Lee County woman shares story of sexual abuse as accused man gets new trial

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LEE COUNTY, Fla.- A woman who says she was raped for six years as child is telling her story just hours before the man she says is responsible, goes on trial for a second time.

WINK News has a policy against naming sex abuse victims, unless they give us permission and there’s a compelling reason to do it.

Monday, Brenda Salais came to WINK News, asking to talk about the case against Richard McDade, her former stepfather.

McDade was offered a plea agreement to avoid a second trial. He turned it down, meaning   Salais will have to testify again. This time, without a secret audio recording.

Salais, 20, asked us to meet her at Palm Acres Charter School in Lehigh Acres, where she’s earning her high school diploma.

She says she’s angry that McDade rejected the plea deal.

“He wants to go to trial. I just blew up from there, I blew up completely. Nobody deserves this kind of abuse.”

Salais claims McDade sexually abused her from age 10 through 16 at a home in east Fort Myers.

“This is the worst kind of abuse ever,” said Salais. “It stays with you forever.”

She testified against McDade a couple of years ago, and a jury found him guilty of a sex crime, after hearing a recording that she made.

“When my step dad would come to me, I’d say ‘no, why are you doing this to me?'”

State law forbids using a secret recording of a person, without consent. Florida’s Supreme Court threw out the conviction and ordered a new trial.

This year, state lawmakers passed a bill to exempt sex abuse victims from the recording law.

“I feel proud  of myself. This can help a lot of people,” said Salais.

The new law doesn’t apply retroactively to the McDade case so a second trial is set to begin. Salais will have to testify, without the audio recording.

“I will tell my story. I will let people know what this man has done to me.”

The trial is set to begin Tuesday. Trust WINK News to continue to follow this story.

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