Nameless

Photo by VOX Girls Group

By Name Withheld | VOX Girls Group

When I was in the 8th grade and 14 years old, I was kidnapped and raped by a 30-year-old male.

Where it all started
One weekend day around noon I had just woke up when I noticed my mom had already left for work. I’m always home alone when my mom’s at work, so I’m used to it. I opened the front door of my apartment and noticed that the screen door was unlocked, so I had to find the key to lock it.

The trouble begins
I went to the back room of my apartment to get the key, and when I returned to the front room a strange man was standing in my living room. I didn’t know who he was, so I ran and started screaming. I ran to my mom’s room but I forgot that she was at work. He came behind me: “Give me your money!” he shouted.
He told me that if I didn’t go with him he would kill me and my mother. He didn’t have a weapon, but he was holding me so I couldn’t get away. We left and he didn’t let me take anything with me.

The Take Off
We walked to the nearest train station, which was down the street from my apartment, and he was telling me to act normal or else he would hurt me very bad. Somehow, he knew my name. I was crying and very scared.
He took me to a hotel in an area that I recognized because I had been there before, but don’t remember when. I was raped by him every day for over a month.

Guess who?
I realized when I was there that I had met him awhile ago on a dating chat room on the Internet, but never in person. I realized this because when I first started talking to him on-line his girlfriend found out and told me his real name, but I didn’t believe what she said about him.
When I was at the hotel I took his wallet out of his pants when he wasn’t paying attention and got his social security card. On the card was the same name his girlfriend had given me a while back. Though I didn’t tell him where I lived, he found my address. How he found out my address is still a mystery.

Long days and cold nights!
For the time I was with him, if he went somewhere he would take me with him. We went everywhere together — like to the store, to get something to eat and to pay for the hotel. We didn’t speak to each other very much. Every time I would try to escape, he would beat me. I was so scared. I would try to run out the door while he was a sleep or in the bathroom. I even tried to run while walking to the store. He would strike me with his hands and threaten to kill me.

Surviving ...
He fed me everyday. I ate fast food like, everyday. Sometimes when I made him mad he would threaten not to feed me. One day he took me to my house to get my clothes because I told him my mom was at work, but I really didn’t know.
I went in my house, and my mom’s boyfriend was in the house asleep on the couch. I went to my room and got my clothes while the male was waiting on me. I walked back out of the house, and my mom’s boyfriend saw me and the male walking. My mom’s boyfriend started chasing the male I was with, and I continued to walk to the train station. I was about to go to my mom’s job, but the male caught up with me. He took me back to the hotel and raped me over and over again.

The Trouble Ends for Now
One night he took me over to his grandfather’s house. His grandfather didn’t know I was there, but we spent the night. That morning I told him that I was going to scream so his grandfather would hear me if he didn’t let me leave. We left and we were heading to the bus stop. I tried to run but he caught me in an apartment complex parking lot and started beating me. He hit me everywhere on my body with his hands.
His phone had fallen out of his pocket, but he didn’t know. I grabbed it and called 9-1-1. I told them my name and tried to tell them what was happening to me. The man then grabbed his phone and hung it up. He started beating me again. The police traced my call and came to where I was. They told me someone else saw him beating me and also called.

Rescue Me!
I was sitting on the brick wall waiting for the police when they showed up. The man told me I could stay there if I wanted to, but then said, “they aren’t going to believe you.” The man went down to the banister of the apartments where we were. He saw the police coming toward him, so he ran. The police put me in the car and got some information from me about the situation. The police were asking me all types of questions like my name, my address, age, date of birth, mothers name, etc. The police had me thinking that I was in trouble.
The police tried to find the man, but he had disappeared. The police transported me to the hospital where my mom was waiting, and the doctors did a rape kit. They had to put these weird objects inside of my vagina to make sure I didn’t have any diseases. My mom kept asking me questions, but I didn’t answer her.
Everything turned out fine with me. I didn’t have any STDs or other complications from the ongoing rapes. I learned that Web chat lines can be a very dangerous thing. I am very lucky because most people who get kidnapped and raped don’t survive. I could have been dead.

Here We Go Again!
After the doctors got through with me, my mom took me over to my sister’s house because I wanted to see her and my niece and nephew. That morning, my probation officer called and told my mom that she wanted me to go to the Juvenile Justice Center, so I could go to Metro Regional Youth Detention Center for court.
I was clueless because I didn’t know why I was going to court. My probation officer thought I ran away, even though I really was kidnapped.
The reason she thought that was because I have a history of running away. I tried other times, but usually came home on my own. One time though she came and found me. I wanted to leave home because I didn’t want to listen to anyone or follow rules.
My sister told me I was going to Metro and I was like “Wow! What for?! ? That’s crazy.” I didn’t understand what I had done to have to go there.
My dad came to pick me up from my sister’s house, and he dropped me off at the Juvenile Justice Center. I sat down there in a cell for awhile, then the police took me to Metro. I was thinking: Why am I going to jail when I didn’t do anything?

Angela’s House
When I first got to Metro I was on white card then I worked my way up to gold card. When you first go to jail, you start on white card. It’s called a level system. In this system you earn privileges. Before I got on gold card I had got into a fight with a girl because my friend and I were playing, and my friend pushed me on her by accident and the girl got mad. After that one thing led to another.
Anyway, I made it to gold card, and I started getting more privileges. I was very happy to leave Metro RYDC because you can’t do anything there. I think Metro is a lockdown facility. I am very happy to be at Angela’s House because I get more freedom.

The writer, 14, is a survivor, and is happy to be at Angela’s House.