37. Chapter 37
Chapter thirty-seven
Tallahassee
Once again, I find myself in the one place I don’t want to be—the spotlight.
Although it’s different this time. In an attempt to avoid a repeat of the same fallout I previously experienced, Nash’s lawyer arranged a single interview for me.
I agreed. For closure, to put my past behind me once and for all.
Darren is a free man. Ralph called to tell me that because of the evidence I brought to light, all charges against him had been dropped and his record was cleared of the entire incident.
When Ralph gave me the news, he thanked me for not giving up on his son.
His gratitude wasn’t necessary. I would have done anything to save Darren.
Then we both broke down and listened to each other cry.
I’d intentionally kept Darren’s name and image out of the press so it wouldn’t affect his SEAL career. In a similar move, the Navy refused to release his name to “protect his status as a tier one operator.” So, when the media released the news, it was without his name or face.
Sergeant Metzger was immediately fired. Investigations were opened into the hospital staff and EMTs. The Navy prosecutor was publicly chastised.
Cyril Abernathy, Brady and Brandon Lombardi, and Corey Kimball were arrested on seven counts of rape and one count of assault and battery, along with attempted rape for what they did to me.
Corey, who filmed the attacks, is being offered a deal in exchange for his testimony against the other three.
If he accepts it, he’ll still face prison time, but less than his friends.
The wheels of justice turn slowly, so it remains to be seen if there will be a trial, or if they’ll be offered plea deals.
After the overwhelming media attention from my Save the Sailor campaign, the Navy went into spin mode. Pointing fingers and looking for a scapegoat to take the fall. As of today, it’s anyone’s guess who they’ll end up sacrificing.
The frenzied media spotlight shifted from me to the Navy, the rapists, and their other victims. Brett Abernathy’s bribes and the failure of the justice system to prosecute four wealthy boys were also called into question.
And in what may be the most astonishing turn of events, I was offered a job as a commentator at the next Summer Olympics.
The outcome is bittersweet.
Justice is being served, and at long last, my life finally feels like my own again. While all of that is good news, the cost was high.
I lost the man who lodged himself inside my heart.