Season 3, Episode 30: No One Believed Her

Imagine that you’ve been assaulted and no one, not the police, not your friends, and not even your family believe you. Would you continue to insist that you were telling the truth, or would the weight of disbelief cause you to say, “Nothing happened. I made it up”. On second thought, don’t answer yet. I’ll ask you again after you hear Marie’s story.

Our book this week is Unbelievable by award winning authors T. Christian Miller and Ken Armstrong. Netflix released a very well received limited series based on the book. Human rights attorney Bryan Stevenson, author of Just Mercy, which I featured in the very first episode of The Unlovely Truth, had this to say about the book: “This is a devastating but necessary read, composed by masters of investigative journalism.” I agree. It’s one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. It does contain material about rape, so please use your best judgement about whether to listen or recommend this episode. For everyone who does listen, this case has a lot of crazy twists and turns, so hold on tight.

You’ll be outraged when you hear the rapist tell one of his victims that he had a compulsion to rape that he couldn’t control. Let’s look at what it says in Ezekiel 18:29-30. “But the house of Israel says, ‘The Lord’s way isn’t fair.’ ‘Is it my ways that are unfair, house of Israel? Instead, isn’t it your ways that are unfair? Therefore, house of Israel, I will judge each one of you according to his ways.’ This is the declaration of the Lord God. ‘Repent and turn from all your rebellious acts, so they will not become a sinful stumbling block to you.’”

When you read the whole chapter so you have some context, you learn that there was a saying making the rounds in Israel that basically implied that when parents sinned, their children could suffer the consequences. This saying was especially popular with anyone who wanted to shift the blame for their own shortcomings onto someone else. God used Ezekiel to set the people straight. Each of us are responsible for our own sin. But as is always the case where God is concerned, there’s hope. For anyone who would turn from their sin, there was forgiveness. From what information is given to us in this week’s book, Marc O’Leary hasn’t done that.

License plate readers and the data they collect were crucial to solving multiple rapes and finding information that eventually led to proving that Marie had not lied about her rape. Check with your local police to see if your community uses them and if not, find out what you can do to help make it happen. If your neighborhood has a Homeowners Association, see if they would be willing to discuss adding them to the entrances to the neighborhood. Knowing who is around you, your kids, and the rest of your community helps keep us all a bit safer.

If you liked this episode, be sure to check out some earlier ones. I’ve had so many amazing guests who gave me fantastic information you won’t want to miss. You can also help someone else begin their journey as a different kind of PI - a person of impact, when you share the episode, and when you subscribe, give me a five-star rating and a nice review.

Get a copy of the book here

Learn more about LPRs here

Visit my website

Enter the Christmas in July book giveaway here