Remember the teen who reportedly got indecent messages from Anthony Weiner? Well, the saga is not over yet. The story has gotten more attention over the last few days, because, as you may have heard, FBI Director James Comey announced on Friday that an investigation was continuing into Hillary Clinton’s private email server, discovered on the private computer of Weiner and his wife, Clinton’s aide Huma Abedin.
Because of this, the 16-year-old ensnared in the scandal recently told BuzzFeed that she was upset with Comey for not giving her warning that she would be in the spotlight once again.
As such, she wrote an open letter in Buzzfeed News, explaining how Comey didn’t protect her as a victim and survivor:
“I am the 15-year-old (now 16) who was the victim of Anthony Weiner. I now add you to the list of people who have victimized me. I told my story originally to protect other young girls that might be a victim of online predators.
Your letter to Congress has now brought this whole matter back into the media spotlight. Not even 10 minutes after being forensically interviewed with the FBI for seven hours, I received a phone call from a REPORTER asking for a statement. Why didn’t you communicate with the local FBI agents that I had just spoken to?
… In his “cooperation” with you and with his love of the spotlight, Anthony Weiner has given information that led to the media finding me. You have assisted him in further victimizing me on every news outlet. I can only assume that you saw an opportunity for political propaganda.
I thought your job as FBI Director was to protect me. I thought if I cooperated with your investigation, my identity as a minor would be kept secret. That is no longer the case. My family and I are barraged by reporters’ phone calls and emails.
… Anthony Weiner is the abuser. Your letter helped that abuse to continue. How can I rebuild my life when you have made finding out my “story” the goal of every reporter? When I meet with my therapist next time, she will already know what we are going to talk about before I get there by reading Friday, October 28th, 2016’s New York Times article.
I may have been Weiner’s victim, but the real story here is that I am a survivor… I hope that by making my letter to you public, you will think about how your actions affect the victims of the crimes you are investigating.”
She then ended the letter asking that reporters stop contacting her, stating:
“P.S. To all reporters: AP, FOX, CBS, NBC, and all other media outlets, please respect my position and stop interrupting my life!”
It is frankly abysmal and embarrassing that we live in a world where a minor, who was reportedly sent inappropriate sexual texts from a politician, is not being protected by the adults around her. Note I said adults–because those are the people who should be protecting victims. In this case, it is someone who is still growing, maturing, and has recently experienced a traumatizing event–an event she is still unpacking and trying to understand. Adults need to be an example to kids and teens, and this is a disastrous example.
In a world where it’s easy for predators to contact children and teens online and lure them into sexual exchanges, this is an especially crucial case–because we need to support the kids this happens to, not blame them for doing doing something “wrong.” It’s the adults who should know better, not the kids.
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