A Crime Victim's 'Shout Out' to the Arizona Criminal Justice System and State Leadership

2005 Award for Leadership and Distinguished Service to Victims of Crime presented by Attorney General Terry Goddard.

This is the letter I posted to The Arizona Attorney General and the Maricopa County Attorney's Office FB pages because life just doesn't bounce right back to normal, the effects of crime can be life-altering and long-lasting. Our story has not ended and we do face continued struggle. I vowed with every ounce of energy I have left in me that this would not happen to another family! 

When a child has been the victim of a violent sexual crime and there exists police recorded death threats to the child's life, crime victim relocation in order to protect their child's life becomes the family's only option. Currently Arizona Crime Victim Compensation does not cover financial assistance with costs associated with relocation to safety though I am aware of a resolution that 'sits' waiting to be passed that could have helped my family re-stabilize.

In already tough financial times for many of us, we certainly do not put away a savings in anticipation of becoming a crime victim. At a time when a victim family should be able to deal with the emotional trauma and focus on reclaiming their lives in the aftermath of crime, they should not have to face additional financial burden, relocation expense, and even loss of income as a direct result of crime.

As a crime victim advocate for nearly twenty years, I have served this state and the nation to ensure crime victims received services they needed unique to each family's circumstances. We are not only feeling the emotional and psychological effects of my daughter becoming a victim of a violent crime in the state of Arizona, continued fear for safety, and added financial burden; but now the feeling of abandonment from the very state I served for two decades of my life. Please tell me where the justice is in this and what your office will do to prevent this from happening to another family. I appreciate your attention to this matter.
Thank you.

Kym L. Pasqualini

Founder of Nation's Missing Children Organization & National Center for Missing Adults

Recipient of the 2005 Arizona Attorney General's Award for Leadership and Distinguished Service to Victims of Crime, presented by Terry Goddard.