I have made a decision and I AM BACK!!! Now that it is over, I can share why I had to go......
Two years ago, we learned that our son had been a victim of a crime at the hands of a young adult neighbor. I do not want to write the details, but if you are one of the few who has not read about the story, you can do so here:
https://www.thechiefnews.com/news/lumijarvi-takes-sex-crime-plea/article_97f3ef4e-a331-11e7-b2b6-6bbe0f089d76.html.
Or here:
https://www.thechiefnews.com/news/sex-offender-given-plea-deal-despite-history/article_22b562f0-a3c5-11e7-9df8-2b479df09ed8.html
During the court case, we learned that a relative of the perpetrator shared Levi's protected health information to help the defense to discredit his testimony-despite the fact that a confession had already been made. The relative was a service provider for Levi before we learned of the crime and the defense tried to use the private information to make Levi look like a monster. As you can imagine, this was pretty devastating given the assurances we all get that our protected health information will never be shared due to HIPAA law. The relative was fired but then they decided to prey on my blog and to share more private information about Levi with the defense. After all of their efforts, the judge determined that nothing they suggested was true and we arrived where we are today.
The crimes in the case are disgusting. There are multiple victims over a span of too many years. Nobody wins in a case like this and everyone loses. Everyone. I cannot imagine being a parent whose child has performed these horrific acts. Or a child who has experienced it. Or a lawyer who defends it. We are grateful for the young person who came forward when she realized that Levi was being groomed to be a pawn in the game. She told when he was too afraid to and her courage is the reason he was not victimized further.
I have said this before but I will say it again. Victims are victims. Period. We are grateful that this two-year ordeal is over and we are ready to move on. This experience will not defeat us or define us. Levi is thriving and he is more than ready to move on. Thank you, my friends, for supporting us and for reaching out as the case came to an end this week. I can't wait to catch you up on our Life After a Miracle. There is so much to tell!
