Katie Thurston Reveals The aftermath of Her Rape Incident – ‘Justice system failed me’

Katie Thurston has publicly revealed that she was a rape victim and criticized the justice system for failing her.

The former Bachelorette shared her heart-wrenching story on social media. In the slides shared on her Instagram, Katie wrote, “My pain has a purpose, my purpose has power, I want to focus on the positive.”

 

“My pain has purpose, my purpose has power, I want to focus on the positive,” she captioned her post.

“The justice system continues to let down victims every day. I refuse to feel defeated in the strength it took to be an advocate for myself. I hope my experience will help those feel the strength and support they need. While I’m not ready to share my story, I want to share the valuable resources that saved my life. I called 911 to report my rape. They sent an officer to take my statement and then drove me to a special medical center to perform a SART exam,” she wrote.

“I felt like a small lost child who was vulnerable and scared. They thoroughly explained the process, asking for consent along the way, and allowing me to decline or change my mind at any time,” she continued.

“My blood was drawn to check for STDs, drugs, and blood alcohol concentration. I was given Plan B, Rocephin (a shot for bacterial infections), Azithromycin (to treat possible STIs), and Truvada and nPEP for a month (to treat possible HIV). My kit would take four months to complete its cycle. Nothing could move until this was done, so the time between allowed me to seek mental health support.”

She added that she took therapy as well and had access to an advocate who she could call or text at any time if she had questions about the process.

“I did everything I should have done as a victim of rape. ‘Here are my texts, my calls, my photos, my videos, names, witnesses, locations, social media, time stamps, surveillance footage, DNA, my body.’ The warning ‘a guilty verdict is hard in criminal court’ echoed throughout & the months, like an annoying parrot you were forced to keep. And as much as l heard it, I still wasn’t ready to be stopped. And yet, without warning, I was,” she wrote.

“It took 7 months for the San Diego Justice to let me down as a victim of rape.” 

“The justice system continues to let down victims every day. I refuse to feel defeated in the strength it took to be an advocate for myself. I hope my experience will help those feel the strength and support they need. While I’m not ready to share my story, I want to share the valuable resources that saved my life.”