Thank you for listening to Invisible Choir.

This episode contains sensitive material, including graphic depictions of sexual assault,

which some listeners may find especially distressing or traumatic.

Listener discretion is advised.

Your Honor, I'm not sure that I have been in a more heartbreaking scene than this particular

residence or been a party of more heartbreaking reports from the surviving children in this case,

some, at least one of whom is literally orphaned by the offenses that I have described. We've all heard the term stranger danger before, whether it was from a public service announcement

we watched in school or perhaps from a parent or guardian.

This self-explanatory saying taught us as children to not talk to strangers because

they're adults with no vested interest in protecting us. That makes them a danger, potentially

having bad intentions. We were told that if someone you don't know approaches you to seek out

a trustworthy adult or someone

you do know. And with shows like To Catch a Predator and even the more recent iterations of the

theme from vigilante YouTubers focused on busting child as sexual predators, the general consensus

we've all been led to believe is that a sexual assault and violence

is most likely to occur at the hands of a stranger with ill intent.

Think of the proverbial hitchhiker on the highway, or the reclusive basement dweller

who creeps outside your window at night.

The thing is, though, that this belief is a misconception, one that has been quite damaging

when it comes to actually protecting children from potential harm.

In fact, according to data collected by the National Children's Alliance from various

child advocacy centers in 2020, a whopping 91% of children interviewed stated that the sexual

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