Melissa - “Speaking from experience I can assure you that when your world has been terrorized & scarred as a child, it takes years to build the strength that is needed to stand up for yourself & against the monster who has invaded your mind & body every day of your life since the assault.  To rise above the fear & humiliation of coming forward only to be told ‘it's too late’ is devastating. We need the laws to change, we need you to invest in our futures & the futures of our children, and we need you to protect the victims not the victimizers”.

Michele - "You don't know me, but I wanted to say I am proud of you for what you are doing.  The hurt and shame and pain I feel sometimes gets the best of me.  Then when the depression gets worse I have a hard time adjusting to life.  I am trying my best to get better with this.  I find that writing poetry is a therapy for me, although it will never go away as I have a son as a reminder of this.  I finally decided to write and say thank you for standing up for all of us who cannot voice it ourselves."

Donna - "Thank you so much for taking this on.  I was sexually assaulted approximately 34 years ago by an uncle when I was 12.  There should be no statute of limitations on sexual crimes.  I support your efforts and hopefully our elected officials will do what's right."

Cara - "Sexual assault is horrific enough for victims and their families, but the current statute of limitation in MA and other states is an outrage and is assaulting the victims of these horrible crimes all over again when they finally feel safe and strong enough to come forward! I am shocked to find out that the state I live in has this going on.  I absolutely support the abolition of the MA statute of limitations regarding sexual assault.  I simply do not believe there should be one, and that any victim should be free to come forward at any time." 

Melody - "I am writing a research paper for school on the statute of limitations for sexual assault of any degree.  Firmly opposed myself, my mother is also a victim of abuse.  I ask your permission to use your story as a primary source for my research paper.  Thank you for sharing your story, and thank you for your time."

Jennifer - "My sister was brutally attacked and raped when she was 17 years old."

Joe - "My wife was raped.  It ruined her life, my life and the lives of my 3 kids.  It took 10 years, but it finally ended my marriage.  I am bitter inside knowing the system failed my family."

Jennifer says she had an incident when she was raped repeatedly by her church leader.  When she went to higher officials in the church to report the incident, she was “paid money to keep quiet and see a therapist to solve the problem on my own”.

Jeanette - "I had an uncle who lived in Abington - a fill-in minister - who was caught raping his little baby grandchild.  He had gotten away with raping not only his own children, but his nephews and God only knows how many neighborhood children and others over the years.  Something to pass on to people - There is at least one rapist in every family and it's usually the one you'd least suspect!  Always remember, you are not alone.  Thank you for trying to make a difference."

Sean - "You are going to do so much good for future generations of innocent kids who like yourself were innocently attacked.  I will contact my congressman and let him know that this statute of limitations has to go immediately.  You are a true inspiration to so many and it just proves that even out of the darkest circumstances some good light can still shine through brightly."

Michelle says, “Nothing could be done about my case, but I am praying really hard that you can do something about changing the laws for the next victim so that something can be done. The hurt and shame and pain I feel, sometimes gets the best of me. Then when the depression gets worse I have a hard time adjusting to life. That's when I have to take a leave of absence from my job. I am trying my best to get better with this. I find writing poetry is a therapy for me, although I know it will never go away as I have a son as a reminder of this.”

Becky was molested by her father’s brother from the age of 4 -9, when she moved out of the area.  She never told a single soul what happened to her until she was 35.  “As a young child his threats were enough to silence me as I grew and knew his threats were not possible, I silenced myself with the shame I carried. As the years passed I always knew I would confront him on my terms in my time. I always thought it would be after my father passed away because I knew this would destroy him. I reached a point a year and a half ago that I could no longer wait. I wish I knew why I was able to "handle" this for thirty years and one day literally could not go one more minute, but I don't."

Jim writes – “As a survivor of this type of crime, I can personally tell you it took me 30 years to come forward, step into the spotlight and say ‘This is what happened to me.  I am no longer going to live in fear and shame.’  The perpetrator (in this case a priest) had not been caught.  It was only in coming forward that gave others the courage to step forward as well as turned out there were many, many victims like myself and thanks to them he is in prison.  The statute of limitations was dicey at best then, and only worked because the perpetrator had moved from state to state, thus 'tolling' the statute of limitations in this case, until he returned to MA. That is why so many of these people were able to go free.  Rapists don’t rape just once.  It’s usually a pattern of behavior.  And, for each victim who steps forward it gives others the courage to do so as well.  In a lot of cases, this is how people are caught. 

So, congratulations to you Liz for being public and I hope others will follow your lead.  In this way, they take back control of their lives and are able to find peace.  As for me, it is a part of my life, its' past, and I am no longer ashamed of what happened to me. I am grateful for those that came forward before me, who gave me the strength, courage and stamina to do so as well."

Sandra - "From the age of 7 to 16 yrs old I was raped by my uncle, sometimes on an every day basis.  I don't understand how something so profound that leaves so many unhealed scars can have a limit."  Look for more of Sandra's story (Lonely Heart, stories #1-7) by clicking on the following link: