Teen sexually abused in 2022 says she still experiences depression, panic attacks

CEDAR RAPIDS — A 14-year-old girl who was sexually abused as an 11-year-old said Tuesday, during her abuser’s sentencing, that what he did made her “feel bad” about herself, as if the assault was her fault, even though she knows it wasn’t.

“I am depressed and I’ve been suicidal,” the teen said during her victim impact statement at the sentencing of William Wesley Kelley, 48, of Marion. She said she feels “sad, angry and lost” and most days experiences panic attacks. She has trouble trusting people and specifically men.

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The teen had known Kelley for many years and did trust him. Now, it’s “disturbing to even think about him or anything surrounding him because I feel like it takes me back to that moment of the assault.”

The night it happened, June 4, 2022, the girl said she felt “scared, confused, upset and disturbed” because it was difficult for her to believe someone she trusted would sexually abuse her. She remembers that date every year and said she probably always will.

She had just finished 5th grade and was excited to turn 12 at the end of summer. She was also looking forward to playing with a new virtual reality headset, which Kelley had purchased to “lure me downstairs” when others were away from home for several hours.

The teen told her mother that night what had happened and she was taken to the hospital. Her mother reported it to the police. The girl said she had to do an interview at Unity Point Health — St. Luke’s Child Protection Center and went through an “uncomfortable” physical exam with a doctor.

She said the judicial process has been difficult for her and she never got to tell a jury what he did because he took a plea after two years. Kelley was scheduled to go to trial in September.

The teen was worried about what sentencing Kelley would receive because he is asking for a deferred sentence and probation. She asked the judge to give Kelly a prison term, so she can move forward and be “happy and safe again.”

Sixth Judicial District Judge Chad Kepros denied Kelley’s request for a deferred sentence, and sentenced him to five years in prison for willful injury and two years for assault with intent to commit sexual abuse, an aggravated misdemeanor. He then ran the sentences concurrently for a total of five years.

Kelley, originally charged with second-degree sexual abuse, made an Alford plea to the lesser charges. In an Alford plea the defendant maintains innocence but admits the prosecution has enough evidence for a conviction.

Kepros also ordered Kelley to serve a special sentence of probation for 10 years and comply with the sex offender registry requirements because this is a sex offense. Kelley’s conviction also meets the definition of a sexually predatory offense, which will enhance future punishment for similar offenses.

The teen’s mother told The Gazette on Wednesday her daughter was “incredibly brave and courageous throughout the entire ordeal.” It was “disgusting” to her to have to hear Kelley’s letters of support from his family and church, who “painted” him as the victim and denied his guilt, she said.

When Kelley spoke during the sentencing, he listed all the material things he had lost — his house, cars, job — and called this a “blip” on his otherwise “pristine record,” the mother noted.

“Injuring my child permanently is not a ‘blip,’” the mother said.

She was glad the judge “admonished his actions” and told him a deferred sentence was insufficient for the harm he caused an 11-year-old.

The mother admitted to being surprised the system worked in this case.

“The system does not usually work for child victims, especially when the child is a Native American and the perpetrator is a white man,” the mother said.

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