Charisia Arnold has seen up close how the system works for victims of sexual assault — which is to say, not well.
After her daughter was sexually assaulted by a classmate at Mesquite High School in January 2021, the daughter endured being separated from her mother for the interview with an older male police detective, feelings of shame, wondering if anyone would believe her, harassment at school, vandalism of her property, only to see her case dropped at the county attorney’s office.
“I think the big thing for me here is that we didn't have the advocacy on our side when we were going through the investigation,” Arnold said.
