My young friend needs your good thoughts/prayers

[crazierthanever]

Ashley is 19. She was molested by her guardian and finally ran when she was 18. She is being deposed today by his attorney and has been notified the molester will be in the small room while she is being questioned. She's spent 20 months trying to heal from the effects of losing her home, her family and her life as she knew it. She's worked so hard to be well and to move on but the prospect the trial has been hanging over her like a sword.

I can't be with her today at 1. She'll be 'represented' by the young new inept prosecutor in our county and the victim's advocate who can't promise she can keep 'him' from sitting right next to her while she testifies.

Please send your good thoughts, positive energy and a prayer if you are so inclined. She needs all the strength she can get. If she can stick up for herself in that room and speak her truth she'll be on her way to being free of 10 years of pain and suffering.

Thanks.

[cassandra]

I will be praying for her.

[Oceanbreeze]

Prayers said. My heart breaks for her. :sad

[Kurtz]

Great request, crazier!

You know my thoughts. :heart

[Semantics]

Wishing her strength to make it through this day and use it as part of her healing process. :hug

[sparks]

:hug

[Kurtz]

crazier, can ya let us know how it went?
How's Ashley? And don't worry about the transcript, it's just a tool.
You know the bastard is gonna weigh his options and probably plead out.
Regardless, Ashley stood up 'n spoke out for all to know! She's a hero!

[Trueblue]

God be with her.

[AYFR]

She has my prayers

[Yellowdogtexan]

Your friend will be in my prayers.

One of the worse expierences that I have had as a lawyer when I had to back up one of my old firm's lawyer who was pregnant. This lady did family law and the firm wanted to make sure that she had backup. I ended having to listen and then draft an affidavit for a young lady whose sister was in foster care because their daddy had gotten out of jail and wanted custody. It seemped that he had raped the 17 year when she was 12 and she did not want her younger sister (then age 11) to go through what she went through. It was a sickening expierence. The firm had the case on a pro bono basis and we made sure that the dad did not get custody. I was lucky and did not have to go into chambers with the judge when the girl gave her testimony to judge in private in her chambers (the lady partner got that honor).

[crazierthanever]

Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers and support. I'm posting the contents of a msg I sent this afternoon to several family members and personal friends. The names have been changed to cover my butt in case 'creep' and 'creep's wife' try to sue me or something. It's been a very emotional day. Ashley has driven back to the town where she now lives, works and goes to college. I'm a basketcase of emotion. My extended family has been torn apart by this awful mess. 'creep' is my cousin. Ashley and I aren't related. She and her two younger sisters lost their mom when they were 8,7,5 yrs old. They were 'taken in' by their great-aunt and uncle (creep's wife and creep). Virtually no one in my (local) extended family believe Ashley is innocent of blame. They've been convinced 'creep' and Ashley had a 'relationship. They idiots.Ashley spent 10 years being intimidated, beaten on her bare behind and sexually harassed. Two days after she turned 18 'creep' began to actually physically molest her.

Today Ashley was deposed. She accomplished what she's needed to do for 20 months. Ashley was able to force 'creep' and 'creep's wife' to hear her pain and a little of the torment she’s been through. She may not have been able to provide testimony to convict 'creep' of deviant sexual assault in legal terms but she was able to indict and convict him for the moral crimes he committed against her.

She sat up straight and looked 'creep's' attorney in the eye. She didn’t let him get the best of her even for a moment. She answered truthfully and added comments to make clear what she actually felt during the assaults. She continued to assert that all she wanted her dad to be was her dad, not her boyfriend. She may not have had the strength to tell him ‘no’ when he groped her and used his hand and mouth on and in her body but she had it today to say how disgusted and frightened she was when he did it.

She was able to say out loud where 'creep's wife' had to listen about when John exposed himself to her when she was a young teenager, that he’d grabbed her breasts and made her touch his genitals through his clothes. 'creeps wife' had to hear her tears when she said 'creep' had made her feel threatened and told her ‘Mom doesn’t need to know about this.’


The charges will either be amended to a lower charge or dropped because Ashley’s testimony made it clear she continued to allow 'creep' to give her backrubs even after the first of the 3 assaults which would lead the jury to believe she wanted him to do the rest of what he did. The prosecuting attorney was no help to Ashley at all. If she runs for re-election I’m going to actively campaign against her. She’s a fool.

'creep's' attorney had the good sense to tell Ashley that while what 'creep' did was morally reprehensible he didn’t believe it would convict him by the statutes with which he’s charged. Ashley was thrilled to hear him admit 'creep's' behavior was wrong!

Ashley feels relieved and strong for having done this. She doesn’t understand that some of what she was led to say has given 'creep' the legal out they were looking for. She stood up to them and she didn’t back down, she spoke up for herself and that’s the most important part.

I'm glad I was able to sit in on Ashley's deposition and listen to her. I'm very proud of her.

[Semantics]

Your friend will be in my prayers.

One of the worse expierences that I have had as a lawyer when I had to back up one of my old firm's lawyer who was pregnant. This lady did family law and the firm wanted to make sure that she had backup. I ended having to listen and then draft an affidavit for a young lady whose sister was in foster care because their daddy had gotten out of jail and wanted custody. It seemped that he had raped the 17 year when she was 12 and she did not want her younger sister (then age 11) to go through what she went through. It was a sickening expierence. The firm had the case on a pro bono basis and we made sure that the dad did not get custody. I was lucky and did not have to go into chambers with the judge when the girl gave her testimony to judge in private in her chambers (the lady partner got that honor).

So sad. :(

[Semantics]

Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers and support. I'm posting the contents of a msg I sent this afternoon to several family members and personal friends. The names have been changed to cover my butt in case 'creep' and 'creep's wife' try to sue me or something. It's been a very emotional day. Ashley has driven back to the town where she now lives, works and goes to college. I'm a basketcase of emotion. My extended family has been torn apart by this awful mess. 'creep' is my cousin. Ashley and I aren't related. She and her two younger sisters lost their mom when they were 8,7,5 yrs old. They were 'taken in' by their great-aunt and uncle (creep's wife and creep). Virtually no one in my (local) extended family believe Ashley is innocent of blame. They've been convinced 'creep' and Ashley had a 'relationship. They idiots.Ashley spent 10 years being intimidated, beaten on her bare behind and sexually harassed. Two days after she turned 18 'creep' began to actually physically molest her.

Today Ashley was deposed. She accomplished what she's needed to do for 20 months. Ashley was able to force 'creep' and 'creep's wife' to hear her pain and a little of the torment she’s been through. She may not have been able to provide testimony to convict 'creep' of deviant sexual assault in legal terms but she was able to indict and convict him for the moral crimes he committed against her.

She sat up straight and looked 'creep's' attorney in the eye. She didn’t let him get the best of her even for a moment. She answered truthfully and added comments to make clear what she actually felt during the assaults. She continued to assert that all she wanted her dad to be was her dad, not her boyfriend. She may not have had the strength to tell him ‘no’ when he groped her and used his hand and mouth on and in her body but she had it today to say how disgusted and frightened she was when he did it.

She was able to say out loud where 'creep's wife' had to listen about when John exposed himself to her when she was a young teenager, that he’d grabbed her breasts and made her touch his genitals through his clothes. 'creeps wife' had to hear her tears when she said 'creep' had made her feel threatened and told her ‘Mom doesn’t need to know about this.’


The charges will either be amended to a lower charge or dropped because Ashley’s testimony made it clear she continued to allow 'creep' to give her backrubs even after the first of the 3 assaults which would lead the jury to believe she wanted him to do the rest of what he did. The prosecuting attorney was no help to Ashley at all. If she runs for re-election I’m going to actively campaign against her. She’s a fool.

'creep's' attorney had the good sense to tell Ashley that while what 'creep' did was morally reprehensible he didn’t believe it would convict him by the statutes with which he’s charged. Ashley was thrilled to hear him admit 'creep's' behavior was wrong!

Ashley feels relieved and strong for having done this. She doesn’t understand that some of what she was led to say has given 'creep' the legal out they were looking for. She stood up to them and she didn’t back down, she spoke up for herself and that’s the most important part.

I'm glad I was able to sit in on Ashley's deposition and listen to her. I'm very proud of her.

I'm really glad that you were able to be with her, Crazier. :hug

What she did was extremely brave.

Even if he isn't punished in the way that he deserves to be, she will always know that she did the right thing. Her actions may have stopped him from doing this to another young girl.

I hope that he is at the very least convicted of something that will put him on the sex offender registry. :(

[Kurtz]

'creep's' attorney had the good sense to tell Ashley that while what 'creep' did was morally reprehensible he didn’t believe it would convict him by the statutes with which he’s charged. Ashley was thrilled to hear him admit 'creep's' behavior was wrong!

Ashley feels relieved and strong for having done this. She doesn’t understand that some of what she was led to say has given 'creep' the legal out they were looking for. She stood up to them and she didn’t back down, she spoke up for herself and that’s the most important part.

I'm glad I was able to sit in on Ashley's deposition and listen to her. I'm very proud of her.

:paclap :paclap :paclap
You should be proud of her!!
She's a hero!!!