• Dear Mrs. Playdate,

    My uncle age 37, had recently fallen on hard times and lost his job. So, my mom (his older sister) invited him to come to live with us, about a month ago, until he got back on his feet. He has never been married and was always known as the “cool” uncle since he’d hang out with us kids whenever we had family get-togethers. He was the uncle that would entertain us with magic tricks, karaoke and other games while the adults did their own thing. Classic warning signs, right?! Well not to my family.

    My parents were generally protective and pretty cautious so I’m not really sure how something like this happened. See or Playdate.com article Profiles of Sexual Predators. They had my uncle stay in the detached garage which was converted into a guest house. However, sometimes he would fall asleep watching TV on the Lazy Boy chair in our family room. On more than one occasion, in the late hours of the night, when I would go downstairs to the kitchen to get a drink, my uncle would awaken and motion for me to come over to him. The one time I actually did, he grabbed my hand and pulled me toward him forcefully. I pushed away and retreated to my room, not thinking much about it and never telling anyone.

    Then the following week, when I went downstairs in the middle of the night again, it was dark but I saw my younger sister, who’s only 11, sitting on my uncles lap. I freaked out and yelled as she jumped up and off the chair.  My mom woke up and ran downstairs inquiring about what happened but at that point my uncle had already retreated to the back house. Neither of us said anything and simply played it off that we were startled by my uncle who had fallen asleep in the chair, so we screamed.

    It was bothering me and I couldn’t sleep the whole night. The following day, it was still on my mind and when my sister got home and we were alone in our room, I asked her what had happened. She said “nothing.” However I knew she was lying. Then, I told her that the reason I was asking was because my uncle had molested me. At which point she took a deep breath and sighed, as tears began to run down her cheek. “Okay, something did happen,” she said looking down at her clasped hands. “He touched me down there and made me touch him a few times.” Then I hugged her and started to cry as I felt like I had let her down because I wasn’t there to protect my baby sister.

    I was so mixed with emotions that I wasn’t sure what to feel. I was enraged with my uncle for what he did but at the same time felt guilty that I duped my younger sister, into admitting that she was molested. Plus, I probably should have said something sooner about what happened to me and perhaps this whole thing could have been prevented. At this point though, I didn’t care and just wanted her to get help and my uncle to pay for what he did. I may be a twisted 16 year-old but in this situation I’m convinced that the end definitely justifies the means. And believe me, justice will be served!