Truth That Hurts.....
Toni L.Vossen 2012
About the Childrens Justice and Advocacy Center
It is CJAC's mission to provide children who have experienced sexual or physical abuse a coordinated community approach to investigation, prosecution and treatment that promotes their safety, healing, and well-being.
Kelso, WA (KPTV) - The words of Thomas Kennedy's daughter put the Longview man in prison in 2002. Now her words have set him free.
Casandra Kennedy told police, and eventually a jury, her father raped her three times.
Journal entries, scribbled in a pink notebook, detailed the alleged abuse. A physical exam found evidence consistent with sexual activity. And the girl, then 11, seemed to convince investigators and prosecutors she was telling the truth.
"There was no allegation that anyone in particular had told her what to say," said Susan Baur, prosecuting attorney for Cowlitz County. "She told about some very detailed specific incidents, she had a knowledge of sex that was unusual for an 11-year-old."
Despite Thomas Kennedy's insistence that he was innocent, his daughter's story was enough to convince a jury to convict him on three counts of child rape. A judge sentenced him to 15 years in prison.
"There was nothing back then to say anything other than he had done this to her," said Baur, who did not prosecute the case but was the prosecuting attorney at the time.
With her father in prison, Casandra Kennedy struggled with addictions to drugs and alcohol, said Gary Miller, the director of Mountain Ministries, an addiction treatment center where she is currently seeking help.
Her abuse of drugs and alcohol is due in part to what happened to her father, said Miller, who helped her come forward.
"She felt like she probably would go to jail over it, but she said it had been a burden on her ever since it happened and she wanted to somehow make it right," he said.
In a written police statement, submitted Jan. 27 of this year, Casandra Kennedy wrote, "I got tired of him hurting me emotionally and in my mind at the time, I just knew that this would make him go away."
Casandra Kennedy didn't realize the full extent of what would happen to her father when she first made the allegations, said Miller. He said she was looking to escape a tumultuous home life.
"There was a lot of violence, there was a lot of drugs and alcohol involved. She was afraid, there was a lot of hurt, pain," said Miller.
According to a police report, Casandra Kennedy told police she got the idea from a classmate, whose stepfather was convicted of similar crimes.
She also told police she had sex with a child around the same age while she was in second grade, which may account for the physical evidence found.
After Casandra Kennedy testified and recanted her story, a judge ordered Thomas Kennedy receive a new trial. Baur decided to dismiss the charges.
She has also decided not to prosecute Casandra Kennedy.
"There's many reasons why we're not charging perjury. One of the minor ones is why do I want to prosecute someone who is now trying to correct a wrong? That would have a chilling effect on others coming forward had they lied in the past," said Baur.
Thomas Kennedy was released from prison last week. He could not be reached for comment.
Casandra Kennedy is in a mission trip in Mexico, said Miller. She wants to reach out to her father.
"I think the most important story is that maybe a little girl who was hurt all her life now can have a decent relationship that she's always wanted," said Miller.
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