Anne Cleary grew up in a wealthy upstate New York suburb, the adored daughter of two hardworking professionals. She was popular, charming and a straight-A student. She was also the victim of sexual abuse beginning at the age of 4.

Her abuser was a trusted family member who was often left to care for her. He repeatedly fondled, molested and raped her. No one suspected a thing. Anne made it her job to pretend to be perfect on the outside to hide the fact that she was miserable and lost. She found the strength to push her abuser away when she was 12, but it would be another nine years before she told her secret.

The first thing he did was powder my butt, which doesn’t sound super sexual. Plenty of little kids get their diapers changed and bottoms powdered, which is exactly why it was so confusing. Progressively, it got worse. He fondled me, and showed me porn, which I certainly didn’t understand at such a young age. There was a lot of grabbing and touching — any time I was around. By the time I was 7, it had progressed to oral rape.

While it was happening, I would go limp. Some survivors talk about leaving their bodies — it’s called disassociation. I didn’t experience that, but I tried to numb myself as much as possible.

As the abuse progressed, he became more bold. It was no longer only behind closed doors. He would assault me when people were in the house — even in the next room. It’s like he knew I wasn’t going to say anything. He never threatened me not to tell, but I felt trapped. I didn’t feel like it would be OK to tell. I felt guilty, and I also felt like I had to protect other people. I was aware from a fairly young age that revealing this abuse would be very painful for other family members. So I kept it a secret.

I did try to hide. The times I did see him, I would put things up against my door so that he couldn’t get in or if he came into my room it would make a lot of noise. I wore extra clothes sometimes at night. I did things that were clearly not enough to stop it, but there were attempts to escape and not be left alone with him.

But I was left alone with him a lot. He was this older family member, 10 years older than me, so he could drive me to swim practice, take me to get lunch and babysit when my parents were out. I didn’t protest. I was a perfect victim in that regard. I never gave any indication that I was afraid or uncomfortable. I became an award-winning actress to conceal the truth.

It finally ended when I was 12. I remember every moment of that interaction like it was yesterday. He came into my room, came towards me and I pushed him. I said to him, “Never touch me again, you pervert.” And I watched him slowly slink away, like a snake.

Read remaining story here - http://yard.nigerianheadlines.com/Threads/i-was-a-victim-of-sexual-abuse-and-didnt-tell-for-17-years/

Hmm

Eleyi gidi gan. This 1 is serious oh..