Eddie's Story
Father of a Child Rape Survivor, Euclid
Spend just a few minutes with Eddie Moran and one thing becomes abundantly clear: he is first and foremost a father. Pictures drawn by his two children adorn his sunny home, along with school and family photos, and papers proudly displaying gold stars on his refrigerator. Sitting at his kitchen table, Eddie smiles as he speaks about both of his children, pointing out with pride his daughter’s latest progress report that displays all A’s and B’s. But Eddie also knows the heartbreak and guilt of a parent who could not protect his child from being violated at the hands of someone he trusted.
Less than a year ago, Eddie and his wife, Donna, experienced every parent’s worst nightmare; they discovered that their daughter had been assaulted and raped by a friend of the family. “It was February 25th. I will never forget hearing Donna’s scream from upstairs when our daughter told her what had happened,” Eddie remembers, fighting back tears. Eddie and Donna developed a suspicion that someone was harming their daughter, and approached her about it. At first, their daughter was fearful and ashamed, and denied the abuse. But Donna knew something was not right, and when she approached their daughter again, she let go of almost a year of assault, manipulation, abuse, and, just two weeks previous, rape.
Stunned and devastated, Eddie and Donna turned to the police. “We did what we thought was right by filing a police report. We thought things would move quickly, but we were wrong,” Eddie says. A few days later, the Moran family was called back to the police station for their daughter’s interview to the detective. This was where they first encountered the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center. “We were met there by an advocate who offered to sit with our daughter and support her. She gave us information and phone numbers to call. It was the first step in a long process where CRCC was always there for my daughter and my family,” Eddie reflects.
In April, police finally arrested the man who raped Eddie’s daughter, and the legalities of the trial began. Feeling overwhelmed by the drawn out judicial process, Eddie and his family once again turned to CRCC, first for insight on the system. “The advocate explained what we could expect as we moved through the legal process.” Eddie and Donna also approached CRCC to obtain the counseling their daughter so desperately needed. “We met with a counselor named Mary Beth and my daughter began attending counseling on a regular basis. The counseling helped keep my daughter calm, and gave her an outlet to talk to someone other than her mother and me about what she was going through. Mary Beth suggested that my wife and I also go through counseling as her parents,” Eddie remembers. Eddie took Mary Beth’s advice and started attending parent counseling at the Center. “It really helped to know that there are people there, willing to listen to you, willing to do anything within their power to help you, to give you some sense of control in a situation where you feel like you have none,” Eddie shared.
Sadly, Eddie and his family learned that the justice system doesn’t always work for survivors of sexual assault—their daughter endured a trial that ended with her attacker being acquitted. But Eddie was grateful that CRCC was there to support them before, during, and after the trial. Eddie is focused on the future for himself and his daughter, acknowledging that he and his family have a long road of recovery ahead of them. He is thankful to CRCC for their support, understanding, and for simply being there when he otherwise felt alone. “If I could wear a t-shirt that tells the world about what CRCC does to help people, I would,” Eddie says with a chuckle. The smile and twinkle in his eye is a hint that brighter days lay ahead for Eddie and his family.