Molly's Mayhem

Hi Guys,

I am sorry it has taken so long, I have been studying for school. But, I am back for another installment of Project Heal: Living Through Victimization. This 'article' is entitled Molly's Mayhem. It has to do with the victimization of a young teenager several years ago. As always, the name of the victim and (other characters) has been changed. Please feel free to leave comments. And note, this story provides graphic details. This may not be appropriate for younger readers.

Molly was a 16 1/2 year old young lady on her way to work. It was her first week of work and she would be late if she did not catch the 1:20pm bus. She ended up missing the bus, but was stopped by a much older male. He had a maintenance man's uniform on and it was apparent to Molly that he worked in the apartment complex that she lived in. The maintenance man, Matt, said he liked Molly's "sassy nature".

Soon after they met, Molly noticed that Matt would make his way outside while Molly was on her way to school or to work, on public transportation, and speak to her. After a while of "grooming", Matt asked Molly to visit him in his brother's house, also in the same apartment complex.

While there, Matt introduced Molly to his brother Mark. Mark said that it was nice to meet the girl that his brother was talking so much about. Mark quickly left the living room and went to another room in the apartment. A few minutes later, Matt asked Molly to sit next to him on a couch. He continued to talk to Molly. Soon after, Matt asked Molly to come with him to a bedroom. Molly described feeling uncomfortable, but went, because she felt that a maintenance man would not jeopardize his career or try anything "weird" with his brother so close.

Molly was wrong. Once in the room, Matt began to play with his penis in front of Molly and forced her to perform oral sex on him. When he was satisfied he told Molly to "swallow it" because she was a good girl. Molly felt isolated and dirty, but did not know what to do. Upon leaving the room, Mark said that he would "love to have a go with her too".

Next thing she knew, Molly was being sexually assaulted in her bedroom, the mornings and nights....it didn't matter, because Matt had access to all of the apartment complex keys. Sometimes, Matt would bring his friends to watch him rape her. Other times, Matt would let his friends in to "his girl's house" to do their "business".

Once, while Molly walked home from the bus, Matt's friends grabbed her and raped her in the washer and dryer room, in the basement of her building. Another time, Matt and his friends, 8 of them, grabbed Molly and took her to a neighbor's home, across from the washer room of her building. The neighbor's daughter ate instant noodles, while Matt and his friends forced Molly to watch pornography, while they forced their penises into her mouth. She was only allowed to leave the room to spit in the toilet, because the men thought it was "dirty" to have oral sex with one girl, while she had another man's sperm in her mouth. The daughter laughed her and turned up the volume so that she could not hear the mens' orgasms.

This cycle of abuse continued for several months. By the time Molly was able to tell her parents and a police officer...she really felt betrayed. The police officer told Molly's father that Molly was over the age of consent, in her state, and said that, "if Molly wants to fuck a 100 year old man, I can't stop her". Later, the police officer got Molly's report of abuse and took it to Matt and some of his friends. Matt and his friends began taunting her and following her to and from the bus stop.

A month later, the officer re-interviewed Molly and called her a liar because she had remembered more portions of the abuse. The officer taunted Molly, saying "that she had not been a true victim of rape, because rape victims wanted to kill their rapist, not try to forgive and forget". The officer also made fun of her religion.

Next, the police officer told Molly's father, that Matt had a record, but was not allowed to say what the record was for. The officer continued to badger Molly and her parents to drop her rape charges. When Molly went to try to talk to a female officer, the same thing happened. She was made to feel guilty, like her assaults were her fault. She was shammed into thinking that she was promiscuous and wanted the "relationships with these men". Later, the female officer told Molly that the charges were not going to be pursued because Molly's story was so "choppy".

After her victimization and the further harassment from the police, Molly's family had a series of problems. The rental office said that they did not receive the rent checks...even when the checks were given in person, weeks before the rent was due. Molly was followed and harassed daily, other maintenance men said "they'd be getting a piece of that sweet ass too" and the family car was continuously vandalized. To top it off, money went missing from Molly's piggy bank, in her bedroom while she was away at school.

Molly was lucky, in one sense, she went to counseling. During these sessions, she was able to finally speak to someone and not be judged. Her family moved and since then, Molly has not seen Matt, Mark, or their friends. Molly has graduated from high school and college and has vowed to help other victims.

As a side note, Molly's father said that another neighbor, in their old complex, said that Matt started harassing her 17 year old daughter. She said that the daughter reported that Matt made comments and followed her, trying to pinch her butt, and caress other body parts. The neighbor also said that she confronted Matt and let him know that such behavior would not be tolerated.

What do you think?
Should Molly have stayed around in the apartment the first time? Should she have alerted her parents or the police much sooner? What did you think about the officers who handle Molly's case? Do you think that Molly was re-victimized by law enforcement? Should more have happened to Matt and his friends? Should the officer have had more consequences?

***The names in this story have been changed to protect the innocent***

Earliest Victimization

What I remember:
One of the earliest memories that I have about victimization, was when I heard about my grandmother, *Janet. At a young age, I remember wishing for a grandmother. I knew I was not like other children because, I did not have grandparents, like my friends did....My cousin, told me the story of why we did not have a grandmother, and ever since, my life has been changed. All of the information in this post is true, and has been reconstructed with memories from people who knew Janet.

Background:
My grandmother was the oldest of her mother's children (I think there were about thirteen of them) and actually had some of her children, while my great-grandmother was having children. My grandmother, Janet, had four children and lived in the Eastern part of the United States with my grandfather. After sometime, it was discovered that Janet had some "mental health concerns" and a decision was made, by my grandfather and his family, to send Janet back to her family for care. My grandfather was left with four children, three girls and one son, under about 10 years and younger.

My grandmother ended up being 'institutionalized' for sometime and was released, when her situation improved. According to her sister, one night, my grandmother went out to the store and never returned. My great-grandmother called the police; however, a missing black woman in the 1960's was 'not at the top of the list'. Several days later, Janet was found in an alley, behind her parents' house, beaten, bruised, raped by multiple men, and left for dead. She was found behind her home, in a coma for several days...no one even saw her.

Janet was transported to the hospital, and died about two days later, from the trauma that her body had sustained. One of her children, my aunt, who was about 15, went to see her, and could not identify Janet as her mother. The day after my aunt saw my grandmother, Janet died.

All of this was told to me by my family. Prior to being told, I use to question my mother about why I did not have a grandmother. She would never give me a direct answer, she would just look sad and distanced herself from answering the question. It was not until I was older that I realized the impact of what happened.

Who Am I:
'Till this day, my grandmother's murder is still unsolved and my life has been impacted. I wonder, how my life would have been like if I could twirl my fingers in my grandmother's long hair. Eat her fresh baked cookies. Or smell her perfume when she hugged me and rocked me back to sleep after a nightmare. Mostly, I wonder what type of person I would have been if my mother had a mother to train her on how to become a mother (don't get me wrong, I have an excellent mother, but she, like I, is also a victim in this).....What would my life be like? Would I be working on a Masters in Criminal Justice, with a Specialization in Victimology. Who do you think I would be?

Please add your comments!

Thanks,
~Roberta


*name changed
Image borrowed from: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3094/3236061127_44d5727911.jpg

Intro to Victimization

My hope is that by creating Living Through Victimization I will help create a dialogue, inform, and heal persons that have been victimized or know someone who has been personally affected by victimization. I hope to blog once a week (or more) with all the tid-bits of information for and about Victimization, Victim's Rights, and Victim Awareness. I will need your help and "word of mouth" to pass on the information in this blog.

Thanks,
~Roberta