My Stepfather Started Raping Me When I Was 7.
It Changed The Course Of My Life Forever.
..
I can still smell his Old Spice. I can still feel the agony in my body.
Michael Broussard
Guest Writer, HuffPost
Michael Broussard at age 6 in 1971 and his sisters Mary, left, and Ruthie, and his grandmother.
I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. More specifically and brutally, I was raped by my stepfather several times a week from the age of 7 until I was 11. I use the word “rape” very deliberately. Childhood sexual abuse is a fairly broad and nondescriptive term. Asking someone, “What should we do about childhood sexual abuse?” is far less compelling than asking, “What should we do about all of these children being raped?”
My family tells me that before the abuse began, I was a happy, outgoing child. I loved to laugh. I loved to play. I loved to sing and dance to my favorite song, “Rubber Ducky” from “Sesame Street.”
I have no memory of that kid. I have no connection to him now. He’s not me. I cannot recall ever feeling that free.
I do remember the day my mom caught me with one of my stepfather Harold’s Playboy magazines. I wasn’t looking at that magazine because I had any kind of sexual feelings. I was 7 and didn’t even know what sex was. I was looking at it for the same reason a lot of little kids do what they do: because I knew I wasn’t supposed to.
Still, my mom was horrified, and she decided Harold should sit me down and give me “the talk.”
I still remember that day as if it happened yesterday. Harold took me into my parents’ bedroom in our house on High Street in Clinton, Massachusetts, sat me down on the edge of the bed, unzipped his pants and began to masturbate in front of me. He grabbed my hand and made me touch him. When he ejaculated a few minutes later, he said to me, “That’s the stuff that makes babies.”
That is how I learned about sex. The first time I had sex a few weeks later, I thought it was a punishment.
Harold was the janitor at my school, St. John’s Catholic School. He used to take me to work with him on weekends to help him get caught up on things before school began on Monday. Even before he began raping me, these weekends were traumatizing for me. He would spend most of the day telling me I was stupid and useless and yelling at me every time I made even the tiniest mistake.
On the first day he raped me, things began as they normally did with him berating me for making another mistake, but before long he had forced me up on the desk in his little office in the basement. He then tore off my shoes, socks, pants and underwear and started ramming into me. I can still feel his grubby hands on me. I can still smell his Old Spice. I can still feel the agony in my body.
Of course, that really wasn’t the first time I had sex. I didn’t have sex ― I was raped. There’s a difference. The trouble was I was just 7 years old and I didn’t know that.
There is much more to this dreadful story on HuffPost Personal. It gets much worse!
Crystal Kizer, Teen Charged With Killing Sexual Abuser,
Is Released on Bond
Ms. Kizer was charged with premeditated murder in the 2018 death of Randall Volar. Her case attracted widespread attention, and a Chicago bail fund paid $400,000 for her release on Monday.
Chrystul Kizer during a hearing in the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wis., last year. Credit...Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post, via Getty Images
By Jacey Fortin
Chrystul Kizer, a 19-year-old who was charged in the 2018 killing of a man who prosecutors said sexually abused her, was released from a Wisconsin jail on Monday after a bail fund in Chicago paid her $400,000 bond.
Ms. Kizer was 17 when she shot Randall Volar, 34, in Kenosha, Wis., on June 5, 2018. She has been awaiting trial for two years, and her case has received widespread attention from supporters and activists who say she acted in self-defense and was a victim of sex trafficking.
“It was incredible to see that we were able to bond Chrystul out,” said Santera Matthews, an organizer with the Chrystul Kizer Defense Committee, which has been working with other organizations to raise awareness about the case.
“People believe that she is a survivor, and that she was punished for surviving,” Ms. Matthews said, adding that the case is an example of the ways the criminal justice system has failed to protect black women and girls.
Ms. Kizer, who is black, first met Mr. Volar, who was white, when she was 16. On the night of the killing, Ms. Kizer traveled to Mr. Volar’s home in an Uber that he paid for, and spent several hours there before shooting him, according to Kenosha News, a local outlet, which cited statements made in court. She then set a fire in the home and left in his vehicle, the outlet reported.
At the time of his death, Mr. Volar had been under police investigation for possession of child pornography and sex trafficking.
When she left the jail on Monday, Ms. Kizer carried bags full of letters of support that people had mailed to her, said Sharlyn Grace, the executive director of the Chicago Community Bond Fund, which paid Ms. Kizer’s bond.
Ms. Grace said that the organization was able to steer funds toward Ms. Kizer’s case after it was “flooded with donations over the past several weeks,” which she attributed to increased activism after the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade and others during encounters with the police.
Ms. Kizer still faces charges of arson and premeditated homicide, which could carry a sentence of life in prison. Her defense lawyers did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. Her supporters have called for prosecutors to drop the charges altogether.
Michael Graveley, the Kenosha County district attorney, said he did not dispute that Mr. Volar had committed felony sex crimes against Ms. Kizer. Mr. Volar had been under investigation for sex crimes and was arrested in February 2018, but was released shortly after.
And, obviously, allowed to go back to his business of shopping Chrystul around.
Mr. Graveley argued that the killing should be prosecuted as a premeditated murder, based partly on text messages and social media posts from Ms. Kizer. Court documents show that Ms. Kizer made a Facebook post on June 8 (3 days after shooting Volar) in which she appeared to display a pistol and said that she was not afraid to kill again.
Mr. Graveley acknowledged the widespread attention the case had received and said that it should be up to a jury to weigh all of the facts.
“Permitting vigilante justice, which is the narrative from some seeking dismissal, is a highly subjective, slippery slope,” Mr. Gravely said. “A jury may be best to decide guilt or innocence in these circumstances, and a judge can then decide the punishment, if any. The judge and jury will always have more complete facts than what’s available on the internet.”
Ms. Kizer could not be reached for comment on Tuesday. In an interview with The Washington Post last year, she said she had met Mr. Volar after she posted on backpage.com, a website that has been accused in various jurisdictions of enabling sex trafficking.
Ms. Kizer said that her relationship with Mr. Volar involved sexual abuse, money and gifts, and that he had also made money by arranging for her to meet up with other men in hotels. “He was a grown-up, and I wasn’t,” she said. “So I listened.”
She added that she had been pinned to the floor by Mr. Volar shortly before shooting him. “I didn’t intentionally try to do this,” she said.
The Chicago Community Bond Fund said that when Ms. Kizer’s case was over, the majority of the returned bond money would be steered to a national bail fund for survivors of domestic and sexual violence.
Ms. Grace noted the recent influx of donations to the Chicago fund and said that this was only one of many ways that organizers were working to address racial injustice in the United States. “Bail funds alone are just one tiny part of this much larger movement, and we have to be investing resources in lifting up day-to-day community organizing,” she said.
Mia Noel of the Milwaukee Freedom Fund, one of the organizations that has been supporting Ms. Kizer and her family, said in a statement on Sunday that protesters nationwide were calling for a “better world” that “protects, not punishes, young black survivors like Chrystul.”
“Her case deepens the current calls for justice and the need to keep fighting to transform our society,” Ms. Noel said.
21 arrested in online child porn, exploitation sweep in New Jersey
Steve Janoski
NorthJersey.com
State authorities have arrested 21 people for allegedly sexually exploiting children online, underscoring the rising threat to kids who spend increasing amounts of time in front of a computer screen during the coronavirus pandemic, officials said Wednesday.
Dubbed “Operation Screen Capture,” the sweep ran from March 18 to July 31 and netted three suspects now charged with sexually assaulting or attempting to sexually assault children, authorities said. Eighteen others are charged with endangering the welfare of children through the possession or distribution of child sexual abuse materials, including videos of child rape.
"We're sending a clear message to child predators and those who share child sexual abuse materials online: You may think you can hide behind the anonymity of the internet. But we will find you, and we will arrest you," Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said during a virtual news conference.
Grewal also said the sting highlights the menace online predators pose to home-bound children starved for contact with the outside world.
Tips to the state’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force have risen markedly during the pandemic, authorities said. Last year, they received 1,200 cyber tips between March 1 and July 31. This year, they've received about 3,600 during the same time frame. Authorities attribute that to more people staying home and sharing more content online.
But not all of those tips are predator-related; authorities estimate there has been a roughly 50% hike in criminal online activity.
Still, it could worsen when children return to their virtual classrooms this fall, Grewal said.
“They will be spending even more time online, in many cases without any in-person teacher supervision or peer contact,” he said. “This may make them even more vulnerable. … We urge parents to be vigilant about the online activities of their children and warn children that the strangers they meet on popular social media sites, apps and gaming platforms may be out to harm them.”
The investigation was led by the state’s Division of Criminal Justice, the New Jersey State Police, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, as well as prosecutor’s offices in Bergen, Burlington, Camden, Essex, Gloucester, Mercer, Middlesex, Ocean and Sussex counties.
Patch.com: The arrestees included Alize Tejada, 21, of Newark, who allegedly videotaped herself performing a sexual act with a "very young child," then posted it on social media, prosecutors said.
According to prosecutors, Tejada, who is employed as a babysitter, was arrested on July 15. She has been charged with aggravated sexual assault (1st degree) and manufacturing child pornography (1st degree).
The names of all those charged can be found at the Daily Record
Belle, Mo. man charged with 5 felonies in sex abuse case of boy, 12
Caution - graphic sexual details follow
By Roxie Murphy, Staff Writer
Michael D. Tungate, 31, of Belle was arrested Aug. 18 on a Maries County felony warrant issued by Judge Kerry G. Rowden on charges including child kidnapping and statutory rape involving a child. He was being held without bond until his initial court appearance Tuesday morning before Rowden.
The allegations that were investigated on Aug. 17 by Kenneth Kilmer, with the Missouri State Technical Assistance Team, were made by a 12-year-old male identified throughout the report as I.D.
I.D. told his mother, identified only as T.D. for this report, about an incident on May 13 where a 24-year-old Belle woman had performed a sexual act on him (at an unspecified time) while Tungate was doing “sexual things to (the woman) from behind.”
The woman’s name is being withheld by the newspaper since she is potentially a victim of sexual assault herself.
T.D. reported the incident on July 26 to Maries County Deputy Jerry Coborn.
Kilmer received a request to help with the investigation on July 27 by the Maries County Sheriff’s Office and proceeded to contact the Belle woman, I.D.’s mother T.D., and a male who owns property where the reported sexual assaults took place.
According to information contained in the probable cause statement seeking charges against Tungate, I.D. stated that while at a residence on May 13 in the 20000 block of Route M in Maries County, Tungate had forced the Belle woman to perform oral sex on I.D. while Tungate was doing “sexual things” to her from behind.”
According to the report, the woman had consumed alcoholic beverages at Tungate’s mother’s residence earlier in the evening. Tungate’s mother then transported her son and the woman to Tungate’s camper that was in the barn at the Route M residence.
The Belle woman told Kilmer that she was not sure how I.D. came to be in the camper but remembered him inside. I.D. told officials that Tungate had called him over to the barn and pulled him into the camper, then refused to let him go.
During an interview at the Child Advocacy Center, Kid’s Harbor Too, I.D.’s mother T.D. informed STAT Investigations Manager Kimberly Gerbner that I.D. had told her that he had begged to leave the trailer, but was not allowed to do so.
Once inside the trailer, Tungate provided a drug that was in the form of wax, which I.D. said made him “black-out.” Tungate had both I.D. and the Belle woman inhale smoke from the wax from a device. I.D. said smoking the substance made him feel like he needed to vomit and compared the taste to candle wax. The Belle woman also said she threw up several times throughout the night.
I.D. said the woman was intoxicated.
During questioning on July 27, the Belle woman said Tungate grabbed the back of her head by her hair and forcefully shoved her head into I.D.’s lap and that Tungate yelled at I.D. to unzip his pants and ordered her to perform sexual acts on the boy. She confirmed that she did so while Tungate “had sexual intercourse with (her) from behind.”
According to the report, after coming to from another “black-out,” he remembered 'he was inside the Belle woman'. The woman told investigators she remembered I.D. touching her later in the evening while in a different area of the trailer on a bed. The Belle woman also confirmed that she and Tungate had intercourse numerous times while I.D. slept at their feet.
When I.D. next woke up, he recalled being on the “top bed” at the feet of Tungate and the woman. He left the trailer and went inside the residence to wake up the property owner and tell him what happened, but decided not to because of Tungate’s threats.
I.D. reported that after the incident in the camper, Tungate had returned to I.D.’s residence and told him, “What happens at 247 stays at 247.”
I.D. stated that “247” are the numerals included in the address to the Route M house. I.D.’s mother recalled Tungate telling her son frequently “what happens at 20047 stays at 20047.”
He would repeat the statement until I.D. confirmed, verbally, that he understood. T.D. did not find this strange and surmised it was because Tungate always “socially awkward.” She also noticed Tungate was at her house more frequently than usual after May 13.
The Route M property owner told investigators that I.D. usually spends the night inside his residence, but that night he didn’t.
When he looked outside for I.D. around 10 p.m. and 11 a.m., the barn doors were closed shut. He noted after that evening there was a significant change in I.D.’s demeanor, describing it as depressed. He recalled Tungate telling I.D. that “what happens at 247 stays at 247.”
T.D. said she became aware of the incident involving her son when she was contacted by the Belle woman, who came to her residence.
On the same day, a man contacted her to inform her that he knew about an incident involving her son but wanted another individual to tell her the details.
A woman who was selected by that man to inform the boy’s mother, told her that Tungate had informed a number of people about making the Belle woman perform sexual acts on her son. The Belle woman also told investigators she apologized to the boy the next day because she knew the incident should not have happened.
She said she informed I.D.’s mother about the incident. She also displayed text messages indicating Tungate had blamed her for the incident and threats of harm were directed at her “in the form of people being sent to where she lives,” the report noted.
Rochester, Minn man sentenced for child sexual abuse crimes
Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) -
A Rochester man has been sentenced to over nine years in prison for sexual abuse and child pornography convictions.
He was accused of sexually abusing a young girl on multiple occasions beginning when she was 10-years-old. The charges against Stubbs alleged the abuse occurred over a period of about a year and a half until it ended in December 2012.
He was later charged in the child pornography case after an investigation was launched into the suspicious death of an unborn child and it was discovered Stubbs had been in a "significant sexual relationship" with the mother of the baby. The charges stated she was under the age of 18 and told investigators Stubbs created a number of sexually explicit videos of the two of them when she was 16 and 17-years-old.
Helena, Mont area man charged with raping a child
Tyler Manning
Helenair
A 34-year-old man from the Helena area has been charged with raping a child less than 12 years old.
Court documents state that the crimes allegedly took place between January 2019 and July 2020. Law enforcement first responded to reports of a sexual assault on Saturday, Aug. 22. The complainant told police that her child said a friend was being raped by Arellano, who was an acquaintance of the victim.
The witness told deputies that the victim said the assaults had been happening for over a year. The witness also told law enforcement the victim kept a journal of all the sexual contact and had showed the witness sex toys the defendant allegedly used.
In later interviews, the witness offered detailed descriptions of the alleged abuse and gave authorities the location of the victim's journal. Detectives located the journal, which indicated five dates and times the abuse allegedly occurred. The detectives also located the sex toys that were described to the witness by the victim.
The victim told police that the abuse had been occurring for several years. The child also told police that the defendant had filmed the abuse at least once on the phone he is currently using.
Bridger, S.D., man accused of sexually abusing Cheyenne River Res.
children for 14 years
Danielle Ferguson
Sioux Falls Argus Leader
A Bridger, South Dakota, man was federally indicted on sexual abuse charges that accuse him of abusing multiple children over the span of 14 years.
Bennett Belt, 47, was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, sexual abuse of a minor, and abusive sexual contact of a child, according to U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota Ron Parsons. Belt pleaded not guilty on Tuesday.
Belt was indicted on eight total charges that say he sexually abused children from 2003 to 2017 in Zeibach County on the Cheyenne River Reservation. The indictment does not list the ages of the children, but says that at some points they were younger than 12.
Belt is next scheduled to appear in federal court in Pierre for a detention hearing.
Under investigation for sexual abuse, Devereux still has a contract to detain migrant children in PA
By Lily Frankel, WHYY
Devereux is trying to win a zoning variance to turn a former behavioral health facility in Devon into a place for migrant children.
Devereux, the Villanova-based behavioral health organization where an investigation recently uncovered systemic sexual abuse (7th story on link), also holds a federal contract to house unaccompanied immigrant children in Pennsylvania.
After Philadelphia Inquirer reporters detailed how 41 children had been raped or abused at Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health locations over the past quarter-century, local fallout was swift. The City of Philadelphia temporarily stopped sending children to the organization, and 14 of 17 councilmembers have called for the complete termination of all city contracts with the company.
But Devereux still has an active $40.2 million contract with the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to house migrant youth in several states, including Pa.
The ORR program is an extension of the federal migrant detention centers that have caused widespread outcry over the past couple of years. Residents in Devon, Pa., where Helena Devereux founded her namesake organization over a century ago, have been fighting the organization’s proposed facility in their town since 2019. This latest development just fuels their concern.
“When we saw [the Inquirer] story, I think it was just an order of magnitude worse than anything that we could’ve ever imagined that would be going on,” said Stephanie McAlaine, who lives across the street from the planned Chester County campus.
She and other neighbors have been working to stop the ORR shelter — which Devereux wants to locate in a Highland Avenue building it already owns — by attending township meetings and putting pressure on the zoning process.
There is more to this story at WHYY.
Toms River, NJ, former schools worker sentenced to 30 years for
child sexual assault
Andrew J. Goudsward
Asbury Park Press
A former Toms River Regional School District employee is likely to spend much of the rest of his life behind bars after he was sentenced to 30 years in state prison Monday for committing multiple sex crimes against two children, authorities said.
William Herflicker III, 57, of Toms River, who was convicted of two counts of aggravated sexual assault following a trial in January, was given a 15-year sentence on both counts, according to a news release from Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer's office. They will run consecutively, meaning he would serve 30 years.
The sentence was handed down by state Superior Court Judge Rochelle Gizinski.
William Herflicker III, 57, of Toms River, was sentenced Aug. 24, 2020 to 30 years in prison for multiple sex crimes committed against two children.
A jury also found Herflicker guilty of two additional counts of aggravated sexual assault, four counts of sexual assault, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child and two counts of criminal sexual contact, according to the news release.
Herflicker was sentenced to 15 years on both additional aggravated sexual assault counts, seven years for each count of sexual assault and child endangerment and 18 months for each count of criminal sexual contact, authorities said. Those sentences will run concurrently, meaning they will be served at the same time as the 30-year prison term.
The sentence is subject to the No Early Release Act, requiring Herflicker to serve 85% of the prison term before being eligible for parole.
Herflicker was indicted in 2014 for sex crimes against two children that spanned a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, according to the prosecutor's office.
Herflicker was a former information technology employee at the Toms River Regional School District, according to a prior Asbury Park Press report. He filed papers to retire from the district at nearly the same time as his indictment.
The district said in 2014 that he had no direct contact with students.
In a statement, Billhimer praised the victims in the case who came forward to police with accusations of sexual abuse.
"Their bravery in coming forward and cooperating with law enforcement over these last several years in order to bring Herflicker to justice cannot be over-emphasized. It is truly awe-inspiring, and I am grateful for their heroism," he said in a statement.
No comments:
Post a Comment