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(aka Bike) Part 1230 by Angharad Copyright © 2011 Angharad
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“Problems?” Si asked, as he came into the bedroom.
“Shut the door, please.”
He looked bemused but complied with my request. “What’s going on?” he could see that I was looking serious and Trish had been crying.
“Trish was asking me some questions about sex.”
“Yeah–that’s what mothers are for isn’t it, answering questions that fathers can’t.” He smiled but in meeting my look his smile faded very quickly. “Okay, what’s happened?”
“Trish has just informed me that she was sexually assaulted at the children’s home by a boy called Ben Bowditch, he used to penetrate her anally against her wishes. From her description, I have no doubt this happened and more than once.”
“How old was he?” asked Simon.
“I think he was about nine or ten.”
“So Danny’s age?” Simon surmised.
“Danny and Billie will know him,” said Trish.
“So what do we do?” he asked looking at me.
“I don’t know.” I cuddled Trish to me, I’d have preferred she hadn’t been there while we were discussing this but I couldn’t abandon her after being told this. “I need to make a couple of phone calls can she stay with you while I do so?”
“C’mon, Trish, let’s find a nice book to read while Mummy makes some calls.”
She looked anxiously at me, “You are coming back, Mummy? You’re not cross with me? You’re not going to send me back there are you?” she began to cry again.
“Send you back? Good lord, no. You’re our little girl so we’re all stuck with each other.” Perhaps not the best phrasing I could use but that’s how it came out.
“Mummy’s cross with me, she thinks I’m a dirty girl,” she held on to me and cried even harder.
“Hey, shush-shush-shush, I love you, Trish, so does Daddy. I don’t think any differently about you than I did before you told me about this. I’m concerned because I love you and I want some advice about what I need to do next.”
“You’re not going to send me away–to prison?” She became very agitated.
“Prison? Why?”
“Because I did naughty sex.”
“You told me that he did it against your wishes, is that right?”
“Yes,” she sobbed, clinging to me like a limpet.
“He did it against your wishes?”
She nodded and her tears dripped on the floor.
“And you at no time encouraged him to do it?”
“No,” she whimpered.
“Right, go and sit with Daddy a minute, as soon as I’ve made the calls I’ll be back to hug you some more.”
“You’re not going to send me away?”
“Trish, this is your home, I’m your mother, Simon is your daddy. We love you, no one is ever going to harm you again if ever we can prevent it. We won’t discuss this with the others for the moment, not because it’s dirty or anything, but because we need to deal with this quietly in the family so as not to cause any embarrassment or further hurt.”
Simon picked her up and went off to her room to get a book, I ran down to the study and begged Tom to let me use the phone from there. He gave me a funny look but quit the room and I shut the door behind him.
I looked up my address book and called the new number for St Nicholas Children’s Home. Someone answered. “Hello, I’m trying to get in touch with Nora Cunningham, it’s quite an urgent matter and it’s very private.”
“She won’t be in ‘till the mornin’.”
“Do you have a private number?”
“Yeah, but I can’t give that out to anyone.”
“I’m not asking you to do that, will you take my number and call her and ask her to phone me urgently.” I gave my name and number.
“Lady Cameron?”
“Yes.”
“Didn’t know we ‘ad such posh contacts–you gonna open our fete?”
“Possibly, just ask her to ring me urgently, it’s very important.”
“Okey-dokey.”
I began to wonder if she’d get the message, if she didn’t call me back I’d try again tomorrow. I wondered how long it would take to get to Wantage–it’s up near Oxford, I think. Si will know, he’s probably played rugger there.
I called Stephanie, who was out and I left a message on her ansafone. I half expected a message like, If you’re neurotic press one, depressed — which ever key will make you feel better, schizophrenic press two or three, bi-polar press one or zero, paranoid — press any you don’t think will get you and psychotic, press the belly button on the first little green man you see...
What was I thinking about–anything but dealing with Trish again. She’s carried this for at least a couple or more years apparently without symptoms–was it worrying her? I suppose it must have done, but she showed no symptoms of it–that’s the puzzling part. I believe her because she sounded so matter of fact about the detail and because I’m her mother. She isn’t given to telling lies–no, it happened, now how do I prevent that little bastard who did it to her, harming anyone else?
The look in Simon’s eye suggested if he met up with him, he’d never do it again, but getting violent isn’t the answer, we need all the facts and we need to do this by the book, if only to cover ourselves.
As I was cogitating the phone rang and I nearly jumped out of my skin. “Hello, Cathy Cameron speaking.”
“Congratulations, you just won first prize in a lottery, here in Canada...” I disconnected the spam. How can anyone fall for such obvious crap? If he called himself your fairy godmother, it couldn’t be any less obvious, could it?
I surrendered Tom’s sanctuary back to him and he asked me what had happened, or the Lallans equivalent. I declined to tell him just yet. I went to make myself a cuppa and had just finished it when the phone rang again. If it was the same lunatic spammer, I was going to complain to telecom. It wasn’t it was Nora.
“Hello, Lady Cameron, are you going to open our fete then?”
“When is it?”
“May.”
“Contact me nearer the time and I’ll see if I can fit it in.”
“Okay, I’ll do that. Is that all you wanted?”
“No, hold on a second.” I shut the kitchen door and locked it. “Is Ben Bowditch still with you?”
“I can’t tell you that, Cathy, you should know that, but why are you interested, you surely don’t want to foster him, do you?”
“No, he’d be the last child I’d want to help at this moment.”
“Oh no, nothing has happened to Patricia, has it? Recurrence of her injury or anything?”
“No, but she’s just told me a very interesting thing about Ben Bowditch.”
“What’s he supposed to have done now? He really was her bogeyman.”
“He raped her several times.”
“He was nine or ten, Cathy?”
“I don’t care–did you know he pushed her down the stairs because she was going to tell you about it?”
“No I didn’t.”
“Now, is he still there?”
“Are you sure she wasn’t just fantasising? Little girls do strange things, you know?”
“No, her manner left me in no doubt this was real and she didn’t tell me before because she didn’t have the words to describe it.”
“I’d better come and see her as soon as I can, I’ll need to speak with her with you or Simon present.”
“Do I need to inform the police or social services?”
“Don’t do anything except comfort her until we’ve met, I’ll come down tomorrow first thing–should be there about ten.”
“Fine, I’ll see you then.”
I went back up to find Trish and she was fast asleep in Simon’s arms. “Want me to take her, darling?” I whispered to him.
“No, I’m alright, when my arms get tired I’ll bring her in to you–I’d try and get some sleep if I were you.” I left him cuddling her on the bed–our bed, poo, I’ll have to sleep in her bed. I undressed and pulled on a nightdress cleaned my teeth and after removing the zoo of soft toys, including the mutant dormouse, I climbed into her bed and tried to sleep–it was going to be a long night.
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Comments
Worked up
This one has me stirred. I have got through the brutality of my own story, but this one affects me more.Perhaps because of the age, more probably because it isn't dropping into the middle of a disfunctional family. Polite, comfortable society and an abomnable act.
I am so glad
ALISON
'that you have lightened it up a bit,you caught me off guard yesterday and I lost my lunch.But I am glad that you are showing the things which do happen,despite the "Bleeding Hearts"who insist that it doesn't.It does occur and is far more prevalent than the authorities would have us believe.
Well done,as always!
ALISON
That's the problem with fall-out
You never know how far it will travel and when it might hit you. Two years of hurt bottled up, just because she didn't have the words?
At least it's not being swept under the carpet and "didn't happen".
S.
Bike pt 1230
Me thinks that Ben is about to pay for what he did,
May Your Light Forever Shine
May Your Light Forever Shine
How would you envision a thirteen year old pay?
...seriously; an eleven year old offender is quite different from an adult even when the victim is hurt as deeply in the same manner. What I'd like to see is if this kid's birth family is around or if he was in foster care in a family before he came to the home. Hypersexualized child offenders are virtually always victims. Someone damaged this kid before he even got to the home, or God forbid, he was victimized by a staff member, which isn't uncommon in an institutionalized setting. This isn't a "mean little kid," however he might be perceived by the authorities. And like I said, he likely has offended more children, since this is a problem that never gets better and only gets worse without some serious psychiatric help. But first and foremost, God protect this poor family...It makes you wonder how much more they can endure.
Amendment: Cathy shouldn't allow anyone near this kid without her therapist present. Any investigation should be done by a third party because the child is already in placement and a representative of the home would have blatant conflict of interest, not even taking into account what everyone has already said about the harm it would do the child.
Dio vi benedica tutti
Con grande amore e di affetto
Andrea Lena
Love, Andrea Lena
The 13 year old.
I agree with everything you said in your comment. We know that Trish will heal with sufficent care and love. I absolutely believe that because if healing and forgiveness can not happen then those of us who are victims may as well drink bleach.
As far as the boy is concerned, if he can not be made a non-offender, and is likely doomed to a life in prisons, then I would seriously ask the question about castration. My own nature changed so much after my castration that I think it should be the prefered treatment for sexual offenders. Sure, freeze some sperm for the kid if he does get his life on an even keel and marry. There needs to be a whole societal shift in the way these offenses are handled.
Looking at it critically, having Police does not work, prisons do not work, punishment does not work unless provision is not made to prevent re-offense. Since provision would be made for the benefit of the offenders future, I do not view castration as harsh.
Much peace
Khadijah
Cathy and Simon
Lord and Lady Cameron really do have their hands full of children with issues.
My concern is whether they themselves have the skills to handle this situation. They need to give Trish love and support without neglecting the other children, and at the same time establish clear boundaries so that Trish doesn't become a selfish, know-it-all prig. It's something of a tightrope that they're going to have to walk, as we remember that Trish is always willing to take matters into her own hands (cf Part 1105).
Thanks A+B: I don't know how you manage to write about these matters: commenting is not easy, either.
Parenting Surety
Bike Resources
Bike Resources
Trish's future
Somehow, I think this might help ground her a bit and give her some understanding of what hurting others means. I just pray it does not lead her towards self-destructive behaviour thinking she is damaged goods. To have been treated like that at that age, not fun at all. By the way Ang, this did hit home a little close for me, but talking it through does help. 'Nuff said.
Diana
I'm left wondering who else
I'm left wondering who else Ben may have done this to, as he is apparently a larger child, regardless of his age, than most there in the home. This couldn't have been a one of with Trish, as he seems to know what it is he was doing and how to do it. So that also begs the question exactly where did he learn how to do this, and from whom? Is that two questions? Sorry. I also hope that with Nora showing up in the morning that this doesn't set Trish off once more thinking and possibly believing that She is being sent back to the home. Cathy had better explain to her before Nora arrives why she is coming to their residence.
I can't swear well enough in UK English, so...
I think this boy is a bloody bastard. Of course, he was only 10 and perhaps the rape is more a signal of poor supervision than anything.
I worry that the Ms Cunningham is coming down to shut Trish up, or confuse her enough so that her testimony will not have any value. Were I Cathy, I'd have called the plod before Ms Cunningham. Of course, I have been accused of overreacting before and of being paranoid too.
My rape was so painful that I blanked it out until I was in my 30s.
Much peace
Khadijah
how many people will Trish have to tell her story to?
... and how many will try to question her memory of the event, make her doubt it?
Stephanie needs to see the kid, before anybody else. Then the authorities. Let them decide if she's credible, and how to proceed.
She should NOT be talking to some foster-home woman who let it happen on her watch.
Age of criminal responsibility
Hi
In the UK, the age of criminal responsibility is ten. Therefore if Ben was nine, he can't be held legally responsible for what he did
Karen
perhaps not legally
But the kid is damaged, and almost certainly the product of abuse himself. He needs to be kept from hurting other kids.
Very thin ice.
Alarm bells in my head started ringing when Mrs Cunningham requested that Cathy contact nobody else.
That's leaving Cathy open and vulnerable to blackmail if social services learn that they were not told immediately.
Cathy should at least protect her a--e and contact Trish's therapist, then decided whether to contact both the police and the SS.
There could be a serious conflict of interest and it could be demonstrated at a trial if Mrs Cunningham were to visit Trish without some sort of legal or medical accompanyment and attendance. It's no good just Cathie and or Simon even being present. Cathy should have an independent, preferably professional witness and additionally some sort of recording of Mrs Cunningham's visit.
Ware, ware Cathy. Look after the kid trish with all your might, with all you heart and with all your love.
Beverly.
Growing old disgracefully.
Her second call was to
Her second call was to Stephanie, the therapist .
I know I shouldn't be but
I'm still a little surprised that Trish of all the kids would not feel secure in her home and family. Hope Cathy and Simon can deeply and truely convince her that she IS their child and they will keep her with them until she decides to leave (in about 16 years). Even then they will welcome her back.
I have to admit some curiosity
how this gets handled. The boy needs help too, it sounds as if Trish's home life was the perfect remedy for her past. Stephan has her work cut out for her.
Forget Social Services.
This the subject that should push the buttons of all the readers. Just because the rapist is underage, dosen't make it OK. Don't forget the stigma the raped child has to bear. The rapist will continue to rape. This is the next serious crime after murder.
Karen