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45 Years For Abuse Victim

By TChris, Section Crime in the News
Posted on Wed Nov 23, 2005 at 01:16:27 PM EST
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by TChris

This is profoundly sad:

Relatives of Tracey Dyess, a teenage girl they say was repeatedly sexually abused since age 4 by father figures, cringed at the news that she will be locked up for at least 17 years, but they hope that the long prison sentence means she'll at least get good psychiatric care.

Dyess set fire to her home in Griswold, Iowa. She told the judge that she intended to kill her stepfather so that he could no longer molest her. Instead, the fire killed her sister and nephew.

After the fire, [stepfather] Brian Street was charged with sexual abuse of children and possession of child pornography. Dyess, whose family history is tangled with abuse, bigamy and other troubles, sidestepped a possible sentence of life in prison on first-degree murder charges by taking the state's offer of a guilty plea on two counts of voluntary manslaughter, two counts of attempted murder and one count of arson.

Tracey’s grandmother hopes the 45 year sentence will assure that Tracey receives the psychiatric care she needs, but that’s unlikely in a prison setting.

The medical director of Iowa's prison system, Dr. Edward O'Brien, said that all prisoners have access to mental health services, but that there is no program dedicated to sexual abuse victims comparable to the program for sexual predators.

O'Brien whistled when he heard about Dyess' sentence.

"That's an awfully long time," he said in a telephone interview. "Most of our women are in and out, with fairly short sentences. That young girl's going to be in here for that piece of her life? That's a really bad thing."

A “really bad thing” it is indeed. There are no heroes in this tragic story. Brian Street, at least, is unlikely to molest any more kids.

After the fire, Dyess pointed investigators to a fireproof safe in the master bedroom that contained 65 Polaroid photos of herself and her stepfather engaged in sex acts, court documents state.

Street is facing federal charges for his own misconduct.

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    45 Years For Abuse Victim | 7 comments (7 topical)
    Re: 45 Years For Abuse Victim (none / 0) (#1)
    by desertswine on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:24 PM EST
    Tragic indeed.

    Re: 45 Years For Abuse Victim (none / 0) (#2)
    by Steven Sanderson on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:24 PM EST
    It's a shame that our society suffers from a severe shortage of any empathy for the plight of others. Our over-supply of supposed righteousness serves to compound the problem. Why is it so hard for some, especially self-anointed moralists, to imagine themselves in a hellish situation, with no hope at all, desperately doing whatever it takes just to survive? There is no right or wrong in some situations.

    Re: 45 Years For Abuse Victim (none / 0) (#3)
    by Edger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:25 PM EST
    Let's hope that Tracey never has to endure in prison the kind of hell that brought her there...

    Re: 45 Years For Abuse Victim (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:25 PM EST
    That is sad. Technically, it's still first-degree murder, since there was premeditated intent to kill (albeit someone other than the actual victims), but if there was ever a case of extenuating circumstances, it's this one. Wouldn't a 10-year sentence have been enough? I don't hold out much hope for her getting psychiatric care in prison. If there's any silver lining at all, it's that she may not need psychiatric care so much as protection from her abuser, which prison will ironically provide. (Let's just hope none of the guards takes it upon himself to take her stepfather's place.)

    Re: 45 Years For Abuse Victim (none / 0) (#5)
    by Edger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:25 PM EST
    I don't hold out much hope for her getting psychiatric care in prison. If there's any silver lining at all, it's that she may not need psychiatric care so much as protection from her abuser
    ...amen to that Mathwiz. And actually, it is possible that it may turn out well for her after all. There is some chance that she may serve some or all of the sentence in a mental health hospital setting:
    Dyess will now go to Oakdale for medical and psychological testing, and an orientation to the prison system, at the Iowa Medical and Classification Center. She could remain there, in a mental health unit that has close access to staff at University Hospitals. Or she could be transferred to a 100-bed women's unit at the Mount Pleasant Correctional Facility, where a class called "Seeking Safety" teaches coping skills to victims of sexual abuse.
    I hope the governor reads the DesMoines Register article and takes to heart the advice and thoughts of the chaplain, Peter, who said he would pray that the governor pardons Dyess after three to five years. Or sooner, if possible...

    Re: 45 Years For Abuse Victim (none / 0) (#6)
    by Edger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:25 PM EST
    Sadder yet, are some of Tracey's own words, written in blog posts quoted on The Dark Side: A True Crime Weblog, a couple of weeks before the DesMoines Register article...

    Re: 45 Years For Abuse Victim (none / 0) (#7)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:27 PM EST
    Often times the justice system is about those that operate it, getting convictions and big sentences is good for ones' career. Prisons are jammed packed with victims. And some of them are innnocent.

    45 Years For Abuse Victim | 7 comments (7 topical)