My name is Kat Sullivan
I was raped in 1998 at Emma Willard School by my history professor and soccer coach, SCOTT SARGENT. Like many predators, he groomed me into thinking he was my friend, something I really needed at the time after my mother was diagnosed with brain cancer.
When I told *school administrators about the rape, rather than rush to protect other students, they bought me a one-way ticket to New Orleans. Disoriented and traumatized, I eventually became homeless. It took many years until I was finally able to tell my story to the police, only to learn that it was too late: in New York, law enforcement can’t do anything for victims like me after we turn 23. Instead, our abusers go free. Because of these broken laws, the man who raped me is still apparently coaching soccer, and serves on the Historical Commission in South Hadley, Massachusetts. He has been fired for similar cause at other schools. Specifically, the King School in Connecticut. He taught history and coached girls soccer and presumably still does.
I apologize on behalf of the state of New York. All I can do is rent a few billboards and put up a website to warn you of this man. This is not the ideal solution, but it is better than nothing. I’m using the settlement money Emma Willard School gave me for “the harm that was done” to fund these billboards and to support non-profits fighting for reform and helping other survivors of assault. My goal is to #CureTheCulture. I will try to continue to add articles as I find them. I did email the South Hadley Historical Commission when the Boston Globe was able to name SCOTT SARGENT, but he still serves on their board. Maybe they didn’t read the email I sent? They certainly didn’t return my call.
Why can’t the police do anything?
New York is actually one of the worst states in the nation for survivors of child sex abuse, right in line with Alabama, which came perilously close to electing a child molester-Roy Moore- to the U.S. Senate. That’s why I, along with thousands of advocates and survivors, am pushing for the passage of the Child Victims Act: legislation that would bring meaningful statute of limitation reform for survivors of childhood sex abuse.
My story is not unique. 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused as children in New York. On average, thirty-four percent of them will be under the age of 9.
Senate Republicans like capitol region representatives Kathy Marchione and George Amedore refuse to even tell their constituents where they stand, let alone take a vote. Senate Majority Leader John Flannagan won’t even meet with survivors about the legislation, but he certainly has met with private institutions that are opposed to this legislation.
It is time to pass the Child Victims Act. Abusers live among us - they are our neighbors, teachers, and sometimes our family. No more broken futures. No more children set aflame in the anguish of being a survivor of assault.
I’m sorry I couldn’t stop SCOTT SARGENT and I'm sorry that these school administrators failed students after me. I really am sorry.