Nasty uncle stole my innocence

Dear Pastor,

I have something bothering me that I want to talk to you about.

I am now 21 years old, but every time I look back at my experience, I say to myself that I should write to you about it. I am the only child for my mother and she lived with my grandparents and one of my uncles. My grandmother used to sell in the market, so she was always busy. My grandfather used to drive trucks, so he got up early and went off to work.

My mother got a job at an office and after I started attending school, my uncle used to pick me up from school and take me home. Sometimes he cooked before my parents got home. My uncle used to touch me inappropriately. I did not even understand what was going on at the time. One day I told my grandmother what he did, and she said he had no right to do that. She spoke to him about it, but he denied it.

My mother stopped him from picking me up at school and told me that I should not eat anything from him. That caused a big problem in the house. My grandmother told my mother that she should not believe everything I told her.

When I was 11 years old, my uncle exposed himself to me and told me that it was only a matter of time before I started to have sex.

My uncle and my mother made up. But when I was 14 years old, I was in the bathroom one day and my uncle came in there. He looked at my private parts and told me that it looked pretty. He started to give me money. At the age of 14, we were alone in the house when my uncle forced himself on me. I did not say anything to anybody because I was afraid that my mother would chop him up, as she had promised to do.

My mother found a man and she took me to live with her at his house. Whenever we go to see my grandparents, my uncle is always trying to be nice, but I hate him. I wish he would die. He has a woman who has two children by him – a girl and a boy. I always wonder if he is molesting his daughter.

T.

Dear T.,

Your uncle is worse than a snake. He took your innocence away from you.

He is a wicked brute. When you complained to your grandmother, she probably felt that her wonderful son would not molest you. But the man continued his wicked ways and you can never forget what he did to you. All mothers and grandmothers should listen to their children when they complain to them about sexual abuse, and every case of abuse should be investigated.

Pastor

EDITOR’S NOTE: The allegations of sexual abuse detailed in this account are serious and potentially criminal under Jamaica’s Sexual Offences Act. The fact that the alleged abuse occurred years ago does not, in itself, prevent criminal prosecution, as there is no statute of limitations on criminal offences in Jamaica.