Case for victim rights

Kim Case was 19 when a man grabbed her from her driveway.

For the following 15 hours, the kidnapper and three other men raped and assaulted her in Clay, Jackson and Cass counties in western Missouri. They had followed her home from a Perkins Restaurant in North Kansas City, where she had an early morning breakfast with a friend.

Case was eventually handcuffed inside a barn, where she said the men intended to kill her. While the man assigned to watch her slept, she gradually freed her wrists and hands from confinement.

During the incident, Case said love of family and friends kept her strong.

“One of the key things that drove me to survive, even during the incident, was my family and friendships,” she said. “I knew at that time that no one knew I had been kidnapped and they probably wouldn’t know what was happening to me or where I was. That just fueled a fire in me to survive because I didn’t want them to have to live with that pain of never knowing.”

Since that June day in 1990, Case has become a survivor and led a life dedicated serving Missouri victims. Case is currently a victim advocate with the Missouri Sheriff’s Association, aiding those who’ve endured crime south of Interstate 70. For at least once a week, she works in Jefferson City at the association’s main office.

Her transformation from victim to victim advocate was recently honored by the U.S. Justice Department, which recognized Case with the Special Courage Award. The annual honor is given a victim or survivor who has “exhibited exceptional perseverance or determination in dealing with his or her own victimization” or “acted bravely either to aid a victim or to prevent a victimization,” according to the Office of Justice Programs.

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch presented Case with the award at the National Crime Victim’s Service Awards last month.

“I was overwhelmed with joy of recognition of the work that we do,” she said. “I was also just very humbled that the Attorney General’s Office in the Department of Justice would recognize a program that really serves victims on the front line.”

After her victimization, Case said the court process took over her life, testifying against four different perpetrators in three counties for six years until all were convicted. At the time, she was only provided a victim advocate in Cass County. The experience, though lengthy and challenging, now allows Case to better connect with the victims she serves.

“Unfortunately, I had a front row seat on what it was like to go through the criminal justice system because my victimization happened in three separate counties,” she said. “It really showed me that each county handles things much differently, and there’s no consistency to what was going on. That really showed me that victims face a maze of going through the system and it’s really difficult. Going through it myself, I can really relate and have a lot of empathy for the issues and the problems they face.”

For two years after her victimization, Case delayed attending college.

“I was 19, and that’s a time when you have your hopes and dreams in front of you and everything looks possible,” she said. “At that time, with the assault, it really changed the way I live my life.”

In 1992, Case was part of the movement to pass the Missouri Crime Victim Rights Amendment, which gives victims the right to be informed of and attend criminal proceedings, restitution, protection and to be informed of a defendant’s escape or release. That same year she started pursuing her degree in criminal justice from the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, where she resides with her husband. Together, they raised two daughters who are now in college.

Case went to work with the Missouri Victim Assistance (MOVA) Network, a non-profit organization, in 2008, developing and supporting victim service programs. With MOVA, she conducted trainings in collaboration with the Missouri Sheriff’s Association and eventually moved to that organization. One of her career highlights, she said, has been working alongside law enforcement to help officers understand issues facing victims.

“That’s one of my favorite aspects of being a survivor — sharing my story and sharing how law enforcement really helped me,” Case said. “They really do make a difference in the work that they do every day, and it’s really important for them to let victims know they can be survivors.”

As a victim advocate, Case responds to crime scenes, comforts victims, aids them in accessing basic needs, supports them through the interview process as they bridge into the justice system. She would like to see more advocates in the field to assist law enforcement officers tasked with conducting investigations.

She works in people’s nightmares, the worst days of their lives. Because of that, Case said she can be beaten down and discouraged, but the Special Courage Award made her remember why what she does is important and valuable.

“One of the things that this award did for me was to remind me that it did take courage to get from being a victim to where I am now, and it took a lot of baby steps, but it was possible,” she said. “I realized, with the recognition, that it is important to share (my story) with others so they aren’t stuck in being a victim; they can see some light and see some hope.”

Case continues to speak at the perpetrators’ parole hearings, which she will do every 3-5 years for the rest of her life, she said. A partition blocks her view from the criminals, but she can hear their voices.

Through it all — especially during the hours of assaults — Case said her faith has been at her side.

“I knew God did not intend for this (crime) to happen, and that I should hold on and live the life he dreamed for me and not fall to the whim of what these going were doing to me in the crime.”