Child Abuse Story From
Jen

This child abuse story from Jen page was created May 24, 2007 and was originally posted on May 17, 2007 as story #122.

Jen is from Los Angeles, California, USA

The following child abuse story from Jen depicts:  child neglect, emotional abuse, sexual abuse and physical abuse

The child abuse effects on Jen: foster care and estrangement from her siblings

Child Abuse Story From Jen:

When I was little I always remember us not having much money. I was the 4th out of 7 kids, all from different dads. Don't ask where my dad was in all of this, because I never knew him. My mom had her first kid at 16 and me at 25.

I remember that we usually only had three bedrooms at a time, so it was a bit cramped. We moved probably about 9 times that I can remember, all within the same area, though, and usually because my mom couldn't pay bills and we got evicted.

My mom would always have new men living with us in our flat or apartment. Some guys would just stay the night. Others would stay a few months. None of them were particularly nice.

One guy used to have sex with my big sister, who was only 13 at the time, while my mom was out. When my mom found out, she just kicked him out.   Another guy would get real mad at us kids for anything we did and would hit us till we cried, then shout at us for crying. Once, I started bleeding. My mom did nothing because he made good money. Well, enough to pay the bills at least.

When I was 6, we all moved in with this guy. I can remember he was really old because his hair was grey. His house was nice . . . four bedrooms and lots of space. It was in the middle of nowhere, or at least that’s how it felt. We had come from the city to a place in the country, I guess. He would make me and my siblings, all between the ages of 14-2, have sex with him or each other. Again, my mom did nothing. I think this was when her coke habit started.

I remember walking into her, crying, because I was just made to have sex and I was then smacked. I saw my mom sniffing some white powder. I didn't know what it was. She just told me I better leave the room fast or else.

About a year later he kicked us out after my mom had one of her many huge fights with him.

We were on the streets with nowhere to go except a woman’s shelter. My oldest sister, who was 15, ran away. We never saw her again. A while later we were in another flat. More guys kept coming in and out.

One really nice guy moved in when I was 8. He would buy us ice-cream and take us to the beach. He never once shouted or hurt us kids. Never. He is the only real happy memory I have of my childhood. He was like a real father should be. He moved in after my mom said she was pregnant with his baby. Seven months later the baby came out half black, so he left. It clearly wasn't his baby. It was my mom’s last.

My two older brothers were a bit crazy sometimes. One was expelled from school at 13 and never returned. He was also arrested for shoplifting around that time and smoked a lot since he was like 11. My mom never really looked after us kids. We could do whatever we wanted. That meant I was rarely at school and that my brothers stayed out till all hours doing god knows what.

When I was 10, Child Services were called after a neighbor complained that lots of "strange men" were coming in and out of the apartment we lived in, and that we were often left unsupervised. She said that we were "out of control" and that she couldn't handle it anymore.

We were all taken away and put in foster homes. My brothers were placed in one home, and me, along with my younger brother and sister, were put in another. My youngest brother was adopted.  

At the moment I am 26 and happily married. I’m expecting a little girl in September. I have never heard from my older brothers or sister, but still contact my younger ones often.

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References

NOTE: Information pages on this site were based on material from the
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Child abuse story from Jen was re-formatted June 2, 2015