My Childhood Rapist is Finally Behind Bars

It only took ten years.

On January 23, 2014, I pressed criminal charges against my older brother for eight years of sexual abuse.

I was eventually forced to drop these charges due to lack of evidence. The detectives in my case told me they could not prosecute my rapist because I moved around a lot as a child. If I wanted to proceed, I would’ve had to try my rapist in every jurisdiction he had ever raped me in. To receive justice, I’d have to take him to at least four different courts in rural Georgia.

It just wasn’t going to happen.

So, my case was dropped.

I have not spoken to my brother in ten years. I spent this decade of my life in intense therapy. I had eight rounds of ECT, I tried every antidepressant on the market, and I attended therapy at least once a week for more than eight years. Finally, I overcame this trauma. Or at least, I overcame it enough to stop taking medication, and a few months later, I overcame it enough to graduate from therapy.

I stopped wanting justice. I accepted my situation for what it was; I was raped very many times over very many years.

Sure, my relationship with sex will never be normal. I will always be sensitive when it comes to sex. It will always be something that can trigger me very profoundly and suddenly. Beyond that, the effects of my sexual abuse on my life are very minimal.

With years of hard work, I finally let it all go.

Until my mom texted me.

“Charlie, I love you very much. I have news about your brother. I understand if you do not want to hear it. Let me know when you’re free to talk.”

I knew immediately. Either he is dead or in jail. There is no other way my mother would mention him to me.

I know very little about the current charges against him. I know he was arrested four days ago for two counts of lewd acts to a child under 16. He is currently in jail waiting for trial with a bail set at $7,500. I know no one in my family is willing or able to pay that amount for him. I also know I have already reached out to the prosecutor in charge of his victim’s case, and I will do everything in my power to make sure justice is served.

As much as I tried to put him behind bars ten years ago, the system failed me. The crimes committed against me were excused based on something little better than a legal technicality. Because of this technicality, another child has been abused.

As unfortunate as it is that another child has been harmed, at least I have the opportunity to use my story to bring us both justice. I can’t send him to jail for what he did to me, but I can use what happened to me to help another victim do what I never could.

It’s taken nearly ten years to the day, but I will finally be able to use my story to put him behind bars.