April is Child Abuse Prevention Month.

More than 500 children were treated at the Children's Advocacy Center of Osceola for child abuse in 2016.

  • Children’s Advocacy Center Osceola helps abused children
  • More than 500 children were treated at the center in 2016
  • Experts say 90 percent of sex offenders know their victims

A mother of a child victim says the epidemic must stop.

NOTE: To protect the child’s identity, we have changed the mother’s name in this article.

The blue pinwheels all over Osceola County are there for a reason, they're meant to raise awareness about Child Abuse Prevention Month. "It hurts to the bottom of your being. And I understand cause you will never think this will happen to you," said Lisa, the mother of a child abuse victim.

Lisa's daughter was raped for about two years by her ex-boyfriend. She says her child was about 8 or 9 years old when the nightmare began. "And she started telling me what happened, you know that he had touched her that he had done a lot of inappropriate things," Lisa said.

Experts at the Children's Advocacy Center of Osceola who provide therapy to Lisa and her daughter say family members can be as much of a victim as the child. Lisa said, "When I came in here I was feeling a lot of guilt of what had happened."

Experts also say 90 percent of sexual offenders are someone the child knows and trusts, so there are certain red flags to watch out for.

Gerry Glynn, the Chief Legal Officer for Community Based Care Of Central Florida, works with the CAC of Osceola. "Parents and adult caregivers should be on the lookout for that, if someone is just a little inappropriate with your children you should put up a barriers to make sure they don't have more access to your children," he said.

Victim advocates say children can often feel abused all over again by the investigative process. This is why the CAC serves as a one-stop-shop where children victims are interviewed once but have access to medical, police, legal and psychological support.

"The most important thing is to have an open line of communication with your children. Know your kids, know when you see a change, ask,” said Johnny Polanco, lead child advocate for CAC. “And always teach them what's right from wrong."

The power used to make these pinwheels for prevention rotate is the power this mother hopes others will have when it comes to speaking out against child abuse. "What happened to me I don't want it to happen to anybody else," Lisa said.

After Lisa's daughter came forward, other women accused the same man of sexual abuse as well, claiming it had happened when they were also juveniles.

He is currently serving 35 years at the Osceola County Jail.