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When Dawanna Witt teaches her juvenile justice class at Inver Hills Community College, the high-ranking Hennepin County Sheriff s Office administrator occasionally tells stories about a little girl. Sometimes Witt is explicit about the details of the little girl s life. Other times, she s more vague, because the details can be harrowing and difficult to stomach.
The little girl s family life was scarred by alcoholism and drug addiction.
The little girl remembers police officers being called to her home and telling her and her siblings they would grow up to become crackheads like others in their family.
The little girl had male family members who were sexual predators, and in response, she didn t take care of her hygiene. Being smelly and dirty, the little girl figured, would make her less of a target, even if it also meant she was bullied in school.