Friday, October 13th 2017, my wife was raped by a minor. After going to the police, he said it was consensual, so it became a he said, she said affair. In the state of Texas, when there is a report of sex with a minor, the police are compelled to seek an arrest. Even though the minor is a physically fit football player, and my wife is a disabled woman, she is not an ideal victim because she is an adult and he is a minor. As such, she has suffered from victim shaming and has had a second victimization by the police. The perpetrator is not even being investigated, much less charged.
When my wife reported the rape, she was given free counseling by the state. The counselor turned out to be a Texas Woman's University student, who basically went down the list of questions on the clip board. Not helpful. My employer also offers counseling for free for the first 3 visits, and on the first visit alone, was met by a professional who was able to provide her a number of tools and tricks to help with coping with her PTSD. My wife was also given info on free legal aid provided by the state. To date, she has yet to meet the actual lawyer from legal aid.
My wife has found an excellent lawyer who can give her a fighting chance of not only clearing her name, but also to throw the book at the perpetrator who committed the crime in the first place. But like anything around these parts, if you want something good, you have to pay. A hefty $10,000 attorney fee is beyond our ability to afford, especially after the $2,500 non refundable bail to get my wife out of jail on April 3rd when the sheriffs came by with a warrant. Yes, she is given a public defender if she cannot afford a lawyer of her own, but you get what you pay for.
My wife has started a go fund me to try to come up with the money, for lack of any better option available. It is embarrassing to put this much of our personal information out in the public realm, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
www.gofundme.com/iamthevictim1 Here is the link to the go fund me. Any amount that can be donated would be greatly appreciated. Even if we don't hit the lofty $10K goal, if we can at least get to $3K so that we can retain the lawyer to represent us prior to the May 4th court hearing, it's a step in the right direction. I understand not everyone can donate. A signal boost would also greatly be appreciated.