I do not believe it. Even if some sex abuse survivors act in a manner similar to casey, because that proves nothing, it just proves that some sex abuse victims become very damaged.
I believe the suggestion that she may have been abused was planted by death penalty mitigation experts and that casey the liar slowly latched onto them as she began to realize they could aid in her defense.
Casey never made that allegation to any of her close friends or boyfriends, even though she made other allegations about her parents, particularly her dad. Then, after jail logs show she spent HOURS and HOURS with a death penalty mitigation experts, she writes a letter to a fellow inmate in which she tries out the theory that has been implanted. But, she does not state that daddy had his penis in her mouth. No, it takes much more coaching to develop that scenario. Instead, she talks about how LA molested her repeatedly at night and she states that she thinks perhaps her dad did too, although she cannot remember.
Now, suddenly, she remembers and it brings her to gushing tears.
Sex abuse survivors do not forget unless they are pre-verbal when the abuse occurred. In fact, trauma survivors CANNOT forget which is why they often suffer from PTSD.
I think casey now has convinced herself, after a lot of help from DT psychs and mitigation experts, that daddy did this to her.
But watching her praise her father as the best dad and grandpa ever, during a jail visit tape, shows me it took some hours to get her to where she is.
The thought of these "professionals" going in there and using every psychological trick in the book to suggest such a theory, to suggest that it would aid in her defense, sickens me. I can imagine it:
DAY ONE:
[AFTER A LONG DISCUSSION OF HER ENTIRE HISTORY...]
Okay, so I need you tell me about any kind of trauma you have ever experienced in your life because trauma sometimes explains behaviors others think are abnormal. Were you ever physically abused? Emotionally? Okay, so you think there may have been some emotional abuse by your mom and physical by your dad. Good. Now how about sexual? None? Okay, well lets talk about the other abuse you suffered as a child for awhile..."
"You know, sometimes victims of sexual abuse block out the abuse because it is too painful for them to deal with or to admit. Some victims refuse to talk about it because they feel shame. They are embarrassed. But it is not their fault! They are the victims! And it can cause them to really act in ways others do not understand. Is there anything you can think of that may have happened to you? Okay, well, I want you to think about this very hard because sometimes the subconscious memory needs time to surface. I am not telling you this happened to you but I want to be absolutely sure I know everything about your life. Okay sweetie?"
DAY TWO:
"I want to talk to you about abuse again. You know, some people when they have been sexually abused will experience loss differently from others. They may be able to hide their pain. They may be able to disassociate. That's because they have been taught to keep secrets and pretend everything is okay."
"You know, that's especially the case with victims of sexual abuse. Oh, I had this patient once who....people thought everything was okay and when they realized she had been pretending, they were amazed how well she hid it."
"It can explain a lot. It can explain behaviors that others think are "crazy".
"I had this one patient, her father did XY and Z. It was horrible. From the age of X to X, he crept in her room repeatedly and did these things to her. You know how she responded? Oh, the poor thing, she just went to school like nothing was wrong. She laughed and played and no one knew what was really going on."
"But inside, the secret she was forced to keep, it was killing her. But her dad made her keep the secret and her mother always wanted the family to seem perfect to outsiders. Kind of sounds like your mom a little!"
"Anyhow, as she grew older, keeping this secret caused her to do strange things. She needed male attention. She needed to party a lot and be almost frantic in her quest for "fun" in order to keep the incredible, horrible pain at bay. Well, I need to go get some lunch but I'd like you to think about her a bit. We'll talk when I come back."
"Hey casey, remember that patient I was telling you about? I wanted to tell you some more about her. Now, the secrets she was keeping, even though she acted like nothing was wrong, her pain did slip out in other ways. She did bad things sometimes like stealing, etc. Her pain needed some sort of outlet. She still acted like everything was okay, but if you looked close, it wasn't."
"But she was a great actress. She had been taught to be. Like I said, she could be molested that morning and be forced to plaster a smile on her face before she went to school. Poor things, the smile hid her tears."
"Then, one day she witnessed something horrible...But you know how she reacted? She never called the police. She never called 911. She never told a soul. Instead, she went out and acted as if everything was normal, like she was having fun. You know why? She had been programmed to hide secrets and trauma. But everyone was so sympathetic when they found out what had happened to her as a child and why it taught her to hide the truth."
"Well, I want to talk to you about repressed memories a bit and then I have to go for now."
DAY THREE:
casey, I want to know if you have thought about what we have been discussing. Do you think there is a possibility that you have experienced any kind of sexual abuse you may be repressing? Okay, so you think you might but you can't remember? Well here's some exercises you can do to relax your mind and remember better. I want you to understand that if this happened to you, it's not your fault. You are the victim! And it could explain a lot to a jury who may otherwise look at you as a monster."
Etc., etc.
This is my theory about how these ideas that were never there before, became implanted and believed by casey. It could have happened in one day or several weeks, but I think this is what happened. casey the liar grasped on to this sex abuse thing as if it was a life preserver. She wants out of jail and she thinks this is her ticket.
