The Imagination S4E78 | Caitlin - Child Rape Survivor's Pursuit to Find Fugitive Kevin Ahern & Uncovering L.A.
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Today I’m honored to introduce you all to: rape survivor and whistleblower, certified phlebotomist and medical assistant, photographer, music and concert lover, dog and pittie partitionist, artist, cannabis connoisseur, and survivor advocate: Caitlin.
I met Caitlin on Twitter recently and was instantly in awe of her. In a world where it is frightening and risky to speak your truth aloud and publicly, Caitlin struck me in her convictions of pressing forward with exposing her abuse, abuser, and what she’s experienced and witness first-hand - and it’s very difficult to not feel a sense of deep admiration for her.
In Caitlin’s freshman year of high school, around the time of January 2011, she was approached by a man named Kevin Ahern online on Facebook after seeing him pop-up as a mutual friend. From that point on, heavy grooming began and after relentless requests to meet with her, Cailtin eventually gave in. She met with Kevin Ahern two times, and both times she was raped. After the second time there was severe pain, and Caitlin refrained from seeing him again despite his relentless text messages and phone calls. She tried to move on and avoid what happened by keeping it a secret. And boy, was she good at keeping a secret.
After bottling up her emotions for so long, and hiding what happened, she experienced a mental breakdown which included psychosis. Despite the terror she was facing with delusions and hallucinations at times, she still went and reported her rape to law enforcement. For the first time in her life, she was forced to deal with what happened to her. Investigators would come to her house and question or discuss things with her, and soon her case was picked up by a District Attorney. Like most rape cases, it dragged on for a few years until in 2018 when trial commenced. Caitlin had to testify, and the outcome concluded in victory with 7 guilty counts of sexual offenses for the verdict. There was only one problem though.
Kevin Ahern, was missing and had absconded. He skipped out on bail.
The turmoil and trauma Caitlin was facing took time to learn how to deal with. Miraculously, she has not had psychosis or psychosis related symptoms since 2018 - for six years now which she credits to taking care of her mental health. The combination of trauma and mental health paved the way for crazy experiences in Los Angeles as an adult. Having dealt with everything from the music industry, to the healthcare industry, Caitlin has a lot to say about the things she has dealt with in her life and the secrets she thinks should come to light as well.
CONNECT WITH CAITLIN:
YouTube: @seizonsha1
Twitter: (57)caitlin (@seizonsha1) | TikTok
LinkTree: seizonsha1 | Twitter, Instagram, TikTok | Linktree
GoFundMe: Fundraiser by Caitlin Shores : Find Kevin Ahern and Help His Victim Heal (gofundme.com)
IG: @caitiecross • Instagram photos and videos
TikTok: (57)caitlin (@seizonsha1) | TikTok
CONNECT WITH EMMA & THE IMAGINATION:
Emma's Substack: (1) Emma’s Substack | Emma Katherine | Substack
EMAIL: imagineabetterworld2020@gmail.com
All links: