Victim of childhood sexual abuse speaks out after abuser receives 3 life sentences

A survivor of childhood sexual abuse finally feels free after her abuser receives three life sentences.

“There were so many days I wanted to give up on life because of the situation, so many days I wondered, ‘Why me? Why now? Was I too revealing? Why lust after me?’ He was supposed to be another father figure in my life,” said Lydia Feliciano, the victim of sexual abuse at the hands of a man who was supposed to be family to her.

On Monday, the state attorney’s office announced Danny Vargas will spend the rest of his life in prison for sexually abusing a child for six years.

That child is a grown woman now, and she’s ready for her voice to be heard.

She’s sharing her story exclusively with WINK News’ Haley Zarcone.

Healing doesn’t come easy.

Reading her victim statement to a man who should’ve been family to her was something she said she didn’t think she’d be able to do years ago.

But Monday, she did, and justice was served.

“After so many years, I’m at a loss for words. I told myself, since I was 8 years old, ‘Keep pushing Lydia. You got this. “It’s just one more time,” he said,'” explained Feliciano.

Facing her perpetrator and turning a page for another step forward, Feliciano is ready to tell her story.

“He was my stepdad. I was really excited when he and my mom got together because they were very, very happy together, but then things took a turn for the worse,” she said. “Up until I turned 14, is when he was telling me, ‘Oh, I’m gonna tell your mom.’ And in my head, you know, men lie, and men do a very great job at lying, so I knew that he was going to be lying when he talked to my mom … I told her once before, and she didn’t believe me, so I knew that she would never believe me.”

As a freshman in high school, she left her home behind.

“I ran away to a park, and then a little bit after, I came here, and I went back to school the next day,” she said.

All those years ago, she came to her boyfriend’s home, having no idea he’d later be her person for life.

“I really thought that my life was over when all of this happened, and now that I’m older, I have my mother-in-law to appreciate, my dad, my stepmom, my siblings, my fiancé, you know, and they’re the reason that I am the person today,” said Feliciano.

With a baby girl now in the picture and a wedding soon, this victim statement didn’t just heal her at 19; it also healed the 8-year-old version of herself.

“I pray that every woman, girl, and child gets the same justice that I was given because no matter what these monsters do, we are still strong and beautiful, and in most cases, we always win. I’m finally free,” she said.

Feliciano said she wants everyone reading this to know situations like this are never easy, but there’s strength in support, and she hopes to be that support as an advocate for others in our community.