Victim Speaks Out About Assault
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Jennifer [email protected]
A 22-year-old Warsaw woman became part of these statistics when she went dancing at a nightclub last October. A man she didn't know has been charged with her rape.
"Brooke" went to a Fort Wayne nightclub Oct. 21 with her female friends and boyfriend for a night of dancing. She consumed three alcoholic beverages that night while dancing with her friends.
Brooke said while she was dancing with friends, a man tried to dance with her throughout the night, but she and her friends told him to leave her alone. Her friends sought security when the man refused to leave Brooke alone.
When her friends came back to the dance floor to get Brooke, she was gone.
Brooke remembers the man who was trying to dance with her, carrying her to the nightclub's courtesy shuttle, which the club provides so people don't drive intoxicated.
She said she remembers blacking out after she told the man no, and that she didn't want to go onto the shuttle, but he carried her onto the shuttle against her will.
Brooke said the next thing she remembers is waking up in the lobby of a downtown Fort Wayne hotel and calling her boyfriend.
"I was a mess, I didn't know what had happened to me and I was confused because I thought my friends had left me alone at the club," Brooke said in a telephone interview.
Brooke said she was dressed in a tank top and sweat pants, and was holding the clothes she wore the night before in a bag.
She said her boyfriend came and got her from the hotel, and her friends got the name of the man they saw bothering Brooke at the club from some of his friends who were at the club with him. They called the police and told them the man's name.
Brooke woke up the next day and her parents suggested she go to the hospital to be examined.
She was sent to Kosciusko Community Hospital for tests and they recommended she go to Parkview Hospital, Fort Wayne. She was tested at Parkview to see if she had been drugged, but the results were negative.
She also was sent to St. Joe Rape Crisis Center, Fort Wayne, where she gave a DNA sample and was given the morning-after pill.
Police detectives found the man who took Brooke from the club and raped her, He was identified as Dennis C. Fox II, 32, of Bakersfield, Calif. Fox admitted to authorities having sex with her at the hotel, putting her in clean clothes and leaving her in the hotel lobby.
Brooke said hotel employees identified Fox as a railroad worker for a California-based railroad construction crew who comes to Fort Wayne once a month and stays at the hotel.
Fox was charged with rape and criminal confinement. His trial was March 27.
Brooke said she was asked during the trial to identify Fox. She didn't recognize him. Her friends did.
"During the trial I was asked by the defense attorney to look at the man and identify if he was the man who had raped me, and I began to cry because I could not recognize him," Brooke said.
Brooke returned to work in Warsaw three days after the incident.
"I would cry every once in awhile at work, but I think getting back to work kept me busy and took my mind off what had happened to me," Brooke said.
Brooke's parents suggested she seek counseling so she researched Internet sites for counseling centers.
She found the Victim Service Center, 600 E. Winona Avenue, online and e-mailed Becky Moreno, victim assistance coordinator. She was referred to a local counseling center where she began counseling April 10.
Moreno said it is essential for sexual assault victims to seek counseling to begin the healing process.
"Some sexual assault victims feel they can immediately get past the assault and move on with their lives," Moreno said.
"The impact of the rape is so powerful on their lives they need counseling to work through what happened to them and begin the healing process."
She said sexual assault affects victims in different ways. Some reactions sexual assault victims deal with are fear of being alone. They have relationship and sexual issues, physical symptoms and emotional and mental symptoms.
"Being raped doesn't just affect one area of the victim's life, each person reacts based on their personality and past experiences," Moreno said.
Moreno provided advice to victims who have been sexually assaulted.
She advised victims of sexual assault not to bathe or brush their teeth, and go to the emergency room immediately for a medical exam and a rape exam even if they don't report the assault. They should write down all the details of the attack and the attacker. The victim should seek counseling as soon as possible.
Brooke said her church, friends and family have been supportive following the incident.
A sentencing hearing will be held Monday where Brooke will be asked to read a victim statement and suggest how Fox should be punished.
National Crime Victims' Rights will be recognized through April 28. The even is a way to promote victims' rights in the United States. There are several activities planned locally this year.
A video called "Safety Net (No Easy Target) Kids" will be shown Monday at Caudill's ATA Black Belt Academy, Warsaw, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
An adult self-defense class also will be at the academy from 6:45 to 7:45 p.m.
A play titled "The Man of Her Dreams," directed and produced by local dramatist Bob Firari, will be performed at Celebration United Methodist Church at 7 p.m.
For more information about the center or National Crime Victims' Rights week, call Moreno at 574-372-9539.
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A 22-year-old Warsaw woman became part of these statistics when she went dancing at a nightclub last October. A man she didn't know has been charged with her rape.
"Brooke" went to a Fort Wayne nightclub Oct. 21 with her female friends and boyfriend for a night of dancing. She consumed three alcoholic beverages that night while dancing with her friends.
Brooke said while she was dancing with friends, a man tried to dance with her throughout the night, but she and her friends told him to leave her alone. Her friends sought security when the man refused to leave Brooke alone.
When her friends came back to the dance floor to get Brooke, she was gone.
Brooke remembers the man who was trying to dance with her, carrying her to the nightclub's courtesy shuttle, which the club provides so people don't drive intoxicated.
She said she remembers blacking out after she told the man no, and that she didn't want to go onto the shuttle, but he carried her onto the shuttle against her will.
Brooke said the next thing she remembers is waking up in the lobby of a downtown Fort Wayne hotel and calling her boyfriend.
"I was a mess, I didn't know what had happened to me and I was confused because I thought my friends had left me alone at the club," Brooke said in a telephone interview.
Brooke said she was dressed in a tank top and sweat pants, and was holding the clothes she wore the night before in a bag.
She said her boyfriend came and got her from the hotel, and her friends got the name of the man they saw bothering Brooke at the club from some of his friends who were at the club with him. They called the police and told them the man's name.
Brooke woke up the next day and her parents suggested she go to the hospital to be examined.
She was sent to Kosciusko Community Hospital for tests and they recommended she go to Parkview Hospital, Fort Wayne. She was tested at Parkview to see if she had been drugged, but the results were negative.
She also was sent to St. Joe Rape Crisis Center, Fort Wayne, where she gave a DNA sample and was given the morning-after pill.
Police detectives found the man who took Brooke from the club and raped her, He was identified as Dennis C. Fox II, 32, of Bakersfield, Calif. Fox admitted to authorities having sex with her at the hotel, putting her in clean clothes and leaving her in the hotel lobby.
Brooke said hotel employees identified Fox as a railroad worker for a California-based railroad construction crew who comes to Fort Wayne once a month and stays at the hotel.
Fox was charged with rape and criminal confinement. His trial was March 27.
Brooke said she was asked during the trial to identify Fox. She didn't recognize him. Her friends did.
"During the trial I was asked by the defense attorney to look at the man and identify if he was the man who had raped me, and I began to cry because I could not recognize him," Brooke said.
Brooke returned to work in Warsaw three days after the incident.
"I would cry every once in awhile at work, but I think getting back to work kept me busy and took my mind off what had happened to me," Brooke said.
Brooke's parents suggested she seek counseling so she researched Internet sites for counseling centers.
She found the Victim Service Center, 600 E. Winona Avenue, online and e-mailed Becky Moreno, victim assistance coordinator. She was referred to a local counseling center where she began counseling April 10.
Moreno said it is essential for sexual assault victims to seek counseling to begin the healing process.
"Some sexual assault victims feel they can immediately get past the assault and move on with their lives," Moreno said.
"The impact of the rape is so powerful on their lives they need counseling to work through what happened to them and begin the healing process."
She said sexual assault affects victims in different ways. Some reactions sexual assault victims deal with are fear of being alone. They have relationship and sexual issues, physical symptoms and emotional and mental symptoms.
"Being raped doesn't just affect one area of the victim's life, each person reacts based on their personality and past experiences," Moreno said.
Moreno provided advice to victims who have been sexually assaulted.
She advised victims of sexual assault not to bathe or brush their teeth, and go to the emergency room immediately for a medical exam and a rape exam even if they don't report the assault. They should write down all the details of the attack and the attacker. The victim should seek counseling as soon as possible.
Brooke said her church, friends and family have been supportive following the incident.
A sentencing hearing will be held Monday where Brooke will be asked to read a victim statement and suggest how Fox should be punished.
National Crime Victims' Rights will be recognized through April 28. The even is a way to promote victims' rights in the United States. There are several activities planned locally this year.
A video called "Safety Net (No Easy Target) Kids" will be shown Monday at Caudill's ATA Black Belt Academy, Warsaw, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
An adult self-defense class also will be at the academy from 6:45 to 7:45 p.m.
A play titled "The Man of Her Dreams," directed and produced by local dramatist Bob Firari, will be performed at Celebration United Methodist Church at 7 p.m.
For more information about the center or National Crime Victims' Rights week, call Moreno at 574-372-9539.
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