This Is My Story! 
         I'm a 29 year old mother of three. This is my story.  

   At the age of two my mother left my "real" dad. At the age of 4 after another failed marriage, she met my step father and my abuser. The abuse I suffered started shortly after they met. My step-dad Richard would take me a side when my mom wasn't looking and he'd either touch me or have me touch him. When i was 7 they moved in together. My mother slept in what used to be the garage turned into a 3rd bedroom, my step-dad and I slept in the 2 bedrooms in the house. The abuse started simple enough a kiss here and a feel there all the while telling me "I was daddy's little darlin". He never did "hurt" me! He was very loving and said he loved me often. He made me feel special. I don't remember how old I was when he took things to the next level. It was a "normal" relationship between him and I, I was his "little darlin" and I knew he belonged to me and I to him. I remember being 9 or so and having "sex" with him. Sex then was him touching me and having me touch him kissing and oral sex. At around age 10 or 11 I found out just what "SEX" was. It was a night my mom was at my aunts house for "girls night out". I was in my room studying,he came in and asked me for a kiss, I gave him one and as I did he pulled me closer and kissed me deeper than he had before. He told me he loved me and that I was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen, even prettier than my mom. I simply said thank you with a smile. Then he ask could he make love to me. I had an idea what that meant but wasn't real sure,I said yes anyway, after all he was my daddy and I knew he wouldn't "hurt" me. He laid me on my bed and went down on me explaining that if I wasn't wet it might hurt and he didn't want to hurt me. I thought ok it's weird but daddy knows what he's doing and he won't "hurt" me. Needless to say we did "make love" that night,the same way any "normal" loving couple would. He introduced things along the way such as, video cameras, normal film cameras, porn and even my mom's vibrator. We would "make love" whenever we could, when my mom ran to the store, went to the mall or my aunts house,like I said whenever we could. He owned several pawn shops growing up and one of my moms favorite things to do was to have me go to "the shop" with him on the weekends so she could have some free time for herself. While at "the shop" we would watch porn or touch each other when there were no customers there. Over the years he got bolder and had me giving him oral under his desk while customers were in the store. Like I said before this happened till I was 16! One of the things we did as a family every year was to go to Vegas for a week during the summer to see Richard's brother John. While planing the trip one year, my mom and I were at AAA getting rental car info and she informed me I'd either have to sit on dad's lap or aunt Marry's lap. I don't know why but I snapped quickly back that I'd sit on aunt Marry's lap. She asked me what was wrong and I said nothing. She was always the one to say there's a time and place for everything,so I repeated this to her and told her I'd tell her what was wrong when we left. After we got in the van to go home she asked me again what was wrong, I turned to her with tears running down my 16 year old face and told her that her husband was (I don't remember if I said raping or molesting)me! She didn't say a word but rather drove right to "the shop" and locked the door behind her(no customers). She asked him if what I said was true and like i figured he said nope! This turned into a yelling match between him and I (yes you did /no i didn't) I got upset because my mom wasn't saying anything at all and ran out. I called a good friend of mine for help and he hid me for a while till my parents found me (again)! I had run away lots of times!! In my childhood there were 3 police reports and 2 HRS reports but no on ever did anything about them!! It wasn't until I was 21 that anything was done. One day while talking to my step-dad on the phone he started apologizing to me for the things he'd done to me (in GREAT detail). So I recorded our phone call. I hung up the phone and thought for a while about what I was going to do now. I called the police (once again). They sent out three of the largest men I'd ever seen(two of which left my home crying and vomiting). They informed me what I'd done was actually against the law because he (Richard) had no knowledge I was recording the call. At that point I thought all hope was lost and broke into tears! The officer then said that he would talk to his Sargent and see what they could do. The next day the Sargent called and said that I had a choice, I could let this go or I could wear a wire and get him to confess all over again (as long as it was their wire it would be allowed in court). I chose to do the wire. They brought me into the station and just like in the movies I went to the restroom with Dect.Manning and she fitted me with the wire. I'd set it up with him to meet at a local park. We sat and talked and I got him to admit to all the things he'd done to me and even had him answer as to why he'd done it (the devil made him do it was his answer). The whole time I was there we were surrounded by undercover agents (I felt very safe). After I gave him a hug and drove back to the police station. Dect.Manning went over what we had on tape and told me how brave I was for going through this. She than told me they would be arresting him the next day for capital sexual battery on a minor! I left so happy. For the first time in my life I felt safe. The next morning before he left for his new job (a security job at that) he called. This was weird as he'd never done it before so I got scared and called the detective as soon as he hung up. They were waiting for him just outside the house and she had to let me go because he was coming out. She called me back to let me know he was in custody! The next few months were full of meetings with the state attorney reliving my abuse step by step (by far the hardest thing i'd ever done). It ended with a plea bargain for 25 years!! He's been in prison now for 5 years! I had the strength to go through this because of my REAL dad and step-mom(my REAL mom if you ask me). See she was abused by her dad and had to go through putting him in prison too (but not for what he'd done to her he got caught by hurting another child). My mom stood up in court for Richard and told the judge what a good Christan man he was and how he was a pillar of the community. I lost my family for 3 years because of this. I ruined the family according to them. Three years later I contacted my mother and told her I missed her. We got back together and I had a family again (for a while anyway). In the 2 years she was in my life again she decided to grab my son by the arm, slap my oldest daughter(3) in the mouth and the last straw was her hurting the baby. One day while at my home planing a trip to Disney the next day, she'd left her sunglasses ($10.00 from Wal-mart) down at the level of my youngest (1&1/2 year old)daughter. I was babysitting and had 5 children in my home that day. My mom and I were in my bedroom trying to pack the bag for the next day when the girl (9 years old) I was babysitting knocked on the door to tell us that Bella had broken her sunglasses. She freaked out grabbed Bella by the arms and started screaming in her face. Then she started to slap her on the arms and hands (so hard it bruised in less than an hour). At that point I put all the kids in my room (two 9,two 4 and a 1 year old),screamed at her to get the f**k out of my house. She left and when I noticed the bruises on Bella I called th police. She was arrested for domestic child abuse (felony). Charges were never pressed (the state said the abuse wasn't bad enough) but she did get arrested. I figured she'd be upset but maybe now she'll realize not to put her hands on my kids again (as i'd already warned her of this). Needless to say I've lost everyone but my dad and step mom once again. I called my grandma and she actually told me the family could no longer take MY abuse! So I've lost pretty much everyone that was supposed to care for me TWICE for standing up for myself and my kids! But it's ok because I now realize it's their loss not mine or my children's.  I wanted to write this so that maybe someone out there would read it and get the courage my step-mom gave me to stand up to their abuser.

Linda Greenway

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