KAYLA'S STORY — HER VOICE. HER TRUTH.
ANADARKO — These brave women have trusted us with some of the most personal parts of their lives, and we know it isn't easy to revisit those memories, let alone share them with the world.
As we read through each story, our hearts broke. More than anything, we wished we could reach through the screen, wrap our arms around their younger selves, and tell them everything they deserved to hear.
If we could say anything to those little girls, it would be this:
You were just a child. You deserved to be protected, believed, and loved. What happened to you was never your fault, and there was nothing you could have done to deserve it. We hope you know just how incredibly brave you are. We hope the little girl inside you has found, or is beginning to find, the peace, love, and healing she deserved all along. She deserved to feel safe. She deserved to be protected. She deserved to simply be a child. And above all else, we hope she knows that none of what happened was ever her fault.
Those are the words we wish every survivor could have heard when they needed them most.
So once again, we're stepping back so another courageous woman can share her truth. Next, it's Kayla's turn to be heard. The words you're about to read are hers, shared in her own words.
“What happened to me is something that has stayed with me for years. Even after all this time, it still lingers in the back of my mind. I find myself wondering how many other girls he did this to. One of the hardest things to accept is that it didn’t stop when I graduated high school. Even as an adult, he continued trying to pursue me, asking me to dinner and reaching out as if what he had done was somehow normal.
His actions changed the way I see the world. They changed the conversations I’ve had to have with my 11-year-old son far earlier than I ever wanted. I’ve had to teach him about boundaries, grooming, and protecting himself because I know firsthand that the people who hurt children aren’t always strangers.
There is another part that has been especially emotional for me. While I was going through this investigation and preparing to face him in court, I was pregnant with my daughter. I spent months carrying new life while reliving one of the darkest parts of my own. The thought of raising a little girl in a world where people like him exist has brought me to tears more times than I can count.
Even now, there are nights when I cry because my mind won’t stop replaying everything. I think about him. I think about the other victims. I think about the children who may still be vulnerable to people like him. Trauma doesn’t end when a sentence is handed down.
One of the hardest things I’ve had to work through is the guilt. I still catch myself wondering if I somehow put myself in those situations, even though I know logically that I was a child and none of this was my fault. That’s what abuse does. It steals your sense of safety, makes you question your own judgment, and leaves wounds that aren’t visible to anyone else.
Speaking out wasn’t easy. There were so many times I wanted to stay silent because I was afraid of the judgment that comes with being a victim. But if telling my story helps even one child be protected, or helps one survivor realize they aren’t alone, then it was worth finding my voice.”
— Kayla Tate
