This is the story of a family reckoning with a horrific truth, which shook their very foundation. It’s also the story of their healing journey, and how Children’s Home Society (CHS) has walked alongside each family member to help them move forward.
The oldest child in the family is Logan, 14. After a unit on sex in his school health class, he made a disclosure to his mother, Natalie. When Logan was seven, his stepfather had sexually abused him.
Natalie was devastated. But it got worse. The two younger children—12-year-old Zach and 10-year-old Brady, revealed they were abused, too, when they were five and four. Natalie called the police, who referred the family to Children’s Home Child Advocacy Center (CAC) in Rapid City.
CAC is a safe, child-focused environment, where children can tell their story once to a trained interviewer in a trauma-informed manner. Then, a multi-disciplinary team that includes medical providers, law enforcement, mental health, prosecution, child protection, victim advocacy and other professionals decides how to help the child. CAC offers referrals to therapy, medical exams, courtroom preparation, victim advocacy, case management and more.
“We run every referral, through our system to see if we have any history with the family,” said Education and Public Awareness Specialist/Community Navigator Jessica Broullire. “We found that we had history with the offender in a different jurisdiction, which we let the investigator know.”
According to Forensic Interviewer Monica Eaton-Harris, “When the subject was being investigated for the first incident, he moved on to the family that we are now discussing.” Therapist Melanie Coleman explained that when the offender was jailed for the first offense, Natalie put in place a No Contact order. Unfortunately, the abuse of her children had already taken place.
At CAC, Monica gave the family a tour to help them feel more comfortable in the new environment. She interviewed Logan first. Zach wasn’t ready to be interviewed, so Brady went next. A month later, when Zach was ready, Natalie brought him back to CAC. “His disclosure increased the charges against the offender,” said Jessica.
Next, she referred the children for counseling with Melanie at the CHS Outpatient Mental Health Clinic, in the same building as CAC.
“Each of the children processed their feelings differently,” explained Melanie. “Logan carried a lot of anxiety. Zach held a lot of anger. The youngest, Brady, has had a lot of regression back to the age when the trauma occurred.” In Brady, regression looked like baby talk and temper tantrums, which is part of the healing process.
The children received subpoenas to testify at the grand jury indictment. While Logan and Brady were confident, Zach was anxious. He had several crisis sessions with Melanie to work through those emotions and develop coping skills.
“We used Senate Bill 70 which was enacted in 2023 [written and advocated for by former CHS staff member Tifanie Petro], which allows reasonable accommodations for any child under the age of 16 testifying,” said Melanie. “Zach testified in a separate room with Mom outside the door and was allowed to have a comfort item.”
Despite counseling, Zach remained angry. “He’s just angry all the time about the abuse,” said Melanie. “I don’t blame him. He’s angry about the loss of the relationship with his father and what he did to him. He’s angry at the world.”
Zach attempted to run away several times and when Natalie tried to stop him, he fought physically—scratching, hitting and kicking. She had to call the police to de-escalate the situation on several occasions. “In school he would throw things at other kids and was just unable to regulate his anger, which does stem from that sexual abuse,” Melanie explained. “Natalie and I attended an IEP meeting with school staff, and they said they were not able to meet his needs.”
As a result, Zach was referred to residential treatment. Melanie and Natalie met with Residential Program Director Freddy Maseman to tour Black Hills Children’s Home. Natalie decided it was the right fit for Zach, and they began the application process.
“Hope is found by celebrating small wins, like just showing up for therapy each week,” said Melanie. She has used the Children’s Hope Scale provided through the Science of Hope training with all three of the kiddos in therapy.
“We've seen the measurable hope increasing slowly over time,” she said. “For instance, I have been measuring it about every 30 days with Logan. We've seen it improve by about a point or so each month and then he made a pretty big jump of about four points. He started off with no hope and we're up to moderate hope, and that is significant. Right now, we're working towards high hope.”
“I want every family to know that resources like this exist. You’re not just on your own because CHS can support you,” said Natalie.