Very distressing news.

[Mother Of Four]

52. It's horrifying to hear this about someone who was or is in your life.

A former boyfriend from high school. We parted on good terms. He and I would message and catch up a couple of times a year, but then he disappeared from social media. I googled him and found news articles about what he'd done. Thank everything good that he never came in contact with either my family or myself in person.

He had done it to children he knew personally and just had a baby a couple of years prior. He was convicted. I had known him for over 35 years.

It's sickening, it's sad, it's horrifying. It makes you question everything. I don't know about you but I asked myself many times "What was I blind to? WHY didn't I SEE? Why didn't I KNOW...?" The rage, the disgust, the hatred. The unreasoning feeling, completely illogical, that I could have done something- anything, to prevent it.

The reality being I was only seeing what he wanted me to see since it was all online. The reality makes you feel helpless.

Yes, there is innocent until proven guilty. In most other things I would stand by that. However, I subscribe to the belief that distance or absence is best until proven innocent in cases such as these. I will never apologize for standing by the child until proven otherwise.

Writing them may seem like a good idea, but I feel it would be poisoning yourself. They are already in your head, and it's already hurting your heart. In my case, I still sometimes feel that bile taste in the back of my throat when a thought however fleeting pops up. I feel tainted by even knowing him, imho this person does not deserve another second of your effort or attention.

If it comes out that they are innocent, choose what to do then. If they are a genuinely good person, they should understand the reasoning that protecting a child comes first. For now, stand with the child. JM2C