DUVAL COUNTY, Fla. – A 20-year-old woman who endured years of abuse from her father is speaking out about her story in hopes that it will encourage other young victims to report sexual abuse.
Her 40-year-old father pleaded guilty to sexually abusing his daughter. According to court documents, the abuse began when she was under the age of 10 and continued until her mid-teens.
According to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network, which receives data from the US Dept. of Health and Human Services and the Dept. of Justice, every nine minutes, a child in the United States is sexually abused.
The site reports that 82% of the victims are females under the age of 18, and 34% of the abusers turn out to be family members.
“My parents brainwashed me to think it was normal, that it was a normal form of punishment, that it was just a thing that happened when I get in trouble,” the woman told News4JAX.
She said the abuse started with her father watching her dress and undress in her bedroom, and then eventually he would take showers with her.
“Then it led to massages. Then it led to touching and it only graduated from there,” she said.
She said she started to question her father’s form of punishment when she was 13 years old.
“Why are you doing this to me? Why me? Why are you hurting me? He said I deserved it and I shouldn’t have talked back to my mom,” she said.
The sexual abuse was finally reported to authorities when she was 16 years old. It came after she told a friend who then told another adult. An investigation led to the arrest of both her parents.
Her dad was charged with 10 counts of sexual assault and her mom was charged with child neglect.
Her dad took a plea deal that led to him only being sentenced to seven years in prison. That same deal allowed the child neglect charges against her mom to be dropped as well.
The woman shared a message for anyone who is currently being sexually abused by a relative but is too afraid to report it:
“You have to know and remember that there are people out there who don’t know you and will be there for you,” she said. “There will be people behind you who are going to back you up and stand up for you because you will be okay. You might not think it now but you will be okay.”
And for anyone who is an abuser, she shared this message:
“You have to let the light into your eyes and see what you are doing is wrong. The first step is to stop. There is a sickness you have and that you must overcome. It’s okay to get help,” the woman said.
If you know of any child being sexually abused, you need to report it to the police.
You can also call the Florida Child Abuse Hotline at 800-962-2873.