APD Creates Special Victims Unit: Mother of Sex Assault Victim Speaks Out
By: Homa Bash
Updated: January 16, 2013
The statistics are shocking.
One in three girls, one in five boys, will be sexually assaulted by the time they turn 17.
"It was a horrible shock for me when my 7-year-old came and told me what his daddy was doing to him when I was at work," said Brandy Jones.
Jones' son was just seven years old when he told his mother he was a victim of sex assault, throwing the door wide open to a frightening world she never thought they would be a part of.
"My son was suicidal," she said. "Can you imagine a 7-year-old being suicidal? That's hard to deal with."
And that's where the Abilene Police Department's newly created Special Victims Unit comes in.
"We have seen an increase in victim awareness and one of the positives of the SVU is that we know where to go directly to get help for our victims" said Diane Dotson, Executive Director at the Regional Victim Crisis Center in Abilene.
"You don't have to live with someone demeaning you, hitting you, beating you, yanking your hair. They're getting that information on the scene," said Leigh Ann Fry, Executive Director at the Noah Project.
The collaboration between police, the Noah Project, Child Protective Services and the Regional Victim Crisis Center has been around for decades.
But now, thanks to a growing population that has resulted in a rise in crime, it has a formal unit dedicated to it -- a way to make sure no one falls through the cracks.
"We have a chance at providing some victims some avenues to help themselves get out of some situations, not just by arresting someone, because that's not always the solution," said Lt. Gary Bone, who heads APD's Criminal Investigations Unit.
For Jones and her son, it has offered the one thing they needed the very most.
"He has closure. And that's important for any victim in their cases, by seeing justice brought to their perpetrators."
The Special Victims Unit was created in November 2012. It currently has six detectives on staff.
One in three girls, one in five boys, will be sexually assaulted by the time they turn 17.
"It was a horrible shock for me when my 7-year-old came and told me what his daddy was doing to him when I was at work," said Brandy Jones.
Jones' son was just seven years old when he told his mother he was a victim of sex assault, throwing the door wide open to a frightening world she never thought they would be a part of.
"My son was suicidal," she said. "Can you imagine a 7-year-old being suicidal? That's hard to deal with."
And that's where the Abilene Police Department's newly created Special Victims Unit comes in.
"We have seen an increase in victim awareness and one of the positives of the SVU is that we know where to go directly to get help for our victims" said Diane Dotson, Executive Director at the Regional Victim Crisis Center in Abilene.
"You don't have to live with someone demeaning you, hitting you, beating you, yanking your hair. They're getting that information on the scene," said Leigh Ann Fry, Executive Director at the Noah Project.
The collaboration between police, the Noah Project, Child Protective Services and the Regional Victim Crisis Center has been around for decades.
But now, thanks to a growing population that has resulted in a rise in crime, it has a formal unit dedicated to it -- a way to make sure no one falls through the cracks.
"We have a chance at providing some victims some avenues to help themselves get out of some situations, not just by arresting someone, because that's not always the solution," said Lt. Gary Bone, who heads APD's Criminal Investigations Unit.
For Jones and her son, it has offered the one thing they needed the very most.
"He has closure. And that's important for any victim in their cases, by seeing justice brought to their perpetrators."
The Special Victims Unit was created in November 2012. It currently has six detectives on staff.
