Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Sex assault victim starts support group
Walk Her Home aims to combat human trafficking, reach out to its victims
The proverbial phrase, “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade,” could not apply more aptly to someone than it does to Susan Ingram-Weideman.
The 57-year-old Thornbury woman has taken the journey from being the traumatized victim of a sexual assault at the hands of a professional masseuse to being honored by Congress for her work on behalf of other victims. And she is continuing her efforts with the formation of an organization designed to assist other groups that are reaching out to the victims of human trafficking.
Ingram-Weideman said in an interview last week that her goal is to “take any bad situation and find a way to promote healing though some type of positive action.” She has started the organization, Walk Her Home, that will help nonprofit groups raise money and organize their efforts to bring public awareness to social issues facing crime victims.
Walk her Home is specifically aligned with two organizations, Dawn’s Place and the Salvation Army’s New Day Home, both of which offer safe havens for those caught up in the human trafficking world.
“We want to motivate the community to help us raise funds for any organization that fights commercial exploitation,” she said in the interview.
Last month, Ingram-Weidenman was honored during National Crime Victims’ Week for working with U.S. Rep. Pat Meehan to write legislation designed to confront the situation which led, indirectly, to her assault. She was given the 2017 Eva Murillo Unsung Hero Award at ceremonies on Capitol Hill on April 5.
Meehan, R-7, of Chadds Ford, praised Ingram-Weideman’s “courage” and “continued dedication” toward other crime victims in helping him develop the Duty to Report Sexual Assault Act. Introduced in 2016, the bill is now being considered in the House Committee on Homeland Security.
Under the bipartisan legislation, owners and employees of massage spas and therapeutic practices would be responsible for reporting allegations of sexual assault of clients to police, or face possible fines and prison time.
Meehan said IngramWeideman, “used a tragic experience to make a positive contribution” to victims’ rights.
“She was a woman of great courage, coming forward after having been sexually assaulted during a time of vulnerability,” said Meehan. “It was her courage that allowed us to appreciate the importance of creating protections in that kind of a situation.”
In 2015, Ingram-Weideman was a client at the Massage Envy spa in West Goshen. There, a masseuse named James Deiter sexually assaulted her while she was undergoing a massage. She reported the incident to police soon after, only to find that he had been serially abusing women
clients at the spa, and had been only superficially disciplined by the business. No report was ever filed of the complaints against him until she stepped forward.
A year ago, Deiter was sentenced to 6 ½ to 13 years in state prison for the assaults he committed. Ingram-Weideman was among those who spoke at the hearing, reliving how she sank into trauma over her experience. She has worked to put that behind her in part by using her efforts to support other victims.
Ingram-Weideman said the idea for Walk Her Home came on a trip she was making to speak with other groups about her experiences with the Chester County Anti-Trafficking
Coalition, a group that meets monthly to combat commercial exploration in the sex industry and other businesses. She said she “felt the presence of God” directing her to form an organization that could help others get their message across and aid victims.
“I don’t know that I necessarily intended to do this, but when you get a message from God you feel you have to,” she said.
Walk Her Home will hold a walkathon event at Westtown School in October to help raise funds for the organizations. More information is available at www.walkherhome.org.