She can never escape the memories of her stolen childhood.
A lingering glance from a passing stranger incites waves of fear. The movie depiction of a typical teen girl reduces her to tears.
But for the first time on Tuesday, she escaped the oppressive dread that the man who prostituted her at the age 12 into a vile web of sexual servitude might never be punished.
She watched as Todd Barkau, formerly of Blue Springs, was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison. The woman’s mother was sentenced in May to 15 years for her role in allowing Barkau to train and market her daughter as a dominatrix.
In an interview with The Kansas City Star after Tuesday’s hearing, the woman, now 23 and married, was buoyed that such a miserable chapter in her life had finally ended.
The young woman smiled often, cradled her husband’s hand, and spoke of how her experience had motivated her to help others facing the kind of crimes she had to endure.
“It’s great to have resolution and know that they will be punished for what they did,” she said. “It’s a victory for everybody.”
Not long after news of the case broke, she left her job at an area correctional institution because it was too near a facility where Barkau was being held, she said. Inmates at her institution also had learned that she was involved in the case, which made work there awkward.
Without the income, she lost her house and she and her husband eventually moved in with a friend. Now she works as a gas station attendant in the Kansas City metro area.
She has her sights set on something else, however. She wants a career in law enforcement.
“Being involved in this case has given me a platform,” she said. “In the future I’d like to help people who have been a victim of this sort of thing. With the help I’ve been given, I’d like to give back.
“I think that would be a very good thing — to give hope to others.”
Besides sending Barkau to prison, Laughrey ordered him to pay $200,000 in restitution for future counseling costs the woman will incur.
Obtaining help hasn’t always been easy, the woman said. She often has had to pay for expensive medical services and counseling out of her own pocket. She hopes that the restitution fund will help.
“I’ve always thought there should be more funding for this,” she said. “It needs to be addressed.”
Barkau read a statement before he was sentenced in which he said his own victimization as a child led him to a life of self-loathing and substance abuse. He said he saw going to prison as a gift from God to turn his life around.
And even though he seemed to question some of the allegations made against him, Barkau said he pleaded guilty out of remorse and guilt for “the wrong choices” he made with her.
The woman told the judge that she hoped Barkau received help while he was in prison.
“He really needs it,” she said.
Barkau’s survivor — she doesn’t like the term “victim” — said his statement to the judge was odd.
“He lumped us together so that it seemed we were almost victims together,” she said. “That’s clearly not the case. It seemed strange and awkward to me.”
If there’s a lesson for others in her case, she said, it’s that people should be careful with children.
“Watch very carefully over your kids — who they’re around and who you let into your lives,” she said. “It can be very dangerous.”
She urged everyone to be mindful of neighborhood children.
“Take heed of the fact that if there’s a child that you know lives in the neighborhood but that you never see, ask questions,” she said.
Adult victims of sexual slavery also should speak up.
“It’s justice,” she said. “It does take courage to come forward. It’s the best thing you can do as a victim.”
Despite all she has been through, she said she was optimistic about her future.
“I feel like a phoenix rising out of the ashes,” she said enthusiastically. “To come out the end and still be OK is amazing. It says a lot about the human condition.”
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