Every two minutes a person is sexually assaulted.
MARQUETTE -- Every two minutes, a person in the U.S. is sexually assaulted. That's according to the Department of Justice. To help raise public awareness and educate communities on how to prevent sexual violence, April has been designated Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
For Lori Connelly, the battle with sexual abuse from her father started when she was just 10 years old.
"As I was getting older, the story changed and he started telling me that if I ever told anyone about the things that he was doing to me, then he would kill me," said Connelly.
So she stayed quiet, keeping the secret for nearly three years.
"Until one day when he was beating my mother up, I knew that that was my time to tell her, and I knew that she would believe me."
That night, Lori and her mother moved from Wisconsin to Michigan, hoping for a new start.
According to Kelly Laakso, a victim's advocate for the Marquette Women's Center, stories like Lori's are far too common. And their agency is here to help. Last year, the center saw more than 130 victims of sexual assault.
"Individual one-on-one therapy is recommended. Counseling is recommended for each individual to try to see where they're at in the grieving process, and once they begin to disclose and get to a safer place, then we recommend support groups that we offer here, also," said Laakso.
Laakso says the key to stopping sexual assault is awareness, so center volunteers hung teal ribbons on trees in Harlow Park.
According to the prosecutor's office, Marquette County has seen a total of 23 sexual assault cases over the last 12 months, nine of which were first degree assaults, meaning some sort of weapon or excessive force was involved.
As for Lori, her father spent a year in prison for also assaulting her stepsisters. Although it's been tough, she's moved on and has some advice for fellow victims.
"It doesn't have to end your life. I'm a survivor--I survived sexual assault and I moved on and you can, too. You can't let it tear you down, and you can wallow in your sorrows or you can decide that you need to move on, and I hope that everybody who has been a victim of sexual assault decides that they want to move on and lead a successful life."
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forWLUC