Rape victim encourages other victims to come forward

53-year-old Bucky Joe Proffitt, who worked as a home health care aide for an elderly woman, was sentenced to between 10 and 25 years in prison for raping her daughter in law, Linda Williams, back in the summer of 2005.

According to WVVA's Rape Victim Speaks Out:

Williams says, "What he did, he's going to pay for, it's not right."Unfortunately, Linda is not alone in a case like this.In the last decade, more than 300 forcible rapes have been reported each year in West-Virginia.Worse than that, more than one-thousand rapes are reported each year in Virginia.

Licensed Psychologist Susan Smith says, "This happens not only to women, but also to boys, young men, the elderly."Sexual assault is one of the most under-reported crimes, with more than half still being left unreported."If it happens to you, report it, or if you don't it's going to make your life a living, awful bad place," says Williams.

After reporting the assault to police, victims should be examined at a hospital so that evidence can be collected.They then have to begin coping with the myriad of effects that rape can cause."Shock, feelings of loss of control, sleep disturbance, appetite disturbance, feelings of self-blame, questioning of your own judgment, your own perceptions," are some of the side effects according to Smith.