A Columbus, Ohio family vacation became a “nightmare” after a mother reported the sexual assault of her young daughter.
A Columbus, Ohio family vacation became a “nightmare” after a mother reported the sexual assault of her young daughter. The incident occurred during a camping trip at Delaware County’s Alum Creek State Park.
The mother remains anonymous in order to protect the identity of her daughter. Camping was one of her 8-year-old’s “favorite things to do up until August,” she said.
“This is not something that ever crossed [my] mind,” she stated. “When you go camping, you are out in nature. You can be free, is what I used to think. You are safe. That's what I used to think.”
Her daughter requested to accompany two other children to a nearby playground. “I looked away and my husband looked away for a moment. We looked back and she was gone, and so were the children. Immediately I panicked,” she said.
With the support of her husband and other campers, the woman searched tirelessly until she found her daughter on a path with a 12-year-old boy and a younger girl. They immediately took her to safety.
However, that night, the 8-year-old girl could not sleep. Instead, she lay awake and recounted the traumatic events of that day. Although some details are too disturbing to share, the mother states that the boy kissed her daughter and sexually assaulted her. “She stayed up all night and told us this horror story of what happened to her in that period of time,” she explained.
After taking her child to the hospital, she contacted the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. In a statement, ODNR said, "The Ohio Department of Natural Resources is working with the Delaware County Prosecutor at this time regarding a reported assault which happened August 17 at Alum Creek State Park."
Still, the young child hasn't been the same since the alleged incident, according to her mother. In coming forward, she hopes to warn other parents.
“She has been wetting the bed and has lost her bowels a couple of times," she said. "She doesn't sleep very well. She has nightmares… My daughter was brave enough to tell us right away. If I keep it a secret and I let other children be hurt because these people are loose. There's someone else's kid who is at risk,” she said.
Authors: Andy Goldwasser and Alexis Kabat
