By Holly Lock - Correspondent
By Holly Lock CLAYTON -- Janice Allen has been working with domestic violence and sexual assault victims at Harbor, Incorporated for the past 11 years. It isn’t what she started out to do, but according to her, it is what God called her to do.
“I know I’m supposed to be here trying to help these women get safe,” she said.
Her small office at Harbor, Inc. has seven framed photographs of diverse women and children. “Those are the ones I lost,” Allen says quietly. The photos are those of the women and children who were murdered at the hands of their abusers.
Allen works as the court advocate for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. She is the person that is called whenever a person, usually a woman or child, is taken to the hospital in the middle of the night after being beaten or raped. She patiently explains the choices the victim has regarding the suspect.
Allen also serves at the county courthouse Monday through Friday. She assists people seeking court orders of protection against their abusers. It is her duty to explain the differences between the various orders of protection and determine which one best suits the victim and the situation.
“Sometimes it’s hard to explain the differences to people, because they don’t know the law,” Allen said. “We want to get the most protection for the victim while being truthful about the relationships and situation.”
On Feb. 13 a woman and her husband came to the courthouse to request an order of protection for their daughter, a minor, who claimed that her step-grandfather sexually abused her. The man had also made threats against the girl’s father to a sheriff’s deputy.
Allen had to explain that the strongest form of protection, what is known as a 50-B protective order, was not applicable to the situation because technically the step-grandfather was not a blood relative.
“I’ve had judges throw out my requests for a 50-B because they aren’t really related,” Allen explained.
In order to ensure the maximum amount of protection granted by the law for unrelated people that do not live in the same house, the family had to file a 50-C order or a civil no contact order.
The judge granted the family an ex-parte order that will last for 10 days. However, because all defendants have an opportunity to face their accuser the child will have to testify in domestic court in front of the man she claims abused her as to the particulars of her accusations.
Allen is concerned that the civil case against the girl’s step-grandfather will traumatize her to the point of refusing to testify in a criminal case that is not scheduled to begin for several months.
With that in mind Allen volunteered to show the child where the trial will take place and try to prepare her for the kinds of questions she will be asked. “These allegations can lead a person to 20 years in prison,” Allen explained. “He’ll [the defendant] have a lawyer and that might scare this little girl.” She went on to say that the girl’s statement in the criminal trial will be paramount to the success of the case, so she wants to ensure that this initial trial is as amenable as it can be for the child.
From Jan. 1 of this year until Feb. 10, 90 people came to the court house looking for court ordered protection. After meeting with all of them, 80 decided to pursue the court orders.
“Did you know that 75 percent of the murders in domestic cases come after the woman leaves?” Allen asks. Domestic violence is about control, and often when the woman leaves the abusers feel like they are loosing their sense of control. “We have to do everything in our power to keep these women safe. Those pictures keep me going. I don’t want anymore pictures in my office.”

BY COLIN CAMPBELL, STAFF WRITER for The Herald
Online message boards have been abuzz with talk of the former West Johnston High staffers arrested on sex charges, but few commenters are placing blame on the adults.After learning that charges against school resource office Todd Fair and former wrestling coach Michael Conklin involved the same student, some commenters have taken to blaming the student.

"I'm sure it won't take long for her to help ruin another man's life at that school," an anonymous parent wrote on the website 4042.com. "At what point is someone going to hold HER accountable as well?"

The majority of commenters posting on the site - which is popular with Cleveland community residents - agreed with the parent, and some used derogatory terms to describe the girl.

On Facebook, a page titled "We got your back Officer Fair" has attracted 545 fans, many of them West Johnston students. Commenters on that page, posting under their own names, are hurling obscene insults at the girl, and some have even named her. It's The Herald's policy not to identify possible victims in sex crimes.

All of this worries Keri Christensen, director of Harbor Inc., which provides aid, including shelter, to victims of rape and domestic violence in Johnston County.

Christensen said that because school staffers hold power over students, sexual relationships can't be considered consensual.

"There's nothing that the victim does or doesn't do to perpetrate what is happening against them, especially in a situation where it's a student and a teacher or a coach," she said. "Adults have the responsibility in most situations to be the adult. It's not OK to engage in any way sexually with a student."

Christensen fears that the backlash against the girl could keep future victims from taking action against their abusers - already a daunting step to take.

"For our community to lash out against them makes it even worse and more difficult," Christensen said. "It's going to take the whole community to be supportive and try to figure out a better way."

Christensen said the derogatory comments highlight Johnston County's need for better education about sexual crimes. "I think it really shows that we need to spend more time talking about rape and sexual assault in all situations," she said.

Investigators have said the girl has left West Johnston for another school. Christensen said that's a painful step that many victims feel compelled to take.

Officer Fair, 40, faces two counts of disseminating obscenities to a minor and one count of taking indecent liberties with a minor. Conklin, 27, a former substitute teacher and assistant wrestling coach, faces one count of taking indecent liberties with a minor.

colin.campbell@nando.com or 919-836-5768

Most victims arrive at the Harbor Inc. shelter with little more than the clothes on their back. For some, that's often all the additional weight they can bear.

Whether in the courthouse, the emergency room or its own front door in the middle of the night, Harbor has been providing legal aid, shelter, support and compassion to victims of rape and domestic violence since 1984.

This year has been one of the hardest for Harbor, with four deaths in Johnston County tied to domestic violence. Only two other counties - Gaston and Mecklenburg - have had more, according to the N.C. Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

"It seems like it's getting worse," said Janis Allen, Harbor's courthouse liaison. "Just in the last three weeks, we've seen three fractured wrists, two broken jaws and a broken nose."

When Allen joined Harbor nine years ago, the nonprofit was helping about 600 women a year as they faced their abusers in court, she said. "I heard 99 cases just in the month of October this year," she said.

Not a day goes by that she doesn't have a tearful victim in her office shaking with fear, Allen said.

And the holiday season brings no relief, said District Court Judge Resson Faircloth, "because people are spending more time together and get to drinking."

"Violence and tensions are rising with the economic downturn," added Keri Christensen, Harbor's executive director. "Families sometimes try to stay together through the holidays, and often that makes it worse."

Victims of domestic violence are reluctant to leave their abusers, Allen said, because they don't want to see themselves as quitters. "They think that leaving means that they failed, but really they are empowering themselves by standing up to [their abusers]," she said.

To clarify, Christensen and Allen recommend that victims leave without telling their abusers they are doing so.

Abuse exacts a heavy emotional toll on women, Christensen said. "They start to believe the abusive insults, threats and put-downs their abusers tell them," she said. "The hardest part for people to understand is the severe power, control and fear associated with domestic abuse. And when abusers think they're losing control, that's the most dangerous time."

Victims can be so financially dependent on their abusers that they think they can't afford to leave or hire a lawyer, Allen said. In criminal cases, victims often have to rely on court-appointed attorneys, while their abusers can hire high-priced, veteran lawyers in their defense, she added.

Harbor, which gets about a third of its funding from donations, has never been able to hire expert attorneys for abuse victims. The recession has made its job harder, Christensen said. "I'd estimate that we've probably seen a 30-percent decrease in funding and a 30-percent increase in victims," she said.

But Christensen and Allen prefer to focus on the positive.

"It's not like a job, it's more like a mission," Allen said of Harbor's work. "And sometimes you never really know how much of a difference you'll be able to make. But when those women come back and say, 'I'm out of that situation now' or 'I have a job now' or 'I'm paying my own bills now' - that's when you start to feel like, 'Hey, there's hope after all.' "

If you are suffering from abuse, call 9-1-1 or the Harbor crisis line at 631-5478.

This Christmas season, Harbor is seeking sponsors for five families. To donate, call the Harbor office at 938-3566.

aspecht@nando.com or 919-836-5758