Ursula really didn’t do all that much evil for the redemption to be powerful.  She always came off as lost and confused and hanging out with the wrong crowd, not truly villainous.  And then there’s Maleficent, who has the opposite problem.  Her happy ending is also reuniting with a family member, her long-lost daughter Lily.  It’s sweet and touching, but it also glosses over all of Maleficent’s established villainy.  Maleficent cursed people, burned people alive, destroyed a village, was deemed as having the greatest potential for darkness by a Chernabog, but none of it matters in the end. Even her sworn vendetta against Snow and Charming (whom were made to look like villains and Maleficent their victim) is abruptly dropped and she’s suddenly getting along with them. It’s pretty much Regina’s bullshit redemption but on a mercifully smaller scale.  Since Maleficent did not actually repent of her evildoing, the show should have treated her character accordingly - as still a villain and a potential threat, but also a loving mother.  At the end, she’d be the gray-shading which is complimented by Ursula’s white and Cruella’s black. 

6. Tinkerbell - Aside from the villain-to-hero journeys of Regina, Rumple and Hook in 3A, we also got Tinkerbell, who was an ex-fairy turned trusted partner of Peter Pan.  The Nevengers persuade her to help them, but only if there’s something in it for her (namely, leaving Neverland and being able to confront the Blue Fairy about getting her wings back).  In the end, inspired by Regina and Hook’s progress, Tink learns to believe in herself and earns her fairy status back.  It’s a nice little arc, but it’s missing one crucial detail - the nature of her villainy.  We never see her and Pan interact, we never learn exactly what kind of work she did for him to make him trust her so much.  We see that she’s a scavenger who is prone to violence, but that’s it.  Wendy, Pan’s longtime prisoner, is friends with her, so she couldn’t have been all that bad.  This lack of clarity undermines what is otherwise a good redemption.

5. Zelena Mills / The Wicked Witch -  For the most part, Zelena’s redemption in S5 and S6 really works.  She was never as bad as Regina, so already her changing is more believable. When she realizes that her wicked lifestyle is actually harmful to her baby daughter, she allows Regina and Robin to take her in order to keep her safe.  She doesn’t join Hades despite him professing his love for her until she thinks she can use her own love for him to redeem him.  And when it becomes apparent that it won’t and never will, Zelena kills him in order to protect her sister and everyone else in Storybrooke.  When Regina is an ungrateful bitch and blames her for Robin’s death, Zelena is ostracized from everyone else.  But even when the Evil Queen comes along and tempts her to return to her wicked roots, Zelena keeps firmly out of the conflict, preferring to remain a neutral party for her baby’s sake until her hand is forced and she joins the side of good despite it not really getting her anything and no hero save for Belle caring much for her.  This commitment to doing the right thing comes to a head when she actually sacrifices her magic, the thing she’d defined herself by for so long, to help stop the Black Fairy, a sacrifice Regina should have made long ago but never did. After this, the other heroes fully embrace her as one of their own.  It’s a great redemption, but there is one snag - Robin, both the man and the baby named after him.  The baby Zelena conceived through deceiving Robin into thinking she was Marian.  By - let’s not mince words here - raping him.  It’s not quite as bad as Regina with Graham, especially since Zelena didn't kill Robin and Robin was willing to give her a second chance of his own volition prior to his death, but it’s still rape all the same, and to have the rape victim die while the rapist keeps the baby is extremely squicky, no matter how surprisingly good a mother Zelena may be. This one aspect casts a shadow over Zelena’s redemption and it never should have happened. 

4. King Arthur - Arthur was a villain in 5A, a corrupt monarch obsessed with fulfilling his destiny and ruling over Camelot at all costs.  While despicable, Arthur was also somewhat sympathetic too, as he became more evidently pathetic as the arc went on and Merlin really did screw him up by filling his head with visions of a future he felt the need to achieve.  In the climax of 5B, Arthur escapes prison only to be promptly murdered by Hades.  Down in the Underworld, Hook confronts Arthur with the truth: he was a terrible king and will probably go to Hell if he doesn’t do something to atone.  Note that at first this is the reason why Arthur helps Hook in his quest for the book: he just wants to avoid the consequences of his villainy.  But as the episode goes on, a clear change in Arthur can be seen as he sees the depth of Hook’s feelings for Emma, his bravery and his nobility...in this lowly pirate, Arthur sees the man he had wanted to be and failed to become, making him feel true remorse.  Arthur then becomes invested in the quest to the point where he is willing to sacrifice himself to the River of Lost Souls so that Hook can get to the book.  And at the end, when a doorway to Heaven is open and Arthur has the chance to go through it, which was the whole reason he joined Hook on this quest at the start, he declines and opts to stay in the Underworld, to rule it as a benevolent king and make it a better place, which a short on the S5 DVD shows that he did indeed do.  In just one episode, Arthur had one of the best redemptions on the show, from a selfish cad to a noble hero.  While like Zelena, he also has a rape-like situation with Guinevere that remains untouched upon (he used magic dust on her to keep her from leaving him and turn her into his compliant wife), there was no confirmation of actual rape and even some proof against it (he was too consumed by his obsession with Exaclibur to do anything romantic for Guinevere, let alone sexual), so it’s not quite as harmful to his redemption.

3. Ingrid / The Snow Queen - Ingrid is an even better example of a great redemption being accomplished in just one episode.  Despite being terrifying, prejudiced and insane, Ingrid was also one of the most tragic and sympathetic villains to ever be on the show, with an absolutely heartbreaking backstory and her sole motivation being to have a family who loves her.  She cast the Shattered Sight spell in order to make everyone in Storybrooke kill each other save for Emma and Elsa, who would become her new sisters, but when Anna shows her a letter from her sister Gerta expressing remorse for imprisoning her and confirming that she still loved her, Ingrid realizes the error of her ways.  In one of the best redemptive villain lines in the series, she says “I am a monster. Not because of my powers, but because of what I let them turn me into!”  She then reverses the spell at the cost of her own life, telling Emma, Elsa and Anna that they are all amazing people and that she is proud of them, then saying that her happy ending will be to join her sisters in death.  The whole scene is acted and scored beautifully, and I can’t help but cry anytime I see it.  By acknowledging what she did wrong and accepting responsibility for it, Ingrid is one of the show’s best redeemed villains.

2. Anastasia / The Red Queen - One of the two main villains of Once Upon in Wonderland, Anastasia quickly began to look more appealing, sympathetic and redeemable in contrast to the monstrous villainy of Jafar.  Her main crimes, apart from aiding him, were giving up love for power and being a neglectful ruler to her people...and she was helping Jafar in the hopes of getting to change the past so that she never did any of that.  When this failed and it became clear that she wasn’t going to be able to take the easy way out, Anastasia gave up on her aspirations and finally took full responsibility for being a terrible queen, vowing to make it up to the people of Wonderland by fighting to save them from Jafar, a fight that she stuck through even when it got her tortured by the Jabberwocky and then murdered by Jafar. In the end, her redemption earned her life, being revived by the water from the Well of Wonders, and won her back the love of Will Scarlet.  Years later, she is still ruling Wonderland but now as the White Queen, who actively works to bring love, hope and joy to her people. Anastasia’s redemption is everything that Regina’s is not, with her being fully self-aware of her villainy, truly remorseful of her actions once she starts her redemption, and with purely altruistic motives - doing the right thing just because it’s the right thing and she wants to help make amends for her past mistakes.  Add in Emma Rigby’s performance and it’s nigh-perfect.

1. Killian Jones / Captain Hook - Hook’s redemption starts at the very end of S2, inspired by his regrets for failing Baelfire long ago and not wanting to do the same with his son Henry, putting aside his desire for revenge in favor of doing the right thing.  He had everything to gain by not making this decision, but he does so anyway.  Throughout 3A, he does an admirable job helping the heroes through Neverland and returning to being the honorable man he was long ago, although his motives aren’t entirely pure as he hopes to woo Emma. When he is separated from Emma and gives up hope of reuniting with her, he tries to go back to his villainous pirate ways, but is overcome with remorse after doing so, realizing that his time with Emma changed him to the point where it’s not just for her that he wants to reform for, but for himself too.  When he learns that Emma’s family is in danger and that he must find her and get her to go help them, he trades the Jolly Roger - and his home, crew, livelihood and reputation along with it - in order to do so.  He continues to do good not to “get into Emma’s pants” but to ensure her happiness regardless of whether she ever returns his feelings, and to be the hero he now sincerely wants to be. His redemption comes to a climax in S5, where he becomes evil again after Emma forces the Darkness upon him to save his life, and is once again put into a position where he’d gain everything he wants by following through on his villainy, but remembering that this is not the man he wants to be, he once again does the heroic thing instead, at the cost of his own life.  In the Underworld, Hook learns the value of self-forgiveness and accepts the possibility of a second chance at life, but when it looks like this is impossible, he promises Emma to move on to Heaven when she asks him too.  Unable to do so until his unfinished business of helping Emma defeat Hades is resolved, Hook has a heroic quest alongside Arthur where he proves just how far he’s come, and when he goes into the light to fulfill his pledge to Emma at the end of it, he is instead resurrected by Zeus, deeming him a True Hero worthy of being reunited with his True Love.  

Hook’s redemption is superb not just because of the events that transpire and his growth throughout it, but because of his overall attitude toward the whole thing.  He knows full well that he was a villain, is remorseful for every crime he committed and takes full responsibility for them, and whenever the chance to make things right with someone he wronged comes up, he takes it.  It takes a long time for him to fully get past his self-loathing for his past sins, as he doesn’t feel entitled to happiness just because he’s changed and is doing heroic deeds now, as opposed to Regina, Rumple and initially Zelena who all believed themselves entitled to a happy ending, their crimes and victims be damned.  And lastly, also unlike them, every privilege that Hook has by the end of the series he has earned through his own hard work at redeeming himself.  He has no leftovers from anything he gained as a result of his villainy, even the rings on his fingers have changed from ones that belonged to dead victims to new ones he presumably fairly bought.  His new wife and family, his friendships with others, his house, his ship, his job as deputy sheriff, his very life...all thanks to his heroism and the good karma it rewarded him with.  All of this is why Hook’s redemption is truly the series’ finest.

#Once Upon a Time #ABC #Redemption #Analysis #Opinion #Rumpelstiltskin #Mr. Gold #Regina Mills #The Evil Queen #Cora #Queen of Hearts #Maleficent #Ursula #Tinkerbell #Zelena #The Wicked Witch of the West #King Arthur #Ingrid #The Snow Queen #Anastasia #Red Queen #Killian Jones #Captain Hook

[lastsonlost]

PHOENIX — Nick Olivas became a father at 14, a fact he wouldn't learn for eight years.

While in high school, Olivas had sex with a 20-year-old woman. As he sees it now, she took advantage of a lonely kid going through a rough patch at home.

State law says a child younger than 15 cannot consent with an adult under any circumstance, making Olivas a rape victim. Olivas didn't press charges and says he didn't realize at the time that it was even something to consider.

The two went their separate ways. Olivas, now 24 and living in Phoenix, graduated from high school, went to college and became a medical assistant.

Then two years ago, the state served him with papers demanding child support. That's how he found out he had a then-6-year-old daughter.

Nail polish may prevent date rape

"It was a shock," he said. "I was living my life and enjoying being young. To find out you have a 6-year-old? It's unexplainable. It freaked me out."

He said he panicked, ignored the legal documents and never got the required paternity test. The state eventually tracked him down.

Olivas said he owes about $15,000 in back child support and medical bills going back to the child's birth, plus 10 percent interest. The state seized money from his bank account and is garnisheeing his wages at $380 a month.

FEAR AND FRUSTRATION

He has become one of the state's 153,000 active child-support cases, according to the Arizona Department of Economic Security division of Child Support Services.

In May alone, payments were not made in 49 percent of those cases, according to the agency.

Olivas' fear has turned to frustration.

He wants to be in his daughter's life and is willing to pay child support going forward. But he says it's not right for the state to charge him for fees incurred when he was still a child himself or for the years he didn't know the girl existed.

"Anything I do as an adult, I should be responsible for," he said. "But as a teenager? I don't think so."

Situations such as Olivas' are rare, according to fathers-rights advocates. But cases in several states have garnered attention. Although there has been some public outcry over charging a crime victim with child support, the courts have consistently said states have every right to do so.

KANSAS, CALIFORNIA CASES

The most well-known case was of a Kansas boy who, at age 13, impregnated his 17-year-old baby-sitter. Under Kansas law, a child under the age of 15 is legally unable to consent to sex. The Kansas Supreme Court in 1993 ruled that he was liable for child support.

California issued a similar state court ruling a few years later in the case of a 15-year-old boy who had sex with a 34-year-old neighbor. In that case, the woman had been convicted of statutory rape.

In both cases, it was the state social-services agency that pursued the case after the mother sought public assistance.

"The Kansas court determined that the rape was irrelevant and that the child support was not owed to the rapist but rather to the child," said Mel Feit, director of the New York-based advocacy group the National Center for Men.

In Arizona, the Department of Economic Security oversees child--support enforcement. Its written policy is not to exempt situations like Olivas' from child-support responsibilities, unless the parent seeking child support has been found guilty of sexual assault with a minor or sexual assault.

"We don't see those cases very often, and we're really glad for that," said attorney Janet Sell, chief counsel with the Attorney General's Office's Child and Family Protection Division.

FOCUS ON THE CHILD

But DES officials said the intent of the rule is to ensure that the child, who had no control over the situation, is cared for.

Feit said if the roles were reversed and the woman was the victim, the scenario would be unthinkable.

"The idea that a woman would have to send money to a man who raped her is absolutely off-the-charts ridiculous," he said. "It wouldn't be tolerated, and it shouldn't be tolerated."

California adopts 'yes means yes' law

Feit said the basic legal premise of a rape is that the victim can't be held responsible. And with statutory rape, even if the victim participates, he or she can't be held responsible.

"We're not going to hold him responsible for the sex act, so to then turn around and say we're going to hold him responsible for the child that resulted from that act is off-the-charts ridiculous," he said. "It makes no sense."

Arizona also has no exemption for children born to children, although the state cannot get a court order for child support against the non-custodial parent until that parent becomes an adult.

It also doesn't matter to the state whether the non-custodial parent knows about the child or not. Child support is a separate legal issue from custody.

The state requires parents seeking public assistance under the state's welfare programs to first pursue child support. The child-support payments then are used to help reimburse the state for assistance payments.

"They have to comply with us," said Scott Lekan, DES child support operations administrator. "We're trying to keep them off the cash assistance, and we're trying to get back some of the cash assistance money. It benefits everybody at the end of the day."

The state has more routes than the courts to acquire money from a parent. It can garnishee wages up to 50 percent of disposable income. It can take a tax refund. It can put a lien on a home or a vehicle. It can suspend driver's licenses or revoke passports. And it can seize money out of bank accounts.

"Our biggest source of income is from income-withholding orders to employers," Lekan said.

Under Arizona's child-support formula, non-custodial parents may keep their first $903 to cover their own living expenses. A child-support payment amount is then set based on the remaining money.

Olivas is trying to fight some of the child-support costs, but says he can't afford a lawyer.

He also is trying to see his daughter.

"I lost my mom at a young age. I know what it's like to only have one parent," he said. "I can't leave her out there. She deserves a dad."

#Statutory rape victim forced to pay child #male rape

[depressingmadness]

So I got this message..

Y.NotI got this message from a Girl, who wants to stay anon, it was her story and she wanted me to share it with you.

Her reason being that she thinks this can make a difference in victims to come out and tell their story, I do think so too.

I was being raped by my stepdad for about 2 years. Nobody knew about it. 

One Saturday I texted my friend and told her about it. Then the next Monday I told my social studies teacher. She took me down to the office and she told my principal. I was really close to this teacher I came to her for advice when I was getting bullied or felt down. Anyways the principal had a long talk with me and told me they were going to report it to cps and inform me later. So I went back to class and at the end of the day they told me I couldn’t go home. 

So all of that went by and I went to the police station for an interview and so on and so on. We left the precinct (me and my mom) and she was very emotional and she was on my side. Couple of days and weeks went by I had an exam on my body and meetings and  counseling coming up. 

I didn’t feel very motivated anymore. I was still getting bullied and now the story went around school almost every person knows about it. And it’s middles school so there is a lot of drama. 

Later on my mom started to be on his side. One day she asked me to drop the charges. My dad and left me around the age of 5 and she was all I had left. She made my siblings turn on me and she started to turn on me too. Well one day she wanted me to drop the charges but I didn’t so she started getting mad at me she told me she dosent want me in her life anymore and that I’m a disappointment and I’m ruining her life. I though to myself life is not worth it anymore. Most of my friends left me and I could really only talk to that one teacher I told and my principal. 

Well we went to court and I had to go on the stand. Later that week I got a call saying that they found him not guilty and then after that I got a call saying my mom left and packed her stuff to go live with him. 

Even before the trial I was taken away and cps took custody of me and put me in the hands of my auntie and uncle so I had no contact with my close family. Now there is a restraining order against my mom from me. 

Now I cut and self harm in different ways and think and suicide every single day. I may smile but I really want to die inside. I feel unwanted because now I have no dad and no mom. 

Most of the people I want to be there for me they don’t believe me cause they found him not guilty. Its summer so I can’t really talk to that teacher but we do text and she calls me. But I feel like a burden when I’m talking to her or texting her. I feel like she wishes I could stop talking to her. Now I feel like everything is all my fault.

What should I do?

I have talked to the girl in private so don’t worry about that, but I’m still gonna write what I think.

Rape is never the victims fault. NEVER.

In a year there are over 1000000 sexual assaults/rape accusations and over 90% of them never get reported, and about 1000 of these will be sentenced.

It’s sick, the world is sick. 

Rape happens to both male and females, but 9 out of 10 times it’s a male raping a female. 

��What were you wearing?” - It doesn’t matter what they were wearing, they said no and that should be respected. It’s not the outfit that causes harm.

“Did you say no?” - To their best ability they tried to vocalize their choice, but they were not in control of the situation.

“Were you under the influence of drugs or alcohol?” - Even if they were, their body and mind should be respected when under the influence such as when being sober. And if someone is unable to give you consent you are taking advantage of their unconscious body.

“Why didn’t you report it?” - In most cases the victim are afraid to report it, the rapist could’ve threatened them, they don’t want anyone to know what happened, they are unsure if it really was rape or not and they are afraid that if they report it, the rapist will be pleaded not guilty. 

How can we even let this happen? How can the world be so sick? If someone brings a rape accusation up to court and then they find the rapist not guilty, how? Lack of evidence? There’s plenty of evidence, how can you not see it???

The girl who came out with this story lost her family to the one who raped her, she lost her mom to the rapist. I’m so disappointed and disgusted by this. How can you turn against your child like that? From being so supporting and loving to wanting her own child to drop the charges against him? to tell her own child that she’s an disappointment and that she is ruining her own mothers life? 

Don’t you think that her stepdad ruined your childs life? By raping her for over 2 years? How can a mother be so blind? And how can you not see how bad your own daughter feels about all this? 

She’s all alone now, self-harming and suicidal. No help and no friends. 

She feels like an burden, that she isn’t worthy anyone’s time, she doesn’t deserve anything good now. 

Everyone at school looking at her like she is a liar because he was pleaded not guilty, that she made this whole story up. Everyone turning on her for not believing her anymore, because you know, he wasn’t guilty. 

This girl is in middle school, she has her whole life in front of her but she just wants to disappear. Her pain of losing her own family to the one who actually ruined it, her own thoughts eating her up that replays her mom’s voice telling her that she, her own child ruined her life, and the scars on her body that tells us her story and pain all over again.

Those scars shouldn’t be there, they shouldn’t even exist in the first place. Those suicidal thoughts she has is nothing she deserves. 

This girl needs some help before it’s too late, she doesn’t like it when people say that she needs help, it makes her feel broken. I know the feeling, when people said I needed help I thought I was weak, that I couldn’t do anything myself, but my friend told me that “needing help doesn’t mean you’re weak, it means that you have been strong for too long on your own”. 

You may be a little broken, but we all are sometimes and that’s okay, we just gotta get the pieces back in place. One at a time, step by step. The first step for you, that I want it to be, is to get contact with someone who you can talk to, who you can trust just as much as your teacher. Someone who works as a whateveryouwannacallit person, who know the right ways to go and the right things to say. 

You can always come to me and talk if you want to, I’m always gonna be here for you.

And for everyone else out there whom is a victim of rape, sexual assault or anything that is wrong. REPORT IT. 

In my bio/description there is a link “100 Reasons Not To Kill Yourself” + Hotlines, I want everyone who is a victim to go there and check the numbers. It’s not only for rape, it’s for depression, child-abuse, suicide, runaway, support, anything. I hope those actually help and that you guys who needs it uses it.

Don’t let the bad guy get the advantage, don’t let him win. 

And remember, always, IT’S NEVER THE VICTIMS FAULT.  ❤️

❤️ XOXO ~DepressingMadness

#answer #tell me your story #don't be afraid #rape #victim #not the victims fault #depression #slef harm #self harn #mental illness #report

[reneeacaseyfl]

A rape during a Tinder date tests a family’s faith

“Bull—-” she mouthed silently as the lawyer questioned the extent of her injuries, despite a doctor’s finding that she had suffered severe physical trauma from the encounter on May 23, 2015.

A jury in Antigua had convicted former British police officer Lee Martin-Cramp in May of raping Hurley while he was visiting the Caribbean island and she was living there as a nursing student. Now, six weeks later, Kaitlin and her parents were huddled over a laptop in the living room of their Tennessee home, Skyping into an Antiguan courtroom to find out how much time he would serve for shattering their lives.

CNN does not normally name survivors of sexual assault. But Kaitlin and her family chose to publicly identify themselves for the first time in an interview with CNN. By doing so, they hope to normalize conversations about the lasting impact of sexual assault on survivors and their families.

The Hurley family said they felt fortunate to have achieved this level of justice.

Four years earlier, Kaitlin’s mother, Jill Hurley, says Antiguan police told her the case would go nowhere. Since then, the family had learned how challenging sexual assault prosecutions can be. But the Hurleys pressed Antiguan and British authorities until Martin-Cramp became the first British citizen to be extradited to the island, culminating in a historic conviction.

After spending thousands of dollars to visit the island for Cramp’s trial, the Hurley family decided to watch the sentencing from their home, thousands of miles away.

Kaitlin said she felt a life sentence was justified given the circumstances. The jury had agreed with the Crown’s argument that Martin-Cramp used his position as an officer of the law to gain her trust, then drugged and raped her even though she had told him she did not want to have sex.

During the sentencing, Justice Iain Morley noted that five jurors had taking the “unusual” step of returning to the court for the hearing, describing it as a “tribute” to Hurley.

Yet, Hurley had the feeling that no matter how much time he served, it wouldn’t be enough to make her whole again, she said. The attack not only derailed her dreams of being a missionary nurse, it had eroded her faith and her trust in humanity, she said.

“I’m serving a life sentence in recovery,” she said. “Nothing can make me the person I once was.”

A Tinder match turns violent

Hurley’s dream of becoming a missionary nurse led her to Antigua.

In her senior year of high school, she went on a mission trip to Costa Rica, followed by another one over the summer. She was already planning to be a nurse — a natural fit for her caring nature, her father says. The mission trips oriented her toward helping others in developing countries.

When her mother found out about a nursing program in Antigua, Kaitlyn said it sounded like the perfect way for her to earn her degree while learning skills that would serve her outside of the US.

After studying for more than two years at Belmont University, she transferred to the Macedonia School of Nursing at the University of Health Sciences Antigua in May 2014.

Nearly a year later, she said she connected with Martin-Cramp on Tinder. A police constable with London’s Metropolitan Police Service, he was staying at the Pineapple Resort in Antigua for a wedding with friends and family.

The two started chatting on WhatsApp and making plans to meet for drinks — and a potential overnight stay. Amid the flirtatious texts, however, Hurley warned Martin-Cramp not to expect sex. Although she did not tell him, she said she was a virgin, having made the decision to save herself for marriage as part of her Christian faith.

Scroll in the window to read all the text messages

Martin-Cramp promised her that he would respect her wishes and stay on the sofa. He also shared two photos of himself in uniform. One was a selfie, and another showed him playing soccer with children.

Scroll in the window to read all the text messages

Hurley said she found the photos reassuring. “If you can’t trust a police officer, who can you trust?”

The two met on May 23, 2015 and shared a bottle of wine at a dockside boat party before returning to Hurley’s apartment, according to a witness statement she gave on June 2. They opened another bottle of wine and Hurley went to her room to change into sweatpants. When she returned, she said the wine tasted different and Martin-Cramp told her that he had put vodka in it.

She took another sip and stopped drinking, she said, because she didn’t like how it tasted. As they started watching a movie in her living room, she began to feel dizzy, according to her statement.

“From that moment I can hardly recall what [happened] after, because I was feeling so dizzy,” the statement says. “But I can recall at one point Lee was over me while I was lying in my bed, I was screaming at one point telling him no and to stop.”

She was shocked to find herself naked in bed with him the next morning, she said. After she drove him back to his resort, she said she found a bite mark and bruises on her neck. When she sent Martin-Cramp a picture of the bruises, the texts show that he apologized for the bruises and said nothing further about them.

Three days later, as Hurley noticed more bruising on her body and her pain worsened, she said she reached out to Martin-Cramp to find out what really happened that night. She kept it friendly, she says, because she wanted to stay on his good side so he would tell her the truth.

Scroll in the window to read all the text messages

Initially, the texts show that he maintained they did not have sex. After Hurley pressed him, however, Martin-Cramp finally admitted to intercourse, saying she had “jumped on top” of him while he was lying in bed and “started bouncing.”

Hurley responded in disbelief saying she did not remember it like that.

Scroll in the window to read all the text messages

Unsure of what to do, Kaitlin said she texted her mother and asked to speak with her over Skype. Jill Hurley got on her laptop in her bedroom and Kaitlin revealed the news.

Even with the television playing in the living room, her father, Derrick Hurley, said he could hear his daughter’s sobs behind the closed door.

Jill Hurley said she told her daughter to report the incident to police and get examined at a hospital. Kaitlin went to the hospital first and while she was there, she had her first contact with law enforcement. She gave her first official witness statement days later on June 2.

Eventually, a medical examination confirmed what Kaitlin suspected from the injuries, she had been raped.

A quest for justice begins

While Kaitlin’s mother made her way to Antigua, her father said he worked to find out how her rapist could be brought to justice. It would be the start of four years of phone calls and follow up phone calls to officials in Antigua and the UK, he said, pressing for Martin-Cramp to stand trial in Antigua, starting with extradition.

He kept pushing, fearful of what he would do if his daughter’s rapist somehow avoided standing trial, he said.

“I never imagined I could be capable of killing someone,” Derrick Hurley said. “That’s how this has changed me.”

Because Martin-Cramp had left the island, extradition was the only option, said Anthony Armstrong, director of public prosecutions in Antigua. Seeking extradition was “uncharted territory” for the island, but the jury’s verdict validated their efforts, he said.

“We are grateful and humbled that the UK did give due consideration to the extradition request, which went through the legal process,” he told CNN.

Martin-Cramp was arrested in June 2016 in London after an allegation of rape was made, according to Metropolitan Police.

After being released from custody, he was placed on restricted duties while awaiting the outcome of extradition proceedings, Metropolitan Police told CNN. In February 2017, the Westminster Magistrates’ Court rejected the extradition request poor humanitarian conditions in Antigua’s national prison, known as 1735 for the year it was built.

After arranging to place Martin-Cramp at a former US naval base that now serves as living quarters for the island’s defense forces, Armstrong says a second extradition request was made. The request was granted in June 2018, and the UK home secretary ordered Martin-Cramp’s extradition in August 2018, according to Metropolitan Police.

By the time Martin-Cramps was transferred to the island in September 2018, Kaitlin Hurley had returned to the United States.

Determined not to let the attack derail her career path, she completed her degree in Antigua. To this day, Hurley speaks fondly of her experience on the island with the exception of the rape, describing it as a “second home.”

But she said she struggled with the effects of trauma for the remainder of her stay.

Trauma begins to manifest

Following the incident, she didn’t sleep or eat and lost 30 pounds in a matter of weeks, she said. She moved out of her apartment because she kept having flashbacks and didn’t feel safe there, she said.

Despite occasional visits from her family, she said she felt alone. Ashamed of what had happened, she barely told anyone, she said.

“It was me against the world and the world was winning. The pursuit of my degree and going home to see my family was all that kept me going, and sometimes not even that was enough,” she said in her victim impact statement, which the judge read aloud during sentencing.

She remained concerned for her safety and moved a second time into a gated community with security guards. Even there, she slept with the lights on, unable to shake the fear of someone lurking in the shadows.

“For many months, I felt numb if not empty. I cried myself to sleep at night every night for an entire year. I typed many suicide letters on my phone then after a few days deleted them, just to write another.”

The attack had made her cautious of her surroundings and distrustful of people, diminishing her desire to explore the world on her own as a missionary nurse.

Instead, she chose to be closer to her family and returned to Tennessee, where she now works as a surgical nurse at a hospital in Lenoir City. It also diminished her faith as she struggled to come to terms with how God could have allowed this to happen to her, she said.

“I gave up my life in the United States to come to Antigua for what I felt in my heart was serving God,” she said in her impact statement.

“When this happened, I felt as though God betrayed me, even after I followed Him and His way of living. I still do not understand why He allowed this trauma to happen to me. And my heart breaks as I continually wonder why bad things happen to good people.”

The trial reaches its conclusion

Martin-Cramp’s defense team maintained throughout the trial that the encounter was consensual.

His lawyer, Warren Cassell, continued to proclaim his client’s innocence at sentencing. He disputed the Crown’s theory that Martin-Cramp used his position as a police officer to gain her trust. He also downplayed the extent of Hurley’s injuries and disputed her claim that she stayed in touch with him after the incident to find out what had happened. He also argued that her consumption of alcohol, and her inviting Martin-Cramp into her home, suggested she had consented to the encounter.

But Judge Iain Morley said the degree of Hurley’s injuries — which lingered days after the incident — and their text messages proved the encounter was not consensual. Besides, Morley told the lawyer, the jury had already rejected his arguments.

“A young woman — or anyone — should be able to invite someone to their house and not then be blamed afterwards if they turn into a demon and start raping them, having drugged them,” Morley said.

Cassell has not yet commented on his client’s behalf.

Kaitlin went to Antigua for the week-long trial in May with her parents, two sisters and another person who had helped her through the process.

Just as Kaitlin says she struggled to find resources for sexual assault survivors in Antigua, her parents said they also had to search far and wide in the United States for help navigating the emotional and legal contours of their experience.

The Hurleys found a resource in End Rape on Campus, an American nonprofit that provides support to survivors of campus sexual violence. Its executive director, Annie Clark, said she kept in touch with the Hurleys even after she left the organization.

The historic nature of the case, from extradition to conviction, made it unique, Clark said. Otherwise, themes of the abuse of power and victim-blaming echoed throughout the trial, Clark said, themes that were familiar to her from her experience as an advocate for survivors of sexual violence.

Justice looks different for everyone, Clark said. For some, closure comes from a guilty verdict while others may prefer not to involve the legal system at all.

Clark said she has no doubt that Kaitlin’s unwavering determination to seeing the trial through were critical to the success of the prosecution.

“To have her family’s support made all the difference,” she said.

Clark also watched the sentencing via video conference, appearing on the Hurley family’s laptop.

Seated next to Kaitlin on the brown leather couch, her father sunk his head into his hands, tears in his eyes, as he listened to the family’s impact statements. It was not the first time he had heard them, but they still stung, he said.

Nearly three hours after the hearing began, the judge handed down the sentence: 15 years, with credit for time Martin-Cramp had already spent in custody.

What now?

The family sat in stunned silence. After the Skype connection was cut, Derrick Hurley was the first to speak.

“It’s not quite what I was hoping for, but it’s a lot more than most people get,” he said.

His wife, Jill, echoed the sentiment.

“I’m so grateful that we made it this far. We know now — although we didn’t know if before — how hard it is to get to this point. Most people don’t even get to trial. But 15 years seems so little compared to what we’ve gone through, and it keeps going for Kaitlin.”

Finally, Kaitlin spoke. “I’m bummed. It should’ve been more,” she said bluntly.

“Fifteen years is a lot but I’m dealing with this stuff for the rest of my life.”

With the legal chapter over, Kaitlin’s parents hope to channel their experience into helping other families.

“As difficult as this has been, we’re grateful to have made it to the other side,” Jill said. “But we still have a lot of healing to do.”

Kaitlin’s not sure what’s next for her. She knows she’ll never be the person she was. But she has a new life now. And she’s learning to navigate that.

Credit: Source link

The post A rape during a Tinder date tests a family’s faith appeared first on WeeklyReviewer.

from WeeklyReviewer https://weeklyreviewer.com/a-rape-during-a-tinder-date-tests-a-familys-faith/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-rape-during-a-tinder-date-tests-a-familys-faith from WeeklyReviewer https://weeklyreviewer.tumblr.com/post/186275134947

[weeklyreviewer]

A rape during a Tinder date tests a family’s faith

“Bull—-” she mouthed silently as the lawyer questioned the extent of her injuries, despite a doctor’s finding that she had suffered severe physical trauma from the encounter on May 23, 2015.

A jury in Antigua had convicted former British police officer Lee Martin-Cramp in May of raping Hurley while he was visiting the Caribbean island and she was living there as a nursing student. Now, six weeks later, Kaitlin and her parents were huddled over a laptop in the living room of their Tennessee home, Skyping into an Antiguan courtroom to find out how much time he would serve for shattering their lives.

CNN does not normally name survivors of sexual assault. But Kaitlin and her family chose to publicly identify themselves for the first time in an interview with CNN. By doing so, they hope to normalize conversations about the lasting impact of sexual assault on survivors and their families.

The Hurley family said they felt fortunate to have achieved this level of justice.

Four years earlier, Kaitlin’s mother, Jill Hurley, says Antiguan police told her the case would go nowhere. Since then, the family had learned how challenging sexual assault prosecutions can be. But the Hurleys pressed Antiguan and British authorities until Martin-Cramp became the first British citizen to be extradited to the island, culminating in a historic conviction.

After spending thousands of dollars to visit the island for Cramp’s trial, the Hurley family decided to watch the sentencing from their home, thousands of miles away.

Kaitlin said she felt a life sentence was justified given the circumstances. The jury had agreed with the Crown’s argument that Martin-Cramp used his position as an officer of the law to gain her trust, then drugged and raped her even though she had told him she did not want to have sex.

During the sentencing, Justice Iain Morley noted that five jurors had taking the “unusual” step of returning to the court for the hearing, describing it as a “tribute” to Hurley.

Yet, Hurley had the feeling that no matter how much time he served, it wouldn’t be enough to make her whole again, she said. The attack not only derailed her dreams of being a missionary nurse, it had eroded her faith and her trust in humanity, she said.

“I’m serving a life sentence in recovery,” she said. “Nothing can make me the person I once was.”

A Tinder match turns violent

Hurley’s dream of becoming a missionary nurse led her to Antigua.

In her senior year of high school, she went on a mission trip to Costa Rica, followed by another one over the summer. She was already planning to be a nurse — a natural fit for her caring nature, her father says. The mission trips oriented her toward helping others in developing countries.

When her mother found out about a nursing program in Antigua, Kaitlyn said it sounded like the perfect way for her to earn her degree while learning skills that would serve her outside of the US.

After studying for more than two years at Belmont University, she transferred to the Macedonia School of Nursing at the University of Health Sciences Antigua in May 2014.

Nearly a year later, she said she connected with Martin-Cramp on Tinder. A police constable with London’s Metropolitan Police Service, he was staying at the Pineapple Resort in Antigua for a wedding with friends and family.

The two started chatting on WhatsApp and making plans to meet for drinks — and a potential overnight stay. Amid the flirtatious texts, however, Hurley warned Martin-Cramp not to expect sex. Although she did not tell him, she said she was a virgin, having made the decision to save herself for marriage as part of her Christian faith.

Scroll in the window to read all the text messages

Martin-Cramp promised her that he would respect her wishes and stay on the sofa. He also shared two photos of himself in uniform. One was a selfie, and another showed him playing soccer with children.

Scroll in the window to read all the text messages

Hurley said she found the photos reassuring. “If you can’t trust a police officer, who can you trust?”

The two met on May 23, 2015 and shared a bottle of wine at a dockside boat party before returning to Hurley’s apartment, according to a witness statement she gave on June 2. They opened another bottle of wine and Hurley went to her room to change into sweatpants. When she returned, she said the wine tasted different and Martin-Cramp told her that he had put vodka in it.

She took another sip and stopped drinking, she said, because she didn’t like how it tasted. As they started watching a movie in her living room, she began to feel dizzy, according to her statement.

“From that moment I can hardly recall what [happened] after, because I was feeling so dizzy,” the statement says. “But I can recall at one point Lee was over me while I was lying in my bed, I was screaming at one point telling him no and to stop.”

She was shocked to find herself naked in bed with him the next morning, she said. After she drove him back to his resort, she said she found a bite mark and bruises on her neck. When she sent Martin-Cramp a picture of the bruises, the texts show that he apologized for the bruises and said nothing further about them.

Three days later, as Hurley noticed more bruising on her body and her pain worsened, she said she reached out to Martin-Cramp to find out what really happened that night. She kept it friendly, she says, because she wanted to stay on his good side so he would tell her the truth.

Scroll in the window to read all the text messages

Initially, the texts show that he maintained they did not have sex. After Hurley pressed him, however, Martin-Cramp finally admitted to intercourse, saying she had “jumped on top” of him while he was lying in bed and “started bouncing.”

Hurley responded in disbelief saying she did not remember it like that.

Scroll in the window to read all the text messages

Unsure of what to do, Kaitlin said she texted her mother and asked to speak with her over Skype. Jill Hurley got on her laptop in her bedroom and Kaitlin revealed the news.

Even with the television playing in the living room, her father, Derrick Hurley, said he could hear his daughter’s sobs behind the closed door.

Jill Hurley said she told her daughter to report the incident to police and get examined at a hospital. Kaitlin went to the hospital first and while she was there, she had her first contact with law enforcement. She gave her first official witness statement days later on June 2.

Eventually, a medical examination confirmed what Kaitlin suspected from the injuries, she had been raped.

A quest for justice begins

While Kaitlin’s mother made her way to Antigua, her father said he worked to find out how her rapist could be brought to justice. It would be the start of four years of phone calls and follow up phone calls to officials in Antigua and the UK, he said, pressing for Martin-Cramp to stand trial in Antigua, starting with extradition.

He kept pushing, fearful of what he would do if his daughter’s rapist somehow avoided standing trial, he said.

“I never imagined I could be capable of killing someone,” Derrick Hurley said. “That’s how this has changed me.”

Because Martin-Cramp had left the island, extradition was the only option, said Anthony Armstrong, director of public prosecutions in Antigua. Seeking extradition was “uncharted territory” for the island, but the jury’s verdict validated their efforts, he said.

“We are grateful and humbled that the UK did give due consideration to the extradition request, which went through the legal process,” he told CNN.

Martin-Cramp was arrested in June 2016 in London after an allegation of rape was made, according to Metropolitan Police.

After being released from custody, he was placed on restricted duties while awaiting the outcome of extradition proceedings, Metropolitan Police told CNN. In February 2017, the Westminster Magistrates’ Court rejected the extradition request poor humanitarian conditions in Antigua’s national prison, known as 1735 for the year it was built.

After arranging to place Martin-Cramp at a former US naval base that now serves as living quarters for the island’s defense forces, Armstrong says a second extradition request was made. The request was granted in June 2018, and the UK home secretary ordered Martin-Cramp’s extradition in August 2018, according to Metropolitan Police.

By the time Martin-Cramps was transferred to the island in September 2018, Kaitlin Hurley had returned to the United States.

Determined not to let the attack derail her career path, she completed her degree in Antigua. To this day, Hurley speaks fondly of her experience on the island with the exception of the rape, describing it as a “second home.”

But she said she struggled with the effects of trauma for the remainder of her stay.

Trauma begins to manifest

Following the incident, she didn’t sleep or eat and lost 30 pounds in a matter of weeks, she said. She moved out of her apartment because she kept having flashbacks and didn’t feel safe there, she said.

Despite occasional visits from her family, she said she felt alone. Ashamed of what had happened, she barely told anyone, she said.

“It was me against the world and the world was winning. The pursuit of my degree and going home to see my family was all that kept me going, and sometimes not even that was enough,” she said in her victim impact statement, which the judge read aloud during sentencing.

She remained concerned for her safety and moved a second time into a gated community with security guards. Even there, she slept with the lights on, unable to shake the fear of someone lurking in the shadows.

“For many months, I felt numb if not empty. I cried myself to sleep at night every night for an entire year. I typed many suicide letters on my phone then after a few days deleted them, just to write another.”

The attack had made her cautious of her surroundings and distrustful of people, diminishing her desire to explore the world on her own as a missionary nurse.

Instead, she chose to be closer to her family and returned to Tennessee, where she now works as a surgical nurse at a hospital in Lenoir City. It also diminished her faith as she struggled to come to terms with how God could have allowed this to happen to her, she said.

“I gave up my life in the United States to come to Antigua for what I felt in my heart was serving God,” she said in her impact statement.

“When this happened, I felt as though God betrayed me, even after I followed Him and His way of living. I still do not understand why He allowed this trauma to happen to me. And my heart breaks as I continually wonder why bad things happen to good people.”

The trial reaches its conclusion

Martin-Cramp’s defense team maintained throughout the trial that the encounter was consensual.

His lawyer, Warren Cassell, continued to proclaim his client’s innocence at sentencing. He disputed the Crown’s theory that Martin-Cramp used his position as a police officer to gain her trust. He also downplayed the extent of Hurley’s injuries and disputed her claim that she stayed in touch with him after the incident to find out what had happened. He also argued that her consumption of alcohol, and her inviting Martin-Cramp into her home, suggested she had consented to the encounter.

But Judge Iain Morley said the degree of Hurley’s injuries — which lingered days after the incident — and their text messages proved the encounter was not consensual. Besides, Morley told the lawyer, the jury had already rejected his arguments.

“A young woman — or anyone — should be able to invite someone to their house and not then be blamed afterwards if they turn into a demon and start raping them, having drugged them,” Morley said.

Cassell has not yet commented on his client’s behalf.

Kaitlin went to Antigua for the week-long trial in May with her parents, two sisters and another person who had helped her through the process.

Just as Kaitlin says she struggled to find resources for sexual assault survivors in Antigua, her parents said they also had to search far and wide in the United States for help navigating the emotional and legal contours of their experience.

The Hurleys found a resource in End Rape on Campus, an American nonprofit that provides support to survivors of campus sexual violence. Its executive director, Annie Clark, said she kept in touch with the Hurleys even after she left the organization.

The historic nature of the case, from extradition to conviction, made it unique, Clark said. Otherwise, themes of the abuse of power and victim-blaming echoed throughout the trial, Clark said, themes that were familiar to her from her experience as an advocate for survivors of sexual violence.

Justice looks different for everyone, Clark said. For some, closure comes from a guilty verdict while others may prefer not to involve the legal system at all.

Clark said she has no doubt that Kaitlin’s unwavering determination to seeing the trial through were critical to the success of the prosecution.

“To have her family’s support made all the difference,” she said.

Clark also watched the sentencing via video conference, appearing on the Hurley family’s laptop.

Seated next to Kaitlin on the brown leather couch, her father sunk his head into his hands, tears in his eyes, as he listened to the family’s impact statements. It was not the first time he had heard them, but they still stung, he said.

Nearly three hours after the hearing began, the judge handed down the sentence: 15 years, with credit for time Martin-Cramp had already spent in custody.

What now?

The family sat in stunned silence. After the Skype connection was cut, Derrick Hurley was the first to speak.

“It’s not quite what I was hoping for, but it’s a lot more than most people get,” he said.

His wife, Jill, echoed the sentiment.

“I’m so grateful that we made it this far. We know now — although we didn’t know if before — how hard it is to get to this point. Most people don’t even get to trial. But 15 years seems so little compared to what we’ve gone through, and it keeps going for Kaitlin.”

Finally, Kaitlin spoke. “I’m bummed. It should’ve been more,” she said bluntly.

“Fifteen years is a lot but I’m dealing with this stuff for the rest of my life.”

With the legal chapter over, Kaitlin’s parents hope to channel their experience into helping other families.

“As difficult as this has been, we’re grateful to have made it to the other side,” Jill said. “But we still have a lot of healing to do.”

Kaitlin’s not sure what’s next for her. She knows she’ll never be the person she was. But she has a new life now. And she’s learning to navigate that.

Credit: Source link

The post A rape during a Tinder date tests a family’s faith appeared first on WeeklyReviewer.

from WeeklyReviewer https://weeklyreviewer.com/a-rape-during-a-tinder-date-tests-a-familys-faith/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-rape-during-a-tinder-date-tests-a-familys-faith