A Florida teenager's remarkable fight to put her rapist behind bars

Content Warning: The story is about childhood sexual abuse.

In Polk County, Florida, where the sheriff has said his department will “go to the ends of the earth” to arrest child predators, a child victim wondered how she ended up on the other side of the law.

Taylor Cadle was 12 years old when she told a trusted adult that her adoptive father had sexually abused her since she was 9 years old. Law enforcement responded quickly and almost as quickly suspected that Taylor had made up the allegations. The lead investigator, Melissa Turnage, began aggressively questioning Taylor and even threatened to return her to foster care if she continued her accusations.

“I told her over and over again that I'm not the liar here,” Taylor said of the detective.

Despite Taylor's pleas, Turnage eventually filed criminal charges against her for lying to the police.

For the Emmy Award-winning Center for Investigative Reporting and Netflix documentary Victim/SuspectI found hundreds of others who, like Taylor, started as alleged victims who reported sexual assaults to police and eventually became criminal suspects. My reporting uncovered shocking police missteps in several of these investigations. All of these alleged victims continue to insist that their accounts were true.

In a surprising development in her case, Taylor vindicated herself. With our partner PBS NewsHourI went to Polk County to meet Taylor – and learn how she ended up putting her abuser in prison.

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