Maggie Cruz's mother was developmentally delayed from birth—she could not form words or be toilet-trained. The very fact that she had become pregnant and given birth indicated that something terrible happened. But Cruz didn't know how terrible—until now.
Maggie Cruz always knew she was the product of rape.
Cruz first started looking into the circumstances around her birth four years ago, when she was 33, according to the suit. Until then, she knew only what the facility, Monroe Development Center, had told her grandparents: Her mother had been impregnated in 1985, likely by another patient, and was temporarily moved to another facility for her safety and for prenatal care.
“MDC’s contemporaneous progress notes indicated no meaningful efforts to identify, let alone punish, the perpetrator of numerous violent physical attacks on I.C. around the time her rapist impregnated her,” the complaint states. Horrified by the results of the records request, the complaint says, Cruz ordered an Ancestry.com DNA test to try to identify her mother’s attacker. The test identified a few relatives on her father’s side living in Virginia, whom she promptly looked up on social media. She found photos of a girl with eyes that looked strikingly similar to hers, the complaint states, and the name of the girl’s father: James.
Cruz eventually sought help from Crumiller, a well-known legal advocate for sexual abuse survivors. They worked together to devise a legal strategy that would reopen the statute of limitations and allow them to seek justice. Then, in May of last year, New York passed the Adult Survivor’s Act, which opened a one-year “lookback window” for complaints of sexual abuse that were past the statute of limitations—complaints just like Cruz’s.
The complaint lists several other reported of instances of sexual abuse at MDC. In its first year in operation, seven employees were arrested for allegedly sexually abusing a developmentally delayed boy in its care. A therapist was discovered in a 15-year-old female patient’s bed a few years later, resulting in a lawsuit and a finding of liability against the state. According to the suit, at least 10 MDC staff members from 1976-1985 were identified as pedophiles and rapists.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Zendaya's Latest PFW 'Fit Would Make Fran Fine ProudShe had style, she had flair, she was there.
Read more »
Advice | Carolyn Hax: She dreamed she was cheated on, but her anger is realAdvice: She dreamed her partner cheated on her, but she’s still acting “distant and cold.”
Read more »
Jamie Lee Curtis Says She 'Had No Idea' She Kissed Michelle YeohThe award show kiss came during Curtis' Best Supporting Actress win for her role in 'Everything Everywhere All at Once.'
Read more »
Graves of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh attract more than 100 visitors SundayPaul and Maggie Murdaugh's graves attracted more than 100 somber visitors Sunday afternoon, who paid their respects after Alex Murdaugh was convicted of their murders.
Read more »
Sister of Alex Murdaugh's slain wife Maggie seen for first time since sentencingMarian Proctor, Maggie Murdaugh's sister, seen outside her home for the first time since her brother-in-law, Alex Murdaugh, was convicted of murdering his wife and son.
Read more »
Cruz blasts Biden's 'incompetent' cabinet picks, warns vulnerable Democrats of consequences in 2024 electionsSen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, says Democratic senators who are on the ballot next cycle and support Biden's 'incompetent' cabinet picks will be kept in check by voters in 2024.
Read more »