Community members share experiences, show support for crime victims
By Jenna Wilson
Local crime victims had a chance to share their stories with law enforcement and other community leaders on Thursday as a part of Crime Victims’ Rights Week.
Community members gathered at the annual Crime Victims’ Breakfast, hosted by the Buchanan County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, at Missouri Western State University to show their support for local victims who have been affected by crime and hear the stories of some who didn’t survive those crimes.
Haley Dawn McKee, who now works for the Buchanan County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office as a paralegal, shared an inspiring story for the first time publicly of being a sexual assault survivor and how it impacts the work she does today at the attorney’s office.
“What I really wanted to get with my story was that you can be successful, and you can get past the hardships,” McKee said. “It’s definitely motivation and makes me want to work harder to help these victims. Many cases can be triggering because of what happened to me, but I just take that and I try to put it into good work.”
McKee was first assaulted at 8 years old by her stepfather when she lived in Texas and remained quiet about it for years. She said this made the case even more difficult for her when she took it to trial a couple of years later.
“When I testified, I was about 15 years old,” she said. “I think something a lot of people don’t understand is that, I was a little girl when it happened, but when I got up there I was a young woman who was growing and looked completely different, which I felt changed some things surrounding the case.”
But now, she’s using her situation to uplift others in her situation and encourages anyone who’s a survivor of a crime to speak up.
“I’m glad I had loved ones around me who helped with revealing the truth,” McKee said. “I’m finally happy where I’m at in my life, I’m right where I’m supposed to be at my work, I love what I’m doing and I’ve been blessed with an amazing family.”
McKee said the Buchanan County criminal justice system has improved and they are continuously working to make sure each case they’re faced with gets solved to bring justice for crimes.
“That’s what we do here,” said Michelle Davidson, Buchanan County prosecuting attorney. “We have a great team with people like Haley who works with victims, she understands what they’re going through and we couldn’t ask for a better paralegal.”
