I just read Colleen Smith’s June 9 report on the Jason Aldous sexual misconduct situation. As a survivor of similar abusive scenarios over 50 years ago, I am appalled at how little has changed for minors facing such chronic trauma. It seems obvious to me that the minor was being groomed for more of the same treatment. The whole scenario speaks to a cascade of deceptions that fell through the cracks of social services and legal protections, likely over years of parental incompetence and neglect, if not outright abuse. This case isn’t just about the criminal behavior of one person.

The classic saying that it takes a village to raise a child applies to trauma, too. It takes a village to sustain the environment of disbelief and perpetuate more harm. It takes a village to restore a person from being a victim to becoming a thriving survivor. If this community harbors abusive people with out-of-control behavior, then where do survivors go to actually heal? Is San Juan Island to become a penal colony community or is it a place intended for healing harm and restoring dignity to those who have been robbed of it?

Morgan L. Meadows, M.Ed.

Orcas Island