Although she didn’t know it at the time, Cathy spent many years preparing for a career as the founder and executive director of the Justice League. For 10 years, she navigated her own case through the criminal justice system, including hours of research in law libraries and time spent gathering advice and knowledge from exceptional advocates, criminal justice officials, and state and national victim organizations. Ultimately her offender was held accountable. However, during the struggle to achieve justice at least twenty-seven other children paid the price for the victims’ rights violations; they were molested and raped by the same offender. When the case received national media attention, she heard from hundreds of individuals who were dealing with similar situations.
“I quickly realized that there was a tremendous gap in the system, and victims had nowhere to turn when their rights were violated,” she says. “It seemed only
natural that I take my experience and put it to good use so others would not have to tear their lives apart in the pursuit of justice.” so, with the help of several people who had assisted with her case, Catherine created the Justice League of Ohio, a nonprofit crime victims’ rights legal clinic whose mission is to ensure that the constitutional and statutory rights of victims of violent crime are upheld throughout the criminal justice process.
To date, the Justice League has helped over 750 victims obtain equal access to justice, the majority of them victimized children and their families. With only 9 other states providing crime victims with free legal assistance throughout the criminal justice process, Cathy’s plan is “to replicate this organization in every state.”
To learn more about the Justice League, visit: thejusticeleagueohio.org. ▪