| Victim of abuse spreads her message | |||||
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By Lisa Flynn WIVB TV News 4 - Buffalo, New York | |||||
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Allegations of abuse at a Polygamist compound made headlines earlier of 2008. Now a victim of abuse is spreading her message at a local college. Sara Hammon grew up in a polygamist community in Arizona. Her father, J.M. Hammon was a religious leader who had more than a dozen wives and fathered dozens of children. Sara broke away from the community and now lectures on the widespread abuse that exists behind the walls. Sara spoke to social sciences students at Medaille College Wednesday afternoon. She appeared at the request of Doctor Ross Runfola. Sara spoke candidly about growing up in a life of isolation at a Colorado City Compound. She said she endured years of sexual abuse beginning as an infant. She spoke about her teenaged engagement and about how she broke away from her father's cult. Sara said by the time she was fourteen, she had been physically, sexually, and psychologically abused by no less than 12 male members of her family. "Young girls as young as 12 years old are forced to marry whoever the religious leader thinks she should marry," said Hammon and continues, "When you are being abused, you feel you are the only one because you cannot talk about it. We knew it was going on. The whole family knew it was going on, but we couldn't talk about it with each other. We just pretended like it didn't happen, like it didn't exist. On his death bed, my dad tried to sexually abuse me." Today, Sara Hammon is the Vice President of the Hope Organization, which raises awareness about the polygamous cult she was raised in. She also works to help people who have left this group to integrate into mainstream society. | |||||
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WIVB.com Originally broadcast October 22, 2008 | |||||
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