Sudanese Refugee Who Raped Me Now Seeks Custody of My Little Miracle, by Penny

Posted at Save the 1:

...In hindsight, I now see how I was the one who was naïve, still feeling sorry for him and believing he was awkward but kind.

When I met him in the summer of 2016, he seemed friendly, but it was clear that he didn’t understand boundaries as he was touchy, hugged a lot and was seen asking all of the women in the neighborhood if they needed help with their yard or in the house. He told me and my mom that he wanted to find a white woman to marry and have kids with. Despite these odd behaviors, the few times I had spoken with him, he still seemed genuinely wanting to help women. I just figured he was naïve and that there were cultural differences because he was a Sudanese refugee.

When I heard that he had gone to jail for a disturbing crime of “sexual contact with a vulnerable adult,” I was shocked and confused. I reached out to him in jail to get his side of the story. I was met there by his refugee advocate, and they both assured me of his innocence.

Upon his release from jail, he contacted me, asking if he could see me to thank me for coming to see him in the jail. We talked over the course of a few days and became friends.

There was a lot of prejudice going on in my small Idaho town about the refugees, and befriending him was my way of being positive and welcoming. When he was soon dismissed of the sexual assault charge, that was confirmation for me of his innocence.

It wasn't very long before he began making comments about wanting to be more than friends. At this time, my boyfriend and I were going through a hard time and in the middle of a split, and this Sudanese man knew this. He acted concerned, but soon started to say things about wanting to be with me, and I made it very clear that it would never happen.

I was now staying with a friend. My phone was going to be shut off soon because of my inability to pay for it. When I told him about it, he got very sad and offered to pay so he’d be able to talk to me. He became obsessive in calling and texting, but I felt obligated to reply.

He would always ask me who I was with, what I was doing, and where I was. He would constantly ask me to come over or if he could come where I was. If I didn't respond in time or told him I was busy, he would become upset and tell me how lonely he was and sad.

Continue reading...