A Florida woman has filed a lawsuit against a local sheriff’s office, alleging that officers forced her into an unimaginable position during an investigation of her childhood abuse.
The 22-year-old, identified in court documents as Taylor Cadle, claims that those meant to protect her instead humiliated and silenced her, coercing her into accepting blame for crimes she did not commit.
The lawsuit, submitted in October, reveals a disturbing narrative of how sexual abuse survivors can be further traumatized by systems intended to provide justice.
The case traces back to when Taylor was a child under the care of her adoptive parents, Henry and his wife, after being removed from foster care in 2012.
From ages 9 to 13, Taylor alleges she endured repeated sexual assaults by Henry Cadle.
After confiding in a church member about the abuse, the matter was reported to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
At that point, the nightmare reportedly took another turn. Taylor claims that investigators from the sheriff’s office, including Sheriff Grady Judd and investigator Melissa Turnage, accused her of fabricating the allegations. Rather than receiving help, she was allegedly coerced into writing letters of apology to her abuser.
According to People, one of the handwritten letters addressed to ‘Dad’ stated: “I’m sorry for what I did… I didn’t stop and think of my consequences.”
Another letter, directed to an unnamed officer, contained the line: “I know what I did wasn’t right, therefore I face my consequences. This will never happen again.”
The lawsuit further alleges that investigator Turnage dismissed Taylor’s accusations in a conversation with Henry, telling him: “Basically, Taylor [Plaintiff], I guess, has made up these allegations, OK? That you have been sexually abusing her.”
Faced with pressure from Henry’s wife, Taylor claims she was forced to plead guilty to filing a false report under a probation agreement, during which she had to write the apology letters. She was subsequently returned to Henry’s home.
However, her return did not conclude the situation as the sheriff’s office might have anticipated.
Taylor discreetly gathered photographic evidence of the abuse, which she later presented to the authorities.
This evidence led to Henry’s conviction for sexual battery of a child between 12 and 18 by a custodian, as recorded in court documents.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office, in response to the lawsuit, told People it’s a ‘publicity stunt’ and maintained that their deputies made ‘deliberate and rational decisions based upon the information and evidence we had at the time.’
Taylor is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, along with legal fees and other expenses.
UNILAD has reached out to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office for comment.