I'm Rachel, a producer and reporter at Reveal.
Yesterday we published a story about a remarkable young woman named Taylor Cadle. At the age of 12, she tried to tell police that her adoptive father had been sexually abusing her for years, but they didn’t believe her. She had previously been in foster care, and her adoptive parents made sure the detective knew that she was considered a troublemaker. Taylor ended up being charged with lying and even had to write a letter of apology to her adoptive father, also her rapist.
She wasn’t lying, and Taylor finally found justice after she hit record on her phone, capturing the next assault as it happened. Her abuser went to prison, but there has been nearly zero accountability on the part of the justice system that put her in the position to be raped again.
After years of silence, Taylor chose to tell her story. And she wants the public to know her name and her face.
Taylor spoke to me and co-reporter Julia Lurie with so much conviction that it was easy to forget how young she was, just 20 at the time of meeting her. But she’s had this quality forever it seems. Listening to her audio recordings from when she was 12 years old, you could tell she knew right from wrong, far better than any of the adults around her.
I’ve reported on cases like Taylor’s for years where police criminalize the very person reporting an assault. But her case was extraordinary because she took matters into her own hands to prove that she wasn’t lying. Since sending the sheriff an email a few weeks ago expressing her disappointment in their silence, Taylor has yet to receive any response.
—Rachel de Leon
P.S. Donald Trump and JD Vance have a long history of demeaning women—and they launched brutal, sexist attacks against Kamala Harris. But after winning the election, the role of misogyny and what happens next deserve a serious look. Join our Clara Jeffery and Jamilah King for a virtual conversation on Monday, November 25, at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT.
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