The Center for Investigative Reporting/California Watch is great at covering depressing and convoluted but incredibly crucial stories in innovative ways, and they’ve done it again with this horrible story about a mentally disabled patient at Sonoma Developmental Center in California who was sexually abused for months. No one believed her, until her mother realized that she was 26 weeks pregnant. No one was ever held responsible, and internal records show that sexual abuse was rampant (and ignored) at the institution.
You could read CIR’s report, which goes even deeper — developmentally disabled patients in California have accused caretakers of molestation and rape 36 times during the past four years, and police completely mishandled their cases literally every single time — but you can also watch the video above, which tells Jennifer’s story beautifully. (Yes, I just used the word “beautiful” to describe a story about a sexual assault epidemic at a state development center. But, somehow, it is.)
