Greenwood rape victim speaks out

GREENWOOD, Ind. (WISH) - A Greenwood rape victim is speaking out. Three weeks ago she suffered a horrible attack allegedly at the hand of convicted sex offender, Shawn Corbally.

Corbally is a marked man - marked by a life of sex crimes as well as distinctive tattoos that extend the length of his arm.

His victim immediately saw those tattoos when awakened by a stranger straddling her in bed.

"He put his hand over my mouth and had the knife to my throat, and he said, 'Do you feel this knife right here? Do you want your baby girl to die?' And she (the victim's daughter) was laying in bed right there with me,'" the 34-year old Johnson County woman said. "I couldn't believe that this was real."

She asks that 24-hour news 8 not reveal her name. But her courage is without question. During the two hour attack in her Greenwood apartment, she thought only of protecting her one-year-old daughter asleep in her bed and her 9-year-old son asleep in another room. She says it's that same courage that now sustains her.

"I just have to be strong for my kids, and thank God that my mom did instill strength in me," she said quietly, her hands trembling. Even as she speaks of strength, the tale tell signs of trauma remain. And she now recovers from not only the emotional stress of the attack, but also the financial stress.

"I'm just having to uproot my family. We aren't the richest - living paycheck to paycheck," she said.

She says the expense of moving out of the apartment where terror took root, and now starting anew has been challenging. But she hopes a four-legged friend will help.

She says after the ordeal, the family needs to comfort a dog would bring. A friend would like to give them a white lab, but she and her boyfriend have moved into a new rental home. They'll need to pay a pet deposit before bringing the dog home.

"I'd like it for protection mostly, and a fun pal for the kids," she said.

She has a message to anyone who has suffered a sexual assault and is suffering in silence. Tell someone. Call police. Don't suffer alone.

In the meantime, her friends have opened a trust fund for her to help the family as they move into another home. You can donate to the Helping Heal Victims Fund at Main Source Bank in Whiteland, 989 U.S. 31 N., Suite M, Whiteland, IN 46184. For more information call 800-713-6083 or 317-535-3069.