SOUTH CAROLINA
WYFF
Myra Ruiz
Anchor/Reporter
GREENVILLE, S.C. —
A woman whose sexual assault case inspired the country’s first sex offender registry spoke at a luncheon on Tuesday to benefit the Julie Valentine Center.
Allison Black Cornelius, who was sexually assaulted by her Sunday school teacher at the age of 7, was the keynote speaker at the annual Julie Valentine Luncheon at the T.D. Convention Center.
Cornelius came forward when she was in her 20s, after learning that her offender was working as a youth pastor.
“That ended up with a trip to the Supreme Court,” Cornelius said. “We won that case against him in criminal court. It was the oldest rape ever convicted in the United States.”
Cornelius went on to spearhead the passage of Megan’s Law in 36 states.
“At the end of the day, I believe a family’s right to know that an offender is living near them trumps whatever cost — whatever we have to do,” Cornelius said.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.