Girl Once Locked Away in Closet Is Again Victimized

**TXCharlie** · 09-26-06, 10:32 AM

http://www.nbc5i.com/news/9935752/detail.html

POSTED: 8:12 am CDT September 26, 2006
UPDATED: 8:19 am CDT September 26, 2006

FORT WORTH, Texas -- The young girl found by police five years ago starving and locked in a filthy, lice-infested closet is once again the victim of violence, NBC 5 reported.

According to court documents obtained by NBC 5, the girl was the victim of a sexual assault by a relative of the family that adopted her.

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Back in 2001, the girl's story shocked North Texans. At 8 years old, she weighed just 25 pounds when she was rescued from her birth parents' home.

Police rescued the girl and arrested her parents.

A family in rural Van Zandt County, who had cared for the girl when she was a baby, adopted her and hoped to give her a better life.

Now 13 years old, the same girl has been victimized again.

Jesse Lee Bass, the husband of the adoptive mother's niece, pleaded guilty last week to sexually assaulting the girl last year. Bass was sentenced to 13 years behind bars in connection with the girl's assault. Bass and his wife have also been charged with possession of child pornography.

"Of course most of the time, we don't see repeat victims. We see repeat offenders," said Pat Burnett, Van Zandt County Sheriff.

The Van Zandt County Sheriff's Office investigated the sexual assault after the girl reported the incident to her counselor.

The girl is once again living near Canton with her adoptive mother.

**Ducky** · 09-26-06, 11:45 AM

Poor kid, she's been through so much and now this.

**Willowdared** · 09-26-06, 12:28 PM

The burden of having been a victim, is that predators can sense your vulnerability.

Poor child.

**Michelle** · 09-26-06, 01:57 PM

Terribly sad!
Back in 97 I worked at a home for abused children. Their future survival rate was terrible. Back then it was 1 in 38 would make it in society.

At first hire they told me to read the children’s files so that I could understand them better. You could name it and more than likely I read it in a child’s file. The job just tore me up inside.

There was a young girl who was raped and beat by her father. Her aunt and uncle were then given custody and her uncle did the same thing. She was adopted and both parents raped and beat her.

I believe an adoptive parent should first have to go through an intensive interview, thorough background check, poly and a blood test!

**TXCharlie** · 09-26-06, 03:47 PM

Originally Posted by TXCharlie

"Of course most of the time, we don't see repeat victims. We see repeat offenders," said Pat Burnett, Van Zandt County Sheriff.

One thing that struck me was this quote... They may not witness repeat victimization themselves, but it would be naive to assume that it doesn't occur with great frequency. Very few crimes are one-time isolated events.