A rape survivor is speaking out against the hotel owners and garage owners she feels are partly responsible for the attack she suffered in a Radisson hotel parking garage over six years ago. Kira Wahlstrom, a survivor and a mother, spoke to reporter Karen Anderson from Channel 5 News as well as a Suffolk Superior Court jury about the brutal rape. Kira Wahlstrom is angry about what happened to her, and her anger is only fueled further by the fact that another woman was raped by the same man in the same parking garage just 12 days before her own attack took place.
Kira Wahlstrom has said that she believes former hotel owners and owners of the garage should have provided information about the rape of one of the hotel’s employees to people who had access to both the hotel and the parking garage. Wahlstrom feels as though her rape could have prevented if she were provided with the knowledge of the hotel employee’s rape in advance. She has said in an interview that “The woman that worked there was raped 12 days before by the same man and they didn’t do anything not only to not protect me that was a paying customer but their own employee.”
She went on to say that she feels as though the management company for the parking garage should have also provided additional security to those accessing the area in order to prevent any further attacks from taking place. She recalled the exact events that led up to her traumatizing rape, and has stated to a jury that she still thinks about what happened to her every single day.
Kira had been on the elevator when she began to exit for the parking garage. The man who had been in the elevator with her grabbed Kira before she could leave—she has said that he grabbed her by her head and neck and dragged her into a stairwell where he proceeded to violently rape her for 25 minutes. Kira screamed when she was originally assaulted, hoping that those in the surrounding area would hear her cries and come to her aid. No one did. She said that she tried to scream the entire time the attack was taking place, and when she did so, the attacker told her that he would kill her if she didn’t remain quiet.
The former hotel owners and owners for the parking garage where the attack took place are denying Wahlstrom’s claims that they had been negligent about the two rapes that occurred on their property. Kira Wahlstrom is still seeking approximately $1 million in damages, and a civil trial regarding the matter is expected to resume sometime next week. The rapist in this case, whose name has not been disclosed, pleaded guilty to the rape of Kira Wahlstrom and is currently facing a 15 year jail sentence. There was no immediate information provided on the additional rape victim or if the suspect was sentenced for that crime as well.
Kira Wahlstrom hasn’t provided a direct quote in regards to the sentencing of her attacker, but she has expressed sentiments of wanting to reach a point in her life where she can find a sense of peace about what happened. She just wants to be happy again—a simple ideal that often gets taken for granted.
Quotes and additional information may be found at the following link: http://www.wcvb.com/news/5-investigates-rape-survivor-speaks-out-against-hotel-parking-garage-owners/34384938