Voices, Louise Kramer

“Dear Brian,

Hi. I am your cousin Steve’s wife.

Upon receiving your letter, I knew that I had to respond to you. I have been a volunteer at St. Joseph’s Prayer Center here on Long Island for the past 25 plus years. The ministry was started by a Jesuit priest over 40 yrs ago. The mission is for inner healing. A large percentage of the people who come in for prayer and healing have been sexually abused. The fact that I want to convey is that a large portion of these people come to the realization well after they have reached adulthood. A lot of them in their 40’s and 50’s. A child protects himself and survives in many different ways. Blocking out the reality is one of those mechanisms. One of the ways to a solid healing for the victim is to make sure that the perpetrator cannot go on doing this in society. So the legal aspect can be very important. The second and very important part of the healing for the victim comes from the ability to forgive the perpetrator and themselves, as hard as that comes across, it is the truth.
I read your letter to our group without your name and gave them the addresses. I hope that they followed through with sending them out.
May God speed with your endeavors—
Sincerely
Louise Kramer”

Remarks from Survivor Harold Siering from 2016 NY CSA Lobby Day

Disclaimer: Views do not represent the views of SOL Reform.

Remarks from Harold Siering for Press Conference:

This is my first public telling of my story so please be patient with me.

I was abused by two men, one from Big Brothers and one who was my assistant principal at St. Joseph’s in Babylon.  These men impressed my single mother who was looking for a male role model since my biological father left.

I was abused from the ages of 10 and ½ to 17 years of age sometime two or three times in one day.  We have estimated they both abused me hundreds of times, not once or twice this was a never ending event.

I was hugged, wrestled with, groped, fondled and abused more ways that you can think about for their own disgusting gratification. I cannot tell you all the details of my abuse they are too graphic for this forum.

These men made their way into my very small family I only had my mother and grandmother; they used my being alone for their sexual abuse on me.

One of my abusers took me all over on trips, to Florida where I saw the test firing of the space shuttle engines while I was being abused in a motel.  I was also abused on my first trip to Walt Disney World and many times I was given multiple rum and cokes to drink while under age I still have flashbacks when I hear rum and coke this will ever leave me.

The assistant principal would touch me and fondle me in his classroom, his office he had between the buildings so that no one could see or hear.  Many times he would take me into the office, I was told to bring a book so if anyone asked he was helping me with reading.  In his private room where he also had a wall of the school pictures of other little boys who were his favorites.

After he was satisfied with his desire he would light up a cigarette I still have flashback to that smell, the match being lighted and the smell of the paper of the cheap cigarette and his first drag as he inhaled.

After a while he also showed up at my house, to talk to my mother allegedly about some school work issue and then ended coming over for dinners, just to sit next to me and, he even abused me in my own bedroom while my mother was in the kitchen………..this is just so wrong.

I kept this all a secret, they both told me that no one would believe a kid over an adult or a “Brother” and they both told me that this is what boys do.

I also feel that this crime is not reported enough, when I called the FBI in March of 2009 I was yelled at, belittled, called a liar, when I was seeking justice. I had to call back since the agent who answered the telephone hung up on me.  Thanks to that alleged agent of the FBI I often have flashback to that caller hearing him yell at me.  This memory is hard for me with all the crime shows on TV today that is why I don’t watch them.  Since I am pretty stubborn and from New York I called back to another agent at the same number I gave them all the information about my abuser to another alleged agent of the FBI.  I have not heard from them since and that abuser lives free thanks to them.  That is not a Justice Department.

I really hate hearing the phrase “memories faded” it is such an insensitive remark to a survivor like me I wish my memory has faded.  There is no magic pill or drug to erase these memories or flashback, there is no magic treatment to forget what I have gone through so maybe those who support the protection of monsters need to think about that.

There is only one way to show all our children in the State of New York that we want to protect them, I urge you all to write and call your New York State Senator today.

I don’t know why NY State Senate thinks its ok to protect the monsters.  I think this issue is like the tobacco industry and the NFL concussions scandal; it needs to stop today and now.

And most of all, ironically many of the New York Senators who are against this bills are against abortion, therefore protecting the rights of the unborn children, but then they abandon the children once they are born.

Thank you………any questions?