Why going after the repub leadership is important...

[cynatnite]

This is a letter I wrote tonight to Nancy Pelosi. I felt she was the best person to understand the importance of holding the repuke leadership accountable for their inaction on Mark Foley. This story you are about to read is a deeply personal matter that I've never shared publicly. It's because of Mark Foley that I share it now and why I shared it with Nancy Pelosi. Names have been taken out in order to protect my daughter's identity.

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I am writing to you after much contemplation over events of the day reminded me of a horrible chapter of my daughter’s young life. The shocking and abhorrent behavior of Mark Foley has brought up memories of a time when my family and I struggled with a similar dilemma somewhat like this scandal now enveloping this man and the party he belongs to.

My daughter is a bright and beautiful teenager. She’s a member of Who’s Who, sings in her high school chorus, a member of the band and also a smart student who teachers enjoy in their classrooms. Three years ago, when she was thirteen, a friend introduced her to a man. He was very charming and basically swept this inexperienced girl off her feet. He was 22 years old at the time. My husband and I were completely unaware of the relationship.

It wasn’t long that his influence began having a negative impact. She began lying to us and sneaking off to meet him at his urging. I met him once and he assured me he was escorting her to church. He lied about his age and even though my gut told me something was wrong, I couldn’t define what it was.

After accidentally finding a letter when I was washing my daughter’s jeans I realized that this relationship was far more than what I was aware. I confronted my daughter and she confessed all. I was stunned and it was a kick to the gut finding out he had sexual relations with her. She had never been involved with any male prior to this time.

Protecting our daughter was first and foremost in my mind. I took her to our doctor, had her examined and tested. Thankfully, everything came back negative. She was physically fine. The emotional issues came to a head that day and she broke down crying. She realized she had been too young and was ashamed.

Contacting the authorities took some time to decide. I wasn’t looking to ruin someone’s life. It was the last thing I was interested in doing, but upon learning that this man had a history of preying on young girls such as her, we made the decision to report it. This man had to be stopped.

With the help of an understanding police detective, we got more evidence to use against him. It took a little while and the threat of a restraining order against this man who continued his attempts to contact my daughter, but we were finally able to get him arrested. He was convicted for three counts of statutory rape, sent to prison for a year and is now a registered sex offender. I have no idea if this is enough to dissuade the man to stop this horrible behavior. I can only hope that his predatory actions on young girls such as my daughter stops.

Ms. Pelosi, I pray you and your fellow congress members do everything you can to make sure those young men and women are protected from these horrible types of behavior. I do hope that those who did nothing while Mark Foley continued to stalk and prey on these young pages are taken to task for the obscene lack of action. This is truly disturbing not just for the disgusting behavior, but also those who protected this man. Those who stood by and did nothing in order to protect Mark Foley are as criminal as he is.

If I had done nothing while this young man continued to prey on my daughter, what kind of person does that make me, Ms. Pelosi? I think you know the answer to that.

Thank You for your time.

[Poiuyt]

1. Thank you for sharing that very personal story, cynatnite

I truly hope that your daughter is doing well.

If coming forward can save just one child, then you have done a great service.

[cynatnite]

2. She is doing really wonderful...

Thanks :)

[JohnnyLib2]

3. Thank you for your actions and for your post.

And above all for giving your daughter a better future.

[cynatnite]

4. For the DU moms

It's important we demand safety and protection of the children that are put in their trust.