A False Sense of Peace
I've been sitting with some information for the last several days, trying to make sense of it and come to a place of peace. I'm still unsettled, however, and I'm not a big fan of being unsettled. In 2002 I pressed charges against my grandfather with the intent of having him register as a sex offender. Eleven years after telling about the abuse, I learned there had been others before me and I was horrified to think there could have been others even after I told. In rare cases, abusers only have one victim and because no one else came forward when I did, I thought my situation was one of those rare ones. When I realized I wasn't the only one he abused, I wanted to at least make sure his neighbors were aware of what he was capable of. He was sentenced to 5 years probation and had to pay a fine along with registering as a sex offender. I checked the registry one day not long after to see if he was on there and he wasn't. I called the attorney's office and found