The following story is from Marie.
"It was 6:30 in the morning, when I
paused in the shower. I couldn't figure out what that sound was. Shampoo still
in my hair, I turned off the water. Down stairs someone yells "Police!
Put your hands up!" There's no time to run across the hallway to grab my
robe. Quickly wrapping myself in a towel, I walk to the top of the stairs.
"I'm coming down. My hands are up!" I descend the first couple of
stairs and I can't count the number of police in the dark. They cuff me
and take me outside into the apartment complex. My husband is
already kneeling on the ground.
After searching the apartment, they take
us back inside. I'm finally escorted back up stairs, and allowed to dress while
being watched by two officers. They bring me back to my husband and sit me
on the couch with him. I smile at him and he smiles back. We laugh a
little bit. What a story we're going to have.
A crazy neighbor had called the cops
on my sister just a couple of weeks before. We were going to have a much better
story, we thought.
But it was only the beginning.
My husband was charged with “luring
a minor for sexual exploitation”. I didn’t even know what that meant. No one
would tell me anything. I was only able to speak with him for a moment after
they questioned him and placed him under arrest. That night he called from
jail, again we spoke briefly. I told him that I was going to love him no matter
what. The next day I read about the arrest in the news. How was it that the reporter
had more information than I did? I posted bail as quickly as I could. When I picked
him up 3 days later, I saw that his wrists were bandaged. During the
questioning the cops had lied to him, telling him how angry I was with him. The
guards at the jail laughed at him when he said that I would bail him out. He
was hopeless, so he tried to commit suicide.
Six months prior my husband had an
online conversation with a cop posing as a minor. He never showed up to meet. But
it didn’t matter, it was the conversation that was illegal.
He’s serving time in jail right now,
after agreeing to a plea bargain. I made a commitment for better or for worse.
And I do love and treasure him, I just never thought it would be like this."
In an update email from Marie:
"My husband has been out of jail for 2 months. It's been hard for
him, but he found us a home church (some place without kids). Through
that he found a job and a marriage counselor for us. But most
importantly he shared his story with the group. He only shared the
details with a few of the men, but it's the honesty that strikes me the
most. He hid his problems with pornography and all the related
issues for years. Finally he's being honest and I believe that if he can
continue to be honest then we can heal and that there is hope. That's
where we're at right now."
Marie is at the beginning of a long journey we all recognize. But let's not predict where this story is going. I am tempted to jump to conclusions, as I'm sure many others are out there. However, Marie's husband is not my husband, so I can't say what kind of man he is nor how this will affect their marriage. This is Marie's life and her choices. God bless you, Marie. Be strong and wise.
