Hello, my name is Michele, the mother and grandmother of Sage. I adopted Sage when she was just shy of 2 years old. Sage is now 16 and a survivor of sex trafficking. Hers is a tragic story and it is a miracle that she was found alive. I am grateful that God was in the details.
When Sage was 13 years old, she began to question who she was. Puberty and Covid hit hard, and her mental health began to decline. I thought I had a handle on it until she began her first day of 9th grade at Appomattox High School. Sage decided to identify as a boy, only because she thought the attention would help her find friends. Well, she did get lots of attention. Just not the attention that helped her. Instead, the attention greatly harmed her due to the actions of the school staff.
Her school teachers and counselors never told me that Sage was identifying as a boy. They never told me nor bothered to even request a parent meeting. Instead they encouraged her behind my back. They never told me that one counselor advised her to use the boy’s bathroom on her 2nd day of school. They never told me that the other counselor gave her two transgender sites to chat in virtually. They never told me that she was being threatened with physical harm and rape. They never told me that she was being horribly bullied. Until it was too late. My daughter decided to run away from home because she felt unsafe at school. My beautiful Sage ran into the hands of a sex trafficking ring. At only 14 years old, my daughter lost her innocence. Tragic. Sage’s rescue by the FBI was nothing short of a miracle.
Sage was gone 344 days. She is now home and working through her severe trauma with a therapist who is honest with me. Recently, I asked Sage what she would want other kids to know about her experience. Sage said, “The reason why getting groomed/kidnapped isn’t fun: You will get tortured mentally and physically, you could be potentially killed, if you don’t want to kill yourself by then. Groomers DON’T care about you, they WILL hurt you.
Thank you for allowing me speak with you today. We all need to speak
up on what is happening to our children. Not just here in VA, but all over
the world! Which is exactly why Del. Dave LeRock proposed Sage’s
Law during the last legislative session. A bill that seeks to ensure that a
child cannot undergo any type of gender transition, under school
supervision, without the knowledge of the parent. I hope that by me
being here today, you may begin to understand why this is so important.
We need schools to communicate with parents. There is absolutely NO
way that any school staff would know our children better than a parent.
Please respect our parental rights. If you have knowledge of a child identifying as anyone other than what is on their school record, advise the legal guardian. Because if you don’t, you may become the reason a child falls into an abusive situation - just as my Sage did.
If I only knew then what I know now. It breaks my heart to realize that what happened to my daughter could have easily been avoided. Had her school simply been honest with me. Instead they glorified her boy identity and kept it a secret from me. They taught my daughter to break the one rule I taught her. Do not lie to me. Instead, they taught my daughter how to lie. These schools lie by omission. By not advising me that they were calling my daughter by a boy’s name and allowing her to use the boy’s bathroom. Why was I not informed by the school that my daughter was in danger due to her new gender identity?
School policies and procedures are the governing documents by which school districts and buildings are operated. School rules and policies should be consistent with state laws and the school district rules and policies, and should involve school staff, parents, and students in their development. The goals of school rules and regulations are to maintain uniformity, consistency, and fairness in addressing disciplinary issues, and to create a safe, supportive, and conducive learning environment.
Please note the KEY word here, “PARENTS”. Involve the parents. Had my daughter’s school involved me, the mother, she would not have a lifetime sentence of PTSD. Please hear me. If you don’t think this could happen to your child, think again.
I was a Mom whose top priority was the safety of my daughter. Yet, she slipped right thru cracks because of a school’s decision to keep me in the dark. A decision that almost killed my daughter. In the words of Benjamin Franklin, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. Please help schools to become part of this cure. It does take a village! Please be part a healthy village. A village that insists on honesty between schools and parents. Help us save our children before it’s too late.
I’m so very sorry Sage and your family went through this horrific ordeal. Thank you for sharing your story and warning others of all the atrocities brought onto our children with this tragic movement.