he was like, this is what you want. and he told me that if i told anybody, he would kill me and that nobody would believe me anyways because he was my instructor and outranked me. how did you get out of there? i honestly don t remember driving home. initially, harmony didn t want to tell anyone what had happened. but her injuries were impossible to hide. at a civilian hospital, a rape kit was administered and she was questioned. at the time, harmony was too afraid to name her attacker, a man who was part of her chain of command. she wouldn t feel safe until a year and a half later, after she transferred to another base. i reported the rape and told them who did it. sergeant collins. harmony tells me she filed
the story of her rape and once again identified her attacker by name. this time, instead of ignoring her, harmony was discharged. once i was discharged, i no longer was entitled to any type of legal defense. i didn t have the money either to hire a lawyer. but three years later, long after harmony had given up hope of collins ever being held accountable, she got an unexpected shot at justice. harmony had just moved to florida when she attempted to seek medical benefits from the local v.a. they claimed they had no paperwork documenting her sexual assault. i turned in the records, and they said, you just reported a rape. and i was like what do you mean i just reported a rape? i ve been reporting a rape. so what happened then. they researched, and they
i didn t have the money either to hire a lawyer. but three years later, long after harmony had given up hope of collins ever being held accountable, she got an unexpected shot at justice. harmony had just moved to florida when she attempted to seek medical benefits from the local v.a. they claimed they had no paperwork documenting her sexual assault. i turned in the records, and they said, you just reported a rape. and i was like what do you mean i just reported a rape? i ve been reporting a rape. so what happened then. they researched, and they said, hey, the guy is still on active duty. now we re going to prosecute. what s what harmony had wanted for so long. finally, the military was stepping up. but as soon as the lawyers got involved, they tried to shut down the case, saying there wasn t enough evidence.
afraid to name her attacker, a man who was part of her chain of command. she wouldn t feel safe until a year and a half later, after she transferred to another base. i reported the rape and told them who did it. sergeant collins. harmony tells me she filed two separate reports naming sergeant collins. but instead of prosecuting they didn t do anything. it was common practice in the military. close ranked tds and discount the victim. harmony wanted collins punished but her reports went nowhere. she tried to soldier on but the next ten years were difficult ones. what was your condition like psychologically? i was having trouble personally dealing with things. i was having trouble with my leadership. i wasn t getting along with my staff. in 2011, harmony sought counselling. in one of her sessions, she told
two separate reports naming sergeant collins. but instead of prosecuting they didn t do anything. it was common practice in the military. close ranks and discount the victim. harmony wanted collins punished but her reports went nowhere. she tried to soldier on but the next ten years were difficult ones. what was your condition like psychologically? i was having trouble personally dealing with things. i was having trouble with my leadership. i wasn t getting along with my staff. in 2011, harmony sought counselling. in one of her sessions, she told the story of her rape and once again identified her attacker by name. this time, instead of ignoring her, harmony was discharged. once i was discharged, i no longer was entitled to any type of legal defense.