I'm here to share my painful journey through our justice system. In March 2024, I was sexually assaulted in Crown Point, Indiana and immediately reported it. Two years later and right before trial, it was uncovered that the Indiana State Crime Lab made a critical error by swapping consensual and non-consensual DNA samples. Despite begging and pleading the prosecutors not to, it led to the dismissal of charges against my attacker. The prosecutor told me "We only prosecute cases we know we can win."

Not only was justice denied, but I was left without the opportunity to seek justice in civil court due to a now expired statute of limitations. Even more distressing, due to Indiana's Second Chance Act, a defendant's case record is automatically expunged when charges are dismissed or acquitted, allowing perpetrators to move on with their lives while survivors are left to pick up the pieces. I call on Indiana Rep. Frank Mrvan and Indiana Senators Todd Young and Jim Banks to introduce legislation to amend (IC 35-38-9-1).

Going through the criminal justice system felt like it was me against an entire machine that left me feeling utterly powerless. I had no voice, no options, and no choices. For me, my idea of justice might not have looked like ten years of jail time but an apology and mandated therapy. And that is the thing about justice - it is not a blanket one-size-fits-all or black and white approach.

Telling my story, I realized that I was not alone in feeling left out or meaningless to the justice system. I have created a form for Lake County survivors of violent crime to tell their stories—stories that may have gone unheard by our justice system because charges were dropped, cases were not prosecuted, or for other reasons. I intend to use these stories to identify patterns, bring greater attention to survivors' experiences, and advocate for meaningful change within our prosecutorial system.

If you are a Lake County survivor and have experienced something similar, I invite you to share your story -  https://forms.gle/LHpNATvN6aNgBnFt9

Rape is not an ordinary crime and there are no "perfect victims". An article from The Washington Post tells a harsh truth - about less than 1% of rapes will lead to a felony conviction. This reality is a reflection of our justice system's failure to act. If you believe survivors deserve to be heard, if you believe cases deserve meaningful review, and if you believe our justice system can do better, please sign this petition and stand with me in calling for change.

To survivors, I hope you know that you are not alone. RAINN offers a hotline to help survivors find help and resources - https://rainn.org/help-and-healing/hotline/ To survivors that are local, the Fair Haven Rape Crisis Center is a great resource that helped me in this difficult time - https://fairhavenrcc.org/

Thank you, thank you, thank you for listening and signing my petition.