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| Jared, suffering the effects of toxic mold, with his brother, sister, and mom, Kelli Kellum Dussault. |
Last year I researched and wrote this
paragraph about Jared Dussault’s extended family without identifying
them in the Providence Journal (May 3, 2014, p. A-13):
Brown Professor Ross Cheit’s book, The Witch-Hunt Narrative: Politics, Psychology, and the Sexual Abuse of Children, shows how a widespread belief that children lie led courts and media to overlook significant evidence of sexual abuse. ….
When a culture of child sex abuse persists within a family over several generations, that family often has its own narrative, such as one I heard recently: ‘If incest was good enough for God to populate the earth from one couple, then it’s good enough for us.’ The judge had no way of knowing the family narrative when he ordered those children to have frequent visits with a father they dread.
When Jared ended his life on August 16th
at the age of 17, his mother, Kelli Kellum Dussault, asked me to honor
him by telling the truth about his childhood. His “Sexual Abuse Assessment,”
done nine years ago by the Shepherd Program at St. Mary’s Home for Children in
Rhode Island (June 15, 2006), tells how Kelli, as a child, had reported her own
“extensive history of sexual abuse in her family. She stated that she was
abused by her maternal grandfather from 4 – 13 years of age” (p. 5). When she
revealed this at 13, and the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families
got involved, her family condemned her. She said her brother told her to “get
over it.” Years later, her son, Jared, reported being sexually abused, along
with other children, by that uncle, Kelli’s brother.
Kelli’s maternal grandfather is dead, and to
my knowledge, no one in the family has been prosecuted for child sex abuse. But
she reports horrifying family “secrets” and stories of foster children trying
to run away from her grandparents’ home.
Jared’s 2006 sexual abuse report shows he
expressed a death wish by the age of 8, when alleging physical abuse
by his father (p. 9). His father and the court’s guardian ad litem
stopped the boy from talking with a therapist whom Jared liked and wanted to
see (p. 10). His father continued exposing the boy to his uncle and his
maternal grandparents, who “are reportedly buying Mr. Dussault and his
girlfriend a house” (p. 6), while Mr. Dussault was “assisting Uncle Ricky’s
defense against Jared’s allegations of sexual abuse” (p. 11).
The clinician’s report concludes:
Jared is aware that some people in his family, such as his father and maternal grandparents, have not believed him and even asked him to recant his disclosures…. Jared needs to be believed by everyone in his life, in order to move forward and begin his healing journey. Without the support of family, survivors are often unable to make progress in their sexual abuse treatment. Without individual sexual abuse specific treatment, Jared may continue to keep his memories inside, and internalize the blame and responsibility for his abuse…. (p. 25)
After her divorce, Kelli
succeeded in getting her three children away from the extended family that
believed incest was “in the Bible” and condoned child sex abuse. But they again encountered severe problems with mold that especially
afflicted Jared. He had suffered from mold as an infant in their earliest home
in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, “which led to chronic throat and ear infections for
Jared” (p. 3).
She moved the children to Florida, where mold exacerbated Jared’s mood
swings, depression, and suicidal thoughts. Kelli is now part of a large
community of Facebook friends who have spread warnings against toxic mold. Many
have shared the new movie “Moldy,” dedicating it to Jared. https://moldymovie.com/index?affiliate=3983
Children who struggle with closeted memories
and chronic illness, may see no way out. At least twice, Jared tried to end his
life. In 2012, when he was 14, he tried to overdose on Xanax, Tylenol PM, and
Benadryl and left a suicide note: “I’m sorry to all of you…. Mom, I am going to
miss you the most. After all you’ve done for me.… If I hadn’t had such a great
family that loves me this day would have come much sooner….” Kelli told the
medical staff that she had “located what looked like a noose” made from
shoestrings in Jared’s closet several weeks earlier (Assessment Summary in
Jared’s medical report at NCH, Naples, Florida, Dec. 7, 2012). This month,
suffering extreme physical distress, he returned to the closet and hung
himself.
His father’s reaction to Jared’s death has
reprised the earliest years of their relationship. Jared told a clinician at age
8: “I have many problems. My biggest problem is with my Dad” (p. 12). He told
another clinician that his father "constantly yells" at him and he
longed never to see his father again.
From 1,500 miles away, his father has now
blamed Kelli for Jared’s death. He has not seen his children in years, but he
refuses to sign the papers for Jared to be buried in Florida, near his mother,
brother, and sister -- the family that always loved him.
Not signing the papers. Kelli says it is
exactly what Jared’s father did to stop the St. Mary’s therapist from talking
to prosecutors years ago.
State lawmakers, prosecutors, courts, and
child protection agencies must finally end the widespread denial of what
happened to Jared and others like him. We must stop giving abusers unlimited
power over their victims. We must enact and enforce laws to end child sex abuse
within the family.
The Shepherd Program maintains strict ethical standards and confidentiality. They will not confirm or deny that Jared was their client. I secured this report from a family member. If I have made any
mistakes in this account, please send corrections and documents to
ParentingProject [at] verizon.net.
