BishopAccountability.org
Molestation Victim: Pain 'Never Goes Away'

By Tom Brockman
Nbci4
November 12, 2011

http://www2.nbc4i.com/member-center/share-this/print/?content=ar824313


As the Penn State scandal continues to grow, many are turning their attention to the alleged victims - kids.

Victims of molestation say those kids will likely be carrying this with them for the rest of their lives.

"As much as the pain lessens, it never goes away completely," says David Darr.

Darr has been carrying that pain with him for more than 50 years; ever since he says he and older his sister were sexually molested on a missionary trip to Africa by a missionary man.

At the time, Darr was just 7-years-old.

"I wanted to keep it a secret because of the shame that I felt over what had occurred to me," says Darr. "But when my sister broke her silence and my parents came to me, I didn't even want to admit it at that point either, but I did."

It has taken time and years of therapy for Darr to stop thinking about it on a daily basis.

However, when the Penn State scandal broke, the memories came flooding back.

"There's almost a shock and a sense of deep disappointment that things were not followed through properly with authorities," says Darr.

As questions continue to swirl around who knew what and when, he's thinking about one thing - the victims.

"What's going through my head is the pain that the boys themselves will have to endure, the lasting effects it will have on them, even with help," he says. "I would try to encourage these recent victims to start talking about it to the level that they can just for their own healing, rather than being silent about it."

Silence, that if not broken, he worries could lead to years of torment.

Contact: stories@nbc4i.com


Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.