Marie's Story

Marie’s story is one of survival, resilience, and strength. Before I share my perspective, it’s important to first understand hers. I’m Craig Stevenson, her husband of over 35 years.

Throughout her adolescence and adulthood, Marie lived in constant fear of her father. Her childhood was marked by her father’s control, intimidation, and emotional, verbal, and physical abuse. As a baby, Marie’s father slapped her in her crib and covered her mouth and nose to silence her cries. Marie recalled times when her father slapped her so hard that blood ran down her face.

Over the years, the verbal abuse escalated, leading to Marie’s admission to an inpatient program in 1987 at age 15. In her medical records, doctors observed that she was “deathly afraid of returning home.” However, she had nowhere else to go. Following her counselor’s recommendation, Marie left home less than three months after her discharge, carrying all her belongings in two paper bags. She was just 16 at the time and worked up to three jobs to support herself.

At the time, I didn’t know Marie, but I once saw her sitting alone at the entrance of the high school where I worked. It was about 5:00 PM, and almost everyone else had gone home for the day. She looked lost, so I sat down and asked her if she was okay. She said that she was fine, but she had to wait until 5:30 before she could go home. I found out later that the lady she lived with ran a daycare, and Marie didn’t want to go home until all of the children had been picked up by their parents. She was trying to hide her situation from the community.

Although I had recently divorced and was starting a new job, I did everything I could to help Marie and protect her from both her father and a stalker who had been harassing her. The only family member I confided in about her living alone while in high school was my sister, Lisa Stevenson, who would later become a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC). I thought she would understand. Years later, and despite this knowledge, Lisa played a role in harming Marie by approving contact between my now estranged son, Sean, and Marie’s estranged father. This terrified Marie and set in motion a sequence of events that would devastate her.

In 1988, Marie told me that her father confronted her at the diner where she worked, triggering a severe panic attack and deepening her fear. I vividly remember an incident from 1989, shortly after we started dating. Marie and I attended a family gathering, but when we saw her father there, we left quickly. When I drove her home, she was so overwhelmed she was unable to speak. I had never seen anything like it.

Throughout our marriage, we have avoided nearly all family gatherings where her father might be present. To ensure Marie’s safety, we used communication devices to stay in immediate contact. When we received word through a family member of a possible threat to her life, I notified the local Chief of Police immediately. Within days, I obtained an expedited permit and purchased a handgun. We also monitored her father’s whereabouts whenever he was in the state.

Despite her fears, Marie built a life of her own throughout the first 30 years of our marriage. While her trauma impacted her self-confidence and self-worth, she worked hard to overcome it. With my support and her resilience, she raised a family and became a confident businesswoman. By early 2019, she had regained much of the security and self-worth she lost in her youth. It was an amazing transformation, and I couldn’t believe how far she had progressed. For years, Marie and I worked to protect her from her past, believing she was finally safe. But in 2020, that illusion was shattered.

On June 4, 2020, Marie’s past resurfaced in a devastating way. Without warning, Sean—acting with Lisa’s approval—contacted Marie’s estranged father, claiming to be concerned about her. The news sent Marie into a severe panic attack. After years of avoiding her father entirely, she was devastated that her privacy had been violated, forcing her back into the fears she had worked so hard to overcome. And this was only the beginning of a series of events that would once again upend her life.

We sent more than a dozen urgent emails to Sean and Lisa, warning them about Marie’s panic attack, her history of abuse, and her ongoing fear of her father. Marie specifically warned Sean and Lisa that this contact could endanger her and her daughters. We didn’t receive a response from Sean or Lisa to any of our emails. Instead, Sean printed the emails and mailed them directly to Marie’s estranged father. This exposed Marie’s fear of her father, her contact information, and our efforts to protect her. When she found out what Sean had done, Marie suffered another panic attack.

We called the police, had a local attorney send a cease-and-desist letter to Sean, and had a different attorney send cease-and-desist letters to Sean and Lisa in an attempt to get them to stop contacting Marie’s father and causing her emotional distress. Nothing worked. They refused to stop.

As a result, on November 19, 2020, we started our civil lawsuit against Sean, Lisa, and one other person, to protect Marie from further harm, to prevent further violations of Marie’s privacy, and to hold those responsible accountable. In other articles on this site, Marie explains the trauma she endured and its short-term and long-term effects on her physical, emotional, and psychological well-being.

Just as Marie had finally found peace after a long struggle, Sean’s actions reopened old wounds and forced us onto an unexpected path. Victims of childhood abuse often have sensitivities and vulnerabilities that others may not fully understand, making their protection crucial.

This website is our attempt to share what we’ve learned and fight for those who have endured similar hardships. Finally, this website is not just our story—it is a voice for those who have suffered in silence. We hope that by sharing our journey, we can bring awareness, education, justice, and healing to others in similar situations.