Today one of the stars of the now-canceled TLC show My Five Wives revealed a heartbreaking story about the sexual abuse she suffered as a child at the hands of a beloved uncle. In a post entitled “This Happened!!”
Rhonda describes several vivid memories she has of abuse when she was a child and her Uncle Marvin was a teenager. These horrifying flashbacks came rushing back to her at age 19 after another uncle, her great uncle Joe, was accused of molesting his children. When her mother confronted her children about whether or not Uncle Joe had done anything to them, Rhonda says she was taken back to her abuse at the hands of another.
I know that nothing was ever said to my parents. I also know that each of these memories were separate times of abuse. In one I was refusing to go into the room for candy. I loved candy!! I obviously knew what would happen in the room from prior experience. I also noted that the lock was latched in one memory and someone simply walked in on the other one, the door was not locked at all. (I’m still amazed that he didn’t lock the door to keep others out). I live with the fear that at anytime I could be haunted again by more memories of what he did to me.
This is not the first startling and troubling revelation from Rhonda about sexual abuse in her family. In November of 2014 she shared another lengthy blog post detailing her memories of being sexually abused by her father.
Rosemary claimed that she was sexually abused during her childhood by her father, Lynn A. Thompson. The claims are sure to have significant repercussions as Thompson is the leader of the Apostolic United Brethren (AUB), which is believed to be the second-largest organized polygamy group in Utah.
“I am not coming forward to get back at my dad or anyone. I have no vendetta against my parents or the group that I grew up in. I still love the good things about my parents and the AUB,” Rosemary said. “This is about advocating for all those girls, boys and women who, either now or in the future, could be taken advantage of by the cloak of silence under which molesters hide.”
She explained that her dad’s inappropriate sexual behavior with her was limited to one incident when he purposefully rubbed her breasts when she was 12. However, she said she’s spoken with another woman who had a similar experience with Thompson, which also damaged that woman’s views “on life, men, and God” and caused her “profound self-worth issues.”
Rosemary said she’s going public with the allegations after first attempting to speak with another high-ranking official in the AUB. She is also concerned because her father was recently appointed the AUB’s Head of Priesthood. She said, “I am hoping to change the habits of generations of many in the religion who feel that patriarchy (which, in the AUB religion is institutionalized in the priesthood) is more important than the integrity of the men who hold positions in their patriarchal structure.”
When contacted by The Associated Press on Friday, Thompson said his daughter’s allegations are “not true.”
A spokeswoman for the Utah Attorney General’s Office said they are not aware of any formal complaints submitted against Thompson, who now leads an estimated 7,500 people in the AUB.
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| Rosemary Williams |
I know that nothing was ever said to my parents. I also know that each of these memories were separate times of abuse. In one I was refusing to go into the room for candy. I loved candy!! I obviously knew what would happen in the room from prior experience. I also noted that the lock was latched in one memory and someone simply walked in on the other one, the door was not locked at all. (I’m still amazed that he didn’t lock the door to keep others out). I live with the fear that at anytime I could be haunted again by more memories of what he did to me.
This is not the first startling and troubling revelation from Rhonda about sexual abuse in her family. In November of 2014 she shared another lengthy blog post detailing her memories of being sexually abused by her father.
Rosemary claimed that she was sexually abused during her childhood by her father, Lynn A. Thompson. The claims are sure to have significant repercussions as Thompson is the leader of the Apostolic United Brethren (AUB), which is believed to be the second-largest organized polygamy group in Utah.
“I am not coming forward to get back at my dad or anyone. I have no vendetta against my parents or the group that I grew up in. I still love the good things about my parents and the AUB,” Rosemary said. “This is about advocating for all those girls, boys and women who, either now or in the future, could be taken advantage of by the cloak of silence under which molesters hide.”
She explained that her dad’s inappropriate sexual behavior with her was limited to one incident when he purposefully rubbed her breasts when she was 12. However, she said she’s spoken with another woman who had a similar experience with Thompson, which also damaged that woman’s views “on life, men, and God” and caused her “profound self-worth issues.”
Rosemary said she’s going public with the allegations after first attempting to speak with another high-ranking official in the AUB. She is also concerned because her father was recently appointed the AUB’s Head of Priesthood. She said, “I am hoping to change the habits of generations of many in the religion who feel that patriarchy (which, in the AUB religion is institutionalized in the priesthood) is more important than the integrity of the men who hold positions in their patriarchal structure.”
When contacted by The Associated Press on Friday, Thompson said his daughter’s allegations are “not true.”
A spokeswoman for the Utah Attorney General’s Office said they are not aware of any formal complaints submitted against Thompson, who now leads an estimated 7,500 people in the AUB.
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