1 00:00:10,586 --> 00:00:12,758 [pained exhale] 2 00:00:21,586 --> 00:00:23,241 [sniffling] 3 00:00:29,103 --> 00:00:30,724 That's the way I remember him, 4 00:00:31,827 --> 00:00:33,034 evil. 5 00:00:35,482 --> 00:00:37,517 He couldn't even look at the camera 6 00:00:38,379 --> 00:00:40,724 because he knows what he did was wrong. 7 00:00:43,689 --> 00:00:47,172 I think Chevo died still not caring. 8 00:00:47,172 --> 00:00:51,689 He had that evilness that he didn't even care 9 00:00:51,689 --> 00:00:54,586 or had no remorse in what he did. 10 00:00:54,586 --> 00:00:57,931 But he is where he's supposed to be, in hell. 11 00:01:23,896 --> 00:01:25,103 This is Laura. 12 00:01:26,172 --> 00:01:29,000 She looks totally different from the way 13 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:31,379 I had remembered her. I don't -- 14 00:01:31,379 --> 00:01:33,137 I don't recognize her, 15 00:01:35,068 --> 00:01:37,758 but that face, it's evil. 16 00:01:40,275 --> 00:01:42,413 You can just see it in her eyes. 17 00:01:43,482 --> 00:01:46,000 She took my childhood from me. 18 00:01:47,172 --> 00:01:49,000 She got what she [bleep] deserved. 19 00:01:51,310 --> 00:01:53,827 My aunt and uncle were evil people. 20 00:01:54,793 --> 00:01:58,310 I wanted to kill them in their sleep 21 00:01:59,103 --> 00:02:03,137 because I was in so much pain. That's how far they pushed me, 22 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:06,896 just almost becoming a murderer. 23 00:02:06,896 --> 00:02:10,793 I think that's why, that it's hard for me to 24 00:02:10,793 --> 00:02:14,517 remember, because I try to not remember that part. 25 00:02:19,379 --> 00:02:21,586 [The Paper Chase's "What's So Amazing About Grace?" plays] 26 00:02:21,586 --> 00:02:23,517 [strings continue playing sinister tune] 27 00:02:24,896 --> 00:02:26,655 [static crackling] 28 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:31,689 [knock at door] [creaking] 29 00:02:31,689 --> 00:02:33,620 [banging on door] [creaking] 30 00:02:38,310 --> 00:02:40,930 [banging on door] [creaking] 31 00:02:42,379 --> 00:02:44,482 [water dripping] 32 00:02:44,482 --> 00:02:47,482 [banging on door] [creaking] 33 00:02:47,482 --> 00:02:48,724 [sinister chord strikes] 34 00:02:55,206 --> 00:02:58,586 I was born in San Antonio, Texas. 35 00:02:58,586 --> 00:03:01,137 I have two siblings. 36 00:03:01,206 --> 00:03:04,689 So my sister was the oldest, then it was me and then 37 00:03:04,689 --> 00:03:06,034 my brother. 38 00:03:06,034 --> 00:03:11,896 My mom was a single mom raising us by herself, but my mom was 39 00:03:11,896 --> 00:03:16,689 not stable enough to watch me and my siblings. 40 00:03:16,689 --> 00:03:22,068 She was a drug addict, and she had problems drinking 41 00:03:22,068 --> 00:03:25,000 as well. So CPS took us away. 42 00:03:27,275 --> 00:03:31,931 And I was about nine years old at that time. 43 00:03:39,206 --> 00:03:42,586 Chevo was my mom's brother. 44 00:03:42,586 --> 00:03:43,689 Hi, sweetie. 45 00:03:43,689 --> 00:03:44,965 Hi. 46 00:03:45,724 --> 00:03:48,379 [Abigail] It was scary, confusing, 47 00:03:48,379 --> 00:03:50,689 really sad. 48 00:03:50,689 --> 00:03:55,793 But I was relieved because I was gonna be with family, 49 00:03:55,793 --> 00:03:58,620 and my siblings were gonna be with me, 50 00:03:59,620 --> 00:04:03,137 and we would always stay together as a family. 51 00:04:10,172 --> 00:04:15,896 Looking back, I wish I ended up being separated 52 00:04:15,896 --> 00:04:17,827 and with strangers. 53 00:04:36,620 --> 00:04:41,655 I remember being home alone with my Uncle Chevo, 54 00:04:41,724 --> 00:04:44,275 and we were on the couch in the living room. 55 00:04:44,275 --> 00:04:45,931 Hey. 56 00:04:48,620 --> 00:04:52,551 [Abigail] And I remember him grabbing my leg and rubbing my feet. 57 00:04:53,689 --> 00:04:58,379 And then his rubbing started going up gradually on my legs. 58 00:04:58,379 --> 00:05:00,206 And it felt 59 00:05:01,275 --> 00:05:02,931 wrong. 60 00:05:05,517 --> 00:05:11,965 And he did look at me and he did say, "I don't want you to tell 61 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:15,896 "nobody about this, not even your Aunt Laura. 62 00:05:15,896 --> 00:05:17,068 This is our secret." 63 00:05:18,379 --> 00:05:23,275 So I felt like it was something that wasn't supposed to 64 00:05:23,275 --> 00:05:24,551 be happening. 65 00:05:26,482 --> 00:05:30,275 I felt very nervous and scared and confused. 66 00:05:30,275 --> 00:05:33,896 I didn't know what to think because I didn't know 67 00:05:33,896 --> 00:05:35,206 what was going on. 68 00:05:35,206 --> 00:05:40,448 I was so little, and I didn't know if it was right or wrong. 69 00:05:41,827 --> 00:05:45,793 In the days and times that followed, I didn't feel 70 00:05:45,793 --> 00:05:47,931 comfortable being around him. 71 00:05:48,896 --> 00:05:52,379 I think avoiding my uncle 72 00:05:52,379 --> 00:05:57,758 made him find other ways to be alone with me. 73 00:05:57,827 --> 00:06:01,206 And the abuse started getting worse. 74 00:06:05,586 --> 00:06:09,000 In the bedroom that I shared with my older sister, 75 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:10,482 we had a bunk bed. 76 00:06:10,482 --> 00:06:14,068 And I slept on the top, and my sister slept 77 00:06:14,068 --> 00:06:15,517 on the bottom. 78 00:06:16,896 --> 00:06:20,482 We would leave the hallway light on with our door kind of 79 00:06:20,482 --> 00:06:23,551 cracked because we were kind of scared of the dark. 80 00:06:26,689 --> 00:06:30,103 I remember seeing, like, a shadow 81 00:06:30,103 --> 00:06:31,482 underneath the doorway. 82 00:06:31,482 --> 00:06:33,241 [creaking] 83 00:06:35,275 --> 00:06:37,241 I would hear the door creaking, 84 00:06:39,103 --> 00:06:40,413 or... 85 00:06:41,068 --> 00:06:46,896 ...hearing my Uncle Chevo climbing up the ladder 86 00:06:46,896 --> 00:06:48,827 to get onto the bed with me. 87 00:06:51,068 --> 00:06:55,482 Knowing that he was climbing into my bed was very scary. 88 00:06:55,482 --> 00:06:57,482 I didn't understand 89 00:06:57,482 --> 00:07:02,137 what was going on or what he was doing 90 00:07:02,206 --> 00:07:03,758 in the bed with me. 91 00:07:07,172 --> 00:07:10,793 There was a part of me that felt that I had done something 92 00:07:10,793 --> 00:07:15,000 wrong for him to be touching me the way he was. 93 00:07:16,172 --> 00:07:20,137 First time that my uncle touched me, 94 00:07:20,206 --> 00:07:22,482 I was about nine years old. 95 00:07:22,482 --> 00:07:28,034 And it was like that for a few years, and it progressed. 96 00:07:29,310 --> 00:07:31,379 The first time that he raped me, 97 00:07:31,379 --> 00:07:35,517 I was 12 years old in middle school. 98 00:07:36,586 --> 00:07:43,034 I did hope that my sister would hear or maybe catch him 99 00:07:43,103 --> 00:07:48,275 one time or something, but she never did. 100 00:07:48,275 --> 00:07:52,551 I really didn't understand what was going on so I didn't know 101 00:07:52,620 --> 00:07:55,448 how to defend myself at the time. 102 00:07:55,517 --> 00:07:59,551 I knew his one rule was not to tell nobody. 103 00:07:59,620 --> 00:08:01,517 So as a kid, I didn't. 104 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:18,103 At some point I did tell my Aunt Laura that I needed to 105 00:08:18,103 --> 00:08:22,931 tell her a secret, and she, um... 106 00:08:24,379 --> 00:08:25,827 ...she said, "OK." 107 00:08:26,689 --> 00:08:31,793 We went to her room and we sat on her bed and I told her, 108 00:08:31,793 --> 00:08:35,895 "Uncle Chevo has been getting into the bed with me 109 00:08:35,895 --> 00:08:41,655 and touching me in ways that I don't think are right." 110 00:08:42,379 --> 00:08:45,068 And she just closed me off. 111 00:08:45,068 --> 00:08:47,793 [echoing] Stop. 112 00:08:47,793 --> 00:08:52,689 She told me that she didn't think that he was capable of 113 00:08:52,689 --> 00:08:56,586 doing anything like that and that she knew 114 00:08:56,586 --> 00:08:58,241 that I was lying. 115 00:08:59,310 --> 00:09:05,103 She made it very clear that I wasn't allowed 116 00:09:05,103 --> 00:09:07,137 to talk about it to anybody. 117 00:09:07,206 --> 00:09:09,724 Not a word of this outside my house. 118 00:09:11,482 --> 00:09:17,068 She's supposed to be my mom, so I would expect her to 119 00:09:17,068 --> 00:09:19,689 protect me and do something about it, 120 00:09:19,689 --> 00:09:21,620 and I didn't get that. 121 00:09:25,172 --> 00:09:30,965 I felt very sad and betrayed that my Aunt Laura didn't 122 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:36,448 believe me, and scared because I didn't know who else 123 00:09:36,517 --> 00:09:41,172 I could go to and tell, because if she didn't believe me, 124 00:09:41,172 --> 00:09:46,000 who is going to believe me? I couldn't trust nobody. 125 00:10:01,413 --> 00:10:04,827 This picture was me and my sister goofing off 126 00:10:04,896 --> 00:10:06,034 in our bedroom. 127 00:10:07,379 --> 00:10:10,206 I was roughly 12. 128 00:10:12,413 --> 00:10:15,931 If anybody else was looking at this photo, they would see 129 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:17,827 a normal, happy child. 130 00:10:18,793 --> 00:10:20,896 But behind the mask, it -- 131 00:10:20,896 --> 00:10:24,448 she wasn't normal, and she wasn't happy. 132 00:10:27,862 --> 00:10:33,241 It was a cover-up, but she had to pretend that she was happy. 133 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:41,000 I was told not to tell nobody the truth, and I was scared of 134 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:45,586 what was gonna happen if I did tell the truth. 135 00:10:45,586 --> 00:10:48,413 I felt like I was committing a crime, 136 00:10:49,689 --> 00:10:54,172 that I did something wrong, and I would end up in jail. 137 00:10:54,172 --> 00:10:57,931 It was terrifying to live with that idea. 138 00:11:11,620 --> 00:11:15,482 One weekend when I was 12 or 13, 139 00:11:15,482 --> 00:11:19,000 some of my cousins and aunt and uncle came to visit. 140 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:22,724 And it all changed when family was around. 141 00:11:24,896 --> 00:11:28,000 I remember one day, we were outside playing, 142 00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:30,448 and there was this boy that caught my eye. 143 00:11:32,413 --> 00:11:36,275 I had a crush on him, and I think 144 00:11:36,275 --> 00:11:38,379 he had a crush on me too. 145 00:11:38,379 --> 00:11:44,241 We sat down talking, and things led up to another. 146 00:11:45,103 --> 00:11:47,896 And we started kissing. 147 00:11:47,896 --> 00:11:50,344 That was my first kiss. 148 00:11:50,413 --> 00:11:53,344 It felt funny, but it felt good at the same time. 149 00:11:53,413 --> 00:11:56,103 The butterflies were, um, 150 00:11:57,000 --> 00:12:00,310 like a good, nervous feeling. 151 00:12:01,172 --> 00:12:04,758 There was a lot of things in my life that weren't normal, 152 00:12:04,758 --> 00:12:08,620 but that felt normal and OK. 153 00:12:12,482 --> 00:12:17,344 I didn't realize that my cousin was watching, or she could even 154 00:12:17,413 --> 00:12:19,413 see us kissing. 155 00:12:20,379 --> 00:12:22,655 I'm telling, I'm telling! 156 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:26,551 I pushed him away. 157 00:12:26,620 --> 00:12:30,000 And just all of a sudden, I hear her screaming, 158 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:32,000 "You're kissing a boy! 159 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:34,103 I'm gonna go and tell." 160 00:12:34,103 --> 00:12:37,172 And I was like begging her not to tell my Aunt Laura 161 00:12:37,172 --> 00:12:40,586 and Uncle Chevo that I was kissing this boy because 162 00:12:40,586 --> 00:12:43,068 I would get in serious trouble. 163 00:12:43,068 --> 00:12:48,448 I started crying because I knew I was gonna get in trouble 164 00:12:48,517 --> 00:12:52,724 and maybe get a spanking. She didn't understand how 165 00:12:54,482 --> 00:12:57,241 severe my punishment was gonna be. 166 00:13:01,172 --> 00:13:05,103 I walked in, and I remember seeing everybody in 167 00:13:05,103 --> 00:13:06,931 the living room. 168 00:13:08,068 --> 00:13:12,172 The look on my uncle's face when I got into the house, 169 00:13:12,172 --> 00:13:15,137 he looked very pissed off. 170 00:13:15,206 --> 00:13:19,000 Like, his face was red in anger. 171 00:13:22,275 --> 00:13:25,206 It was the first time I've seen him that mad. 172 00:13:28,103 --> 00:13:32,310 I remember seeing my Uncle Chevo with the belt. 173 00:13:34,517 --> 00:13:38,241 The only thing I remember him saying was to put my hands 174 00:13:38,310 --> 00:13:40,034 on the couch. 175 00:13:45,896 --> 00:13:49,310 My Uncle Chevo took the beating way too far. 176 00:13:51,793 --> 00:13:56,448 In that moment, I did feel like it was very severe. 177 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:02,034 The spanking stopped because somebody told him 178 00:14:02,103 --> 00:14:04,793 to stop hitting me, that that was enough. 179 00:14:04,793 --> 00:14:09,896 At that moment, I thanked God that there was other people 180 00:14:09,896 --> 00:14:14,275 around to have him stop, because I didn't think he would 181 00:14:14,275 --> 00:14:16,413 stop spanking me. 182 00:14:17,586 --> 00:14:22,068 Looking back now, I feel like his anger was coming 183 00:14:22,068 --> 00:14:23,862 from jealousy. 184 00:14:23,862 --> 00:14:29,275 I feel that he was jealous that I was kissing this boy, 185 00:14:29,275 --> 00:14:31,413 and maybe not him. 186 00:14:33,482 --> 00:14:37,586 After that day, I knew that it was not going to be OK for me 187 00:14:37,586 --> 00:14:41,000 to be doing normal things like other kids. 188 00:14:42,482 --> 00:14:45,758 I wasn't able to have a normal childhood 189 00:14:45,758 --> 00:14:50,896 because my Uncle Chevo wanted me for himself, 190 00:14:50,896 --> 00:14:54,000 and that wasn't normal. 191 00:15:02,275 --> 00:15:06,551 I had a best friend, and we were inseparable. 192 00:15:06,620 --> 00:15:09,551 We were like sisters, pretty much. 193 00:15:09,620 --> 00:15:13,344 I always went to her house because it felt safe. 194 00:15:13,413 --> 00:15:16,655 And I didn't want her to go to my house. 195 00:15:16,724 --> 00:15:20,793 So I kind of kept her away on purpose from my house. 196 00:15:20,793 --> 00:15:24,586 I trusted her enough to tell her the truth. 197 00:15:24,586 --> 00:15:27,724 So that's what led me up to tell her. 198 00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:33,379 I have to tell you something, but you promise not to say. 199 00:15:33,379 --> 00:15:36,827 We were sitting together, and that's when 200 00:15:36,896 --> 00:15:39,448 I just told her the secret. 201 00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:47,586 She looked scared and said that wasn't right and it shouldn't 202 00:15:47,586 --> 00:15:51,517 be happening, so we should tell somebody, like her mom. 203 00:15:52,275 --> 00:15:53,586 You can't. 204 00:15:53,586 --> 00:15:58,689 I told her in tears that we can't tell nobody 205 00:15:58,689 --> 00:16:00,413 what's going on. 206 00:16:01,413 --> 00:16:05,655 And she just kept saying, "No, we have to." 207 00:16:05,724 --> 00:16:07,482 It was very scary for me. 208 00:16:07,482 --> 00:16:09,172 We have to say something. 209 00:16:09,172 --> 00:16:13,103 I didn't want to get in trouble if they found out 210 00:16:13,103 --> 00:16:15,000 I told the secret. 211 00:16:15,620 --> 00:16:20,000 And then she finally said, "OK, I promise 212 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:21,655 I won't tell nobody." 213 00:16:22,517 --> 00:16:25,724 So I thought she kept that secret. 214 00:16:33,172 --> 00:16:37,689 My friend told her mom my secret. 215 00:16:37,689 --> 00:16:41,655 The mom reported it to Child Protective Services. 216 00:16:41,724 --> 00:16:43,241 Why don't you start packing, sweetie? 217 00:16:44,482 --> 00:16:46,275 They didn't say where we're going. 218 00:16:46,275 --> 00:16:48,758 They just said, we're leaving, and we need to leave 219 00:16:48,827 --> 00:16:54,586 by tonight, so we did as we were told. 220 00:16:54,586 --> 00:17:00,068 There was no explanation on why or where we were going at all. 221 00:17:00,068 --> 00:17:01,931 And we moved from there, 222 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:04,517 and I never got to see her again. 223 00:17:05,482 --> 00:17:09,896 I understand why she told her mom my secret. 224 00:17:09,896 --> 00:17:14,862 She was just trying to get me some help to maybe stop it, 225 00:17:14,862 --> 00:17:18,000 and that's what I wanted was for it to stop. 226 00:17:20,068 --> 00:17:24,862 After that, what had kept me from telling anyone at school, 227 00:17:24,862 --> 00:17:30,758 teachers, friends, was that CPS would end up telling 228 00:17:30,758 --> 00:17:34,586 my aunt and uncle and we would move again. 229 00:17:34,586 --> 00:17:36,137 I felt ashamed. 230 00:17:36,206 --> 00:17:40,275 I was so embarrassed about what was going on. 231 00:17:40,275 --> 00:17:47,000 There was so many things I was afraid of to tell anybody. 232 00:17:48,275 --> 00:17:51,310 It was easier for me just to keep silent. 233 00:18:01,241 --> 00:18:04,896 There was one time that my aunt and uncle wanted to 234 00:18:04,896 --> 00:18:06,517 have a conversation. 235 00:18:06,586 --> 00:18:09,172 I was already in high school at that time. 236 00:18:09,172 --> 00:18:11,793 Abby, come sit. 237 00:18:11,793 --> 00:18:15,517 I remember my uncle looking serious. 238 00:18:15,586 --> 00:18:19,793 They both were serious. They had that look. 239 00:18:21,172 --> 00:18:22,413 Is everything okay? 240 00:18:23,172 --> 00:18:25,551 They told me I wasn't in trouble. 241 00:18:25,551 --> 00:18:28,206 We were just going to have a conversation. 242 00:18:28,896 --> 00:18:33,310 The conversation started that I was going to have 243 00:18:33,379 --> 00:18:38,275 their baby because my aunt wasn't able to have kids. 244 00:18:41,172 --> 00:18:46,034 And I looked at her like if they were crazy. 245 00:18:46,034 --> 00:18:48,689 My jaw dropped and I was shocked. 246 00:18:48,689 --> 00:18:55,172 I didn't know what to think, that they want a teenager to 247 00:18:55,172 --> 00:18:58,448 have a baby for them. It was very shocking. 248 00:18:58,448 --> 00:18:59,827 You can't do this. 249 00:18:59,896 --> 00:19:03,172 I told her, "You're effing crazy. 250 00:19:03,172 --> 00:19:07,000 I'm not going to have a baby. Like, I'm still in high school." 251 00:19:07,068 --> 00:19:10,931 So I told her no, that I didn't want to. 252 00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:14,000 And they were like, "Yes, there's no saying no." 253 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:17,068 There's no debate. That's end of conversation. 254 00:19:18,689 --> 00:19:20,310 Please. 255 00:19:21,758 --> 00:19:25,310 There was like nothing I could do to stop it. 256 00:19:29,551 --> 00:19:33,137 I didn't feel like my body was mine. 257 00:19:33,137 --> 00:19:35,620 I felt like it was theirs. 258 00:19:38,965 --> 00:19:43,034 This was the moment when I realized that my aunt was 259 00:19:43,034 --> 00:19:45,724 just as evil as my uncle. 260 00:19:47,241 --> 00:19:51,517 And in my eyes, I felt they were both monsters. 261 00:19:52,862 --> 00:19:55,620 And I cried most of the day. 262 00:19:55,689 --> 00:19:59,793 And I talked to myself and told myself, like, "How is 263 00:19:59,793 --> 00:20:02,103 this happening? Why is this happening?" 264 00:20:04,241 --> 00:20:09,275 Looking back now, I think that she knew and was aware of 265 00:20:09,275 --> 00:20:12,620 everything that was happening with him and me. 266 00:20:12,689 --> 00:20:16,517 And she chose to ignore it because she didn't want to lose 267 00:20:16,586 --> 00:20:19,000 my uncle's love. 268 00:20:19,068 --> 00:20:23,068 That makes her... a monster. 269 00:20:33,793 --> 00:20:37,103 When I was pregnant, I did have a lot of feelings. 270 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:40,206 I didn't want to be on Earth no more. 271 00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:46,000 I was very depressed. I just wanted to be alone. 272 00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:51,413 My uncle had threatened me about if I told anybody that 273 00:20:51,482 --> 00:20:56,000 I would go to jail, and the baby would end up in foster care. 274 00:20:56,896 --> 00:20:58,379 It was hard to hide the truth. 275 00:20:58,379 --> 00:21:03,000 If it came up, then I had to lie and say that I messed 276 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:06,241 around with some other kid, you know, 277 00:21:06,241 --> 00:21:07,620 from school or whatever. 278 00:21:08,275 --> 00:21:11,655 And I knew that was a lie. 279 00:21:11,655 --> 00:21:16,137 When I was going into labor, I was told not to tell anybody. 280 00:21:16,137 --> 00:21:18,241 They demanded it from me. 281 00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:24,724 So I didn't tell anybody, but I did want to. 282 00:21:25,896 --> 00:21:29,413 But my aunt and uncle were in the room the whole time. 283 00:21:30,862 --> 00:21:37,275 And when I was able to hold my newborn, I felt happy. 284 00:21:37,275 --> 00:21:42,034 It felt amazing to hold my baby in my hands. 285 00:21:42,034 --> 00:21:46,965 I felt like I was on top of the world. 286 00:21:46,965 --> 00:21:50,896 I was able to hold her until the nurses walked out. 287 00:21:50,896 --> 00:21:54,068 Then my aunt ended up grabbing her. 288 00:21:59,137 --> 00:22:02,689 She took her and said that, "This is my baby. 289 00:22:04,241 --> 00:22:08,379 She'll be calling you sister when she grows up." 290 00:22:10,793 --> 00:22:12,517 I felt like 291 00:22:17,758 --> 00:22:19,000 I wasn't even there, 292 00:22:19,896 --> 00:22:21,620 Felt... 293 00:22:23,586 --> 00:22:25,620 really lost. 294 00:22:25,689 --> 00:22:27,172 [sniffling] 295 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:30,275 And used. 296 00:22:32,965 --> 00:22:34,586 They used me. 297 00:22:52,689 --> 00:22:58,482 At that time, I was taking care of the kids, and my aunt 298 00:22:58,482 --> 00:23:03,724 and uncle, and doing all the household chores. 299 00:23:03,793 --> 00:23:09,689 It was like if I was a maid or a slave in my own house. 300 00:23:11,241 --> 00:23:13,724 And eventually, it got worse. 301 00:23:15,482 --> 00:23:17,000 My aunt and uncle 302 00:23:17,965 --> 00:23:21,000 started making me do a ritual every night. 303 00:23:30,551 --> 00:23:36,586 I remember having to massage my aunt and uncle every night that 304 00:23:36,586 --> 00:23:40,896 my hands would cramp up and I would get so uncomfortable 305 00:23:40,896 --> 00:23:43,517 and wanna stop, but I wasn't able to. 306 00:23:45,172 --> 00:23:49,482 I felt on edge every night because it turned into 307 00:23:49,482 --> 00:23:52,931 something sexual with both of them. 308 00:23:56,103 --> 00:24:01,172 I felt like I was a sex slave to my aunt and uncle. 309 00:24:02,758 --> 00:24:03,965 [lock clicks] 310 00:24:06,758 --> 00:24:10,724 I felt trapped, like I wasn't gonna be able to get out 311 00:24:10,793 --> 00:24:14,793 or be a part of the real world. 312 00:24:14,793 --> 00:24:19,000 I never left the house unless it was with the family. 313 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:21,068 I felt so scared. 314 00:24:22,137 --> 00:24:24,517 And this went on for years... 315 00:24:26,689 --> 00:24:28,793 ...years. 316 00:24:28,793 --> 00:24:33,896 It got to me, but I was thinking about the kids. 317 00:24:33,896 --> 00:24:39,448 I didn't want to get separated from them or end up in jail 318 00:24:39,448 --> 00:24:42,620 and them in foster care like I did. 319 00:24:42,689 --> 00:24:45,827 Running away wasn't something I thought about 320 00:24:45,896 --> 00:24:49,000 because I was being brainwashed. 321 00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:55,068 My uncle was putting things in my head, and I was believing 322 00:24:55,068 --> 00:25:00,517 them, and it just felt like 323 00:25:01,793 --> 00:25:04,000 I didn't have a mind of my own. 324 00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:08,586 Looking back, I wish I had ran away. 325 00:25:22,379 --> 00:25:25,172 In this picture, it's me, 326 00:25:26,655 --> 00:25:28,517 my Aunt Laura, and my three kids. 327 00:25:31,896 --> 00:25:33,137 I was roughly 328 00:25:35,241 --> 00:25:37,482 20 years old in this picture, 329 00:25:38,793 --> 00:25:40,827 just seeing her... 330 00:25:43,482 --> 00:25:46,000 and her holding my kids... 331 00:25:47,344 --> 00:25:50,965 I was an outsider to them. I wasn't their mom. 332 00:25:50,965 --> 00:25:54,689 She was, and that's what this picture shows. 333 00:25:56,586 --> 00:25:59,620 It's -- it was hard for me to smile for any photo. 334 00:26:01,103 --> 00:26:05,689 I forced myself to make it seem 335 00:26:05,689 --> 00:26:10,379 that nothing was going on, hoping that one day 336 00:26:10,379 --> 00:26:13,517 I would get out for everyone. 337 00:26:15,896 --> 00:26:19,689 My uncle had explained to me what would happen if 338 00:26:19,689 --> 00:26:23,931 I was to tell anybody, and his explanation was that 339 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:27,689 he was going to kill me and the kids. 340 00:26:27,689 --> 00:26:31,620 He would slice our throats 341 00:26:31,689 --> 00:26:33,758 while we were sleeping, 342 00:26:33,758 --> 00:26:38,000 and I do believe he was capable of that. 343 00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:41,862 He was trying to scare me, in not to telling anybody, 344 00:26:41,862 --> 00:26:43,103 and it worked. 345 00:26:51,379 --> 00:26:52,862 My aunt and uncle were religious. 346 00:26:52,862 --> 00:26:57,965 They were Catholics so I was raised to say 347 00:26:57,965 --> 00:27:01,931 the rosary, and we went to Catholic Church every Sunday. 348 00:27:04,103 --> 00:27:08,758 As my daughter was growing up, my aunt and uncle decided that 349 00:27:08,758 --> 00:27:12,724 she was a healer and she could perform miracles. 350 00:27:14,655 --> 00:27:18,000 It sounded really crazy to me, it did. 351 00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:21,068 I didn't know what she was talking about. 352 00:27:21,068 --> 00:27:25,000 My aunt and uncle put it out on Facebook. 353 00:27:25,068 --> 00:27:28,241 It got so big, my daughter wound up on the news. 354 00:27:29,965 --> 00:27:32,275 [news broadcaster] Some believe God and the Virgen de Guadalupe 355 00:27:32,275 --> 00:27:34,620 has given Paige the gift of healing. 356 00:27:34,689 --> 00:27:37,827 This is a plan he has for her, and the faith 357 00:27:37,896 --> 00:27:39,965 that she has in God. 358 00:27:39,965 --> 00:27:42,413 People say, "Oh, the miracle child. 359 00:27:43,689 --> 00:27:44,965 "She's not the miracle child. 360 00:27:44,965 --> 00:27:48,586 It's not her, it's just, she's God's vessel." 361 00:27:48,586 --> 00:27:51,344 [broadcaster] And just as quickly, we're reminded 362 00:27:51,344 --> 00:27:53,034 she's still a child. 363 00:27:53,034 --> 00:27:55,413 [Paige on broadcast] "Mommy, what's a vessel?" 364 00:27:55,482 --> 00:27:56,517 "A boat." 365 00:28:06,482 --> 00:28:08,551 It's heartbreaking 366 00:28:08,551 --> 00:28:11,586 to me to hear my daughter call her mommy. 367 00:28:16,172 --> 00:28:18,000 I haven't heard it in so long. 368 00:28:19,275 --> 00:28:22,310 And seeing how young my daughter was 369 00:28:24,965 --> 00:28:29,689 and seeing what she was doing made it so hard for me to see 370 00:28:29,689 --> 00:28:35,000 it again, because she would do that at least six to seven 371 00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:36,241 hours a day. 372 00:28:37,965 --> 00:28:39,655 She was so innocent. 373 00:28:39,655 --> 00:28:45,068 She was being used into luring people in 374 00:28:45,068 --> 00:28:46,931 and getting their money. 375 00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:49,241 And I feel sorry for my daughter, too, because 376 00:28:49,241 --> 00:28:50,793 she had to go through that. 377 00:28:51,793 --> 00:28:53,793 The people that were coming 378 00:28:54,379 --> 00:28:57,724 were ill, and they wanted to be healed. 379 00:28:58,482 --> 00:29:00,827 But in reality, there was, 380 00:29:02,103 --> 00:29:03,275 it wasn't real. 381 00:29:03,275 --> 00:29:09,000 She lured people in and she was really good at it. 382 00:29:09,896 --> 00:29:13,931 It was all just a scam just to get their money. 383 00:29:32,862 --> 00:29:36,827 This is a picture of me and Rudy having dinner 384 00:29:38,758 --> 00:29:42,517 for...I believe it was his birthday. 385 00:29:43,586 --> 00:29:47,896 When me and Rudy were hiding our relationship from 386 00:29:47,896 --> 00:29:49,413 my aunt and uncle, 387 00:29:49,482 --> 00:29:54,517 I would wait till they left to work and I would take the kids 388 00:29:54,586 --> 00:29:58,931 to school and he would meet me down the street. 389 00:30:00,034 --> 00:30:03,724 Talking to him made me feel so safe. 390 00:30:03,793 --> 00:30:09,551 I wasn't used to it because I was not around safe men 391 00:30:09,551 --> 00:30:10,965 like Rudy. 392 00:30:10,965 --> 00:30:15,620 He just seemed very different and nice, sweet man. 393 00:30:16,793 --> 00:30:18,241 This was the guy 394 00:30:19,275 --> 00:30:23,827 that was gonna help me out through the hell 395 00:30:23,896 --> 00:30:25,172 I was living in. 396 00:30:29,448 --> 00:30:34,620 I had told him one time that there was a secret 397 00:30:34,689 --> 00:30:39,000 that I was holding in from him, and then I finally told him 398 00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:40,655 what was going on, 399 00:30:40,655 --> 00:30:45,448 and he said he wanted to help me and my kids get out of there 400 00:30:45,448 --> 00:30:47,517 because that wasn't right. 401 00:30:47,586 --> 00:30:52,482 He was very angry, but I told him there's nothing 402 00:30:52,482 --> 00:30:54,137 that I could do because 403 00:30:55,655 --> 00:30:59,000 if he was to get involved, or if I was to leave, 404 00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:01,793 they would find me and kill us all. 405 00:31:15,896 --> 00:31:19,655 [as Chevo] Disgusting! You're vile! 406 00:31:19,655 --> 00:31:24,310 When my uncle found out about me and Rudy, he lost his mind 407 00:31:24,379 --> 00:31:26,137 and grabbed a gasoline. 408 00:31:28,965 --> 00:31:34,724 He started pouring the gasoline around the house and yelling 409 00:31:34,793 --> 00:31:37,655 that I was a whore and a slut, 410 00:31:37,655 --> 00:31:39,379 [indistinct shouting] 411 00:31:39,379 --> 00:31:42,517 and he was gonna burn us all 412 00:31:42,586 --> 00:31:45,241 if I didn't do what was told of me. 413 00:31:45,241 --> 00:31:47,000 [as Chevo] You're disgusting! 414 00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:51,793 "If you don't stop seeing Rudy, I'm gonna burn this house 415 00:31:51,793 --> 00:31:56,379 down, and nobody will be able to see you or the kids anymore." 416 00:31:57,586 --> 00:31:58,586 [as Laura] Chevo! 417 00:31:58,586 --> 00:32:00,517 -Get out of here, go! -[as Chevo grunts] 418 00:32:00,586 --> 00:32:04,586 I felt like my uncle was psychotic. 419 00:32:04,586 --> 00:32:06,689 It was just crazy. 420 00:32:06,689 --> 00:32:11,620 In that moment, I believed he can do it and he would. 421 00:32:12,793 --> 00:32:18,000 My aunt was able to calm him down and take him inside. 422 00:32:18,068 --> 00:32:22,137 After that, I knew I had to find a way to escape 423 00:32:22,137 --> 00:32:23,689 and protect my children. 424 00:32:26,275 --> 00:32:28,275 I was not safe in that house. 425 00:32:38,896 --> 00:32:42,068 My uncle needed to be in a mental house. 426 00:32:42,068 --> 00:32:45,137 It was cruel and evil. 427 00:32:45,137 --> 00:32:48,034 I was done being in there. 428 00:32:48,034 --> 00:32:51,827 I believed that my kids and myself were in danger. 429 00:32:51,896 --> 00:32:54,275 So I told Rudy, enough is enough. 430 00:32:54,275 --> 00:32:57,310 I'm done. I want to get out of here. 431 00:32:57,379 --> 00:33:01,000 My aunt and uncle were at work, and he told me be ready. 432 00:33:01,000 --> 00:33:02,241 And that's what I did. 433 00:33:02,241 --> 00:33:06,724 I ended up getting a pair of clothes for me, maybe two to 434 00:33:06,793 --> 00:33:08,896 three pairs of clothes for my kids. 435 00:33:08,896 --> 00:33:12,344 And that's all I left with. 436 00:33:12,344 --> 00:33:16,000 I was scared for my life and Rudy's life 437 00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:18,551 and everybody's life in that house. 438 00:33:18,551 --> 00:33:22,655 I was worried that my uncle was gonna find out 439 00:33:22,655 --> 00:33:24,172 and come after me. 440 00:33:24,172 --> 00:33:28,862 I never knew if my uncle was planning to show up 441 00:33:28,862 --> 00:33:30,310 and kill us. 442 00:33:40,896 --> 00:33:47,000 I held this secret in for so long that when I finally went 443 00:33:47,068 --> 00:33:51,000 to the police department to tell my secret, 444 00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:52,793 I was terrified. 445 00:33:54,586 --> 00:33:58,586 I was afraid that they wouldn't believe me. 446 00:33:58,586 --> 00:34:03,896 I was shaking in fear because I didn't know 447 00:34:03,896 --> 00:34:05,482 what was gonna happen. 448 00:34:05,482 --> 00:34:10,000 I didn't know if I was going to get in trouble as well. 449 00:34:10,068 --> 00:34:14,000 I was still in that mindset that my uncle told me, 450 00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:15,896 I would go to jail too. 451 00:34:17,068 --> 00:34:21,931 All of those years that my uncle put all of those 452 00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:25,068 thoughts in my head were still in my mind. 453 00:34:26,379 --> 00:34:30,068 After telling the cops, I realized that he had been 454 00:34:30,068 --> 00:34:32,516 lying to me and was wrong. 455 00:34:43,137 --> 00:34:48,000 I cried in disbelief. It was finally over. 456 00:34:49,034 --> 00:34:52,482 I was in shock. I couldn't believe it. 457 00:34:52,482 --> 00:34:56,688 And I still couldn't believe it until we went to trial 458 00:34:56,688 --> 00:35:00,310 and actually saw them in their orange suits with 459 00:35:00,379 --> 00:35:01,931 their handcuffs on. 460 00:35:03,482 --> 00:35:05,896 Seeing him like that in court 461 00:35:06,689 --> 00:35:12,000 made me realize that he wasn't powerful, 462 00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:14,413 that he wasn't going to make 463 00:35:15,172 --> 00:35:16,862 nobody hurt no more. 464 00:35:16,862 --> 00:35:20,896 The prosecutor had asked me if I... 465 00:35:21,448 --> 00:35:25,551 ...uh, wanted to do an impact statement. 466 00:35:25,551 --> 00:35:29,724 I wanted them to hear from my voice. 467 00:35:34,551 --> 00:35:37,000 This is my... 468 00:35:38,172 --> 00:35:41,896 ...impact statement to my Uncle Chevo. 469 00:35:44,379 --> 00:35:47,931 You were supposed to be my guardian 470 00:35:48,793 --> 00:35:50,137 and my father, 471 00:35:50,862 --> 00:35:55,103 to raise me and to take care of me, to love me, but yet 472 00:35:55,103 --> 00:35:56,896 you did the opposite. 473 00:35:56,896 --> 00:35:59,965 You took my childhood away from me. 474 00:35:59,965 --> 00:36:02,620 Chevo, you tormented me 475 00:36:03,551 --> 00:36:07,379 and tortured me for more than a decade. 476 00:36:11,068 --> 00:36:12,620 You are a monster. 477 00:36:12,689 --> 00:36:18,896 You will not hurt me or my two beautiful, wonderful daughters 478 00:36:18,896 --> 00:36:20,586 and anyone else... 479 00:36:22,689 --> 00:36:23,931 ...innocent... 480 00:36:26,172 --> 00:36:27,310 [under breath] I'm sorry. 481 00:36:32,344 --> 00:36:38,172 ...and take anyone else's innocence away from them. 482 00:36:40,793 --> 00:36:43,413 The punishment you receive today 483 00:36:44,379 --> 00:36:47,896 is the punishment you deserve for being so evil. 484 00:36:50,793 --> 00:36:54,931 It was hard to read this in the courtroom because I was 485 00:36:55,000 --> 00:36:56,103 face-to-face with him, 486 00:36:57,655 --> 00:37:01,137 and the coward that he is, couldn't even look up 487 00:37:01,137 --> 00:37:04,965 and acknowledge that I was there, but I was fine with it. 488 00:37:04,965 --> 00:37:09,655 It just felt like I needed to tell him these words and let 489 00:37:09,655 --> 00:37:12,310 him know what he was. 490 00:37:12,379 --> 00:37:17,724 It helped me cope just a tiny bit, just to let him know 491 00:37:17,793 --> 00:37:20,241 he was a monster, he was a coward, 492 00:37:21,689 --> 00:37:24,862 and that he wasn't going to do this to anybody else. 493 00:37:24,862 --> 00:37:27,068 And he got what he deserved. 494 00:37:46,793 --> 00:37:51,724 When I heard their sentences, I felt like I got my justice. 495 00:37:53,344 --> 00:37:59,931 But he didn't spend that much time in prison, because he died. 496 00:38:01,862 --> 00:38:06,758 I was pissed off because I wanted him to suffer longer 497 00:38:06,758 --> 00:38:08,931 like he made me suffer 498 00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:11,034 all these years. 499 00:38:21,655 --> 00:38:25,275 I was always taught to forgive but don't forget 500 00:38:26,586 --> 00:38:28,137 because God sees that. 501 00:38:30,482 --> 00:38:32,517 I forgive these evil people. 502 00:38:33,793 --> 00:38:36,931 I'm healing myself for forgiving them. 503 00:38:42,000 --> 00:38:45,655 It's for me to let go of 504 00:38:45,655 --> 00:38:49,068 everything that they have done to me. 505 00:39:03,379 --> 00:39:07,655 Rudy gave me the courage to start fighting again. 506 00:39:07,655 --> 00:39:13,517 It brought a light to my life and knowing that there was 507 00:39:13,586 --> 00:39:17,689 something to fight for and not to give up. 508 00:39:19,689 --> 00:39:23,793 I feel without Rudy, I would still be there at that house 509 00:39:23,793 --> 00:39:25,172 with my aunt and uncle. 510 00:39:26,068 --> 00:39:27,896 He's been a rock for me. 511 00:39:27,896 --> 00:39:31,482 My brother and sister and I don't have much of 512 00:39:31,482 --> 00:39:33,206 a relationship anymore. 513 00:39:34,137 --> 00:39:36,689 And I just wish I had that with them. 514 00:39:38,482 --> 00:39:43,517 But now my kids and my husband are my world. 515 00:39:44,793 --> 00:39:47,931 I couldn't be here without them. 516 00:39:48,000 --> 00:39:50,620 My life now, I never thought it was possible. 517 00:39:51,275 --> 00:39:53,586 I never thought I would 518 00:39:55,896 --> 00:39:58,413 be so happy and, um, 519 00:40:00,896 --> 00:40:05,103 raising my kids and teaching them right from wrong. 520 00:40:06,241 --> 00:40:11,862 I don't want my kids to ever think that I regretted 521 00:40:11,862 --> 00:40:12,862 having them. 522 00:40:12,862 --> 00:40:16,103 I, in a million years, 523 00:40:16,103 --> 00:40:19,275 will never regret having kids 524 00:40:20,172 --> 00:40:24,310 because I love them so much, and I'll do anything for them. 525 00:40:25,896 --> 00:40:28,931 They helped me heal. They helped me be happy. 526 00:40:30,000 --> 00:40:31,689 I live for them, I -- 527 00:40:32,793 --> 00:40:38,793 I leave the past in the past for them so I can get up 528 00:40:38,793 --> 00:40:43,103 and make my kids happy and my husband happy. 529 00:40:44,344 --> 00:40:49,034 I see people that have not told their stories 530 00:40:49,034 --> 00:40:51,068 and I want them to 531 00:40:51,862 --> 00:40:56,689 be okay with, you know, getting the help that they need 532 00:40:56,689 --> 00:40:59,931 when it's time for them to speak out. 533 00:41:01,379 --> 00:41:05,482 I'm very hopeful that they see this 534 00:41:05,482 --> 00:41:08,758 and they won't be so scared 535 00:41:08,758 --> 00:41:11,689 to tell the story that they went through. 536 00:41:18,068 --> 00:41:20,862 ♪♪ 537 00:41:20,862 --> 00:41:24,379 He definitely aspired to be like Ted Bundy. 538 00:41:24,379 --> 00:41:26,827 What a mean son of a bitch. 539 00:41:26,896 --> 00:41:29,413 This is the face of evil, right here. 540 00:41:29,482 --> 00:41:31,827 You're a sorry piece of [bleep], 541 00:41:31,896 --> 00:41:35,241 and I'm glad that you can't hurt anybody anymore.