Posted by: WLJS News Jacksonville on 9/15/2013 at 7:28 P.M.

Jacksonville, Alabama (WLJS) --- In an exclusive interview released Sunday evening with the president of Jacksonville State University's student body, Jade Alexis Wagner tells Jacksonville's WLJS-FM news anchor Ed Moore III that she was sexually assaulted last June inside a lake house near Lake Logan Martin during a summer outing with college friends.

The 21-year-old college student from Decatur, Alabama says she has decided to bring her story to the public in hopes of helping other women who have experienced rape and may be struggling on their path to healing, wholeness and peace of mind.

Here is her story:

"June 6, 2012 is a day I will never forget. I decided to go with my friends to a lake house to celebrate a friend’s birthday. I remember sitting in the car and craving pretzels so badly. I didn’t feel right the whole night. I was wearing light blue shorts and a shirt that showed my belly button. We got to the lake house and I didn’t know a lot of people there. I was offered a drink and I took it thinking it would help me feel more relaxed and it did. In no way am I saying underage drinking is okay, but I am telling the story as it happened and I did drink underage. I soon became very drunk. The bright colors of the lake house began to swim in my eyes. Some body put Deana Carter’s 'Strawberry Wine' on and everyone there joined in singing it at the top of our lungs at least 7 times. An acquaintance of mine came over to me and began talking. He said 'I looked very pretty that night' and that he 'loved mixed girls.' (Wagner's birth father is African-American.)

"He didn’t seem like a threat. He called me pretty. I felt so awkward in my clothes and it was nice to hear someone say I looked good. The night gets a little fuzzy, but I remember everyone wanting to go out on the boat. I am not a strong swimmer and I didn’t think going out on a boat after drinking was a very good idea. I stayed behind and he offered to stay with me. We were alone on two pool chairs when he told me how 'beautiful' I was and how he was glad to get to know me. I then had to use the bathroom. He offered to walk with me because I was very wobbly.

"The downstairs bathroom was occupied and I had to go really bad. He told me that there was another one upstairs and he would show me. He walked me up the stairs and I used the bathroom in one of the master bedrooms. I remember how pretty the walls were. They were a beautiful pale blue and the bed was a nice calm cream color. I felt really dizzy after I used the restroom and he told me to sit down on the bed so I would feel better. I did as I was told and he started rubbing my back.

"I wish I could say that an alarm started going off in my head then that I should run, but it didn’t. It was nice to have someone take care of me while I wasn’t feeling well. I started to ask where my friends were and he told me they were still out on the boat and it would be okay. He continuously repeated, 'I’m not going to hurt you'. He continued to rub my back and casually undid my bra. I immediately became alert. I asked where my friends were again and he said that I was okay and that he wasn’t going to hurt me.

"He then undid my light blue shorts and tried to slide his hand down my pants. I tried to push his hand away but he got a little bit rougher. He slid my shorts off and shortly afterwards, took my shirt off, making me exposed. I felt so vulnerable and I kept begging him to help me find my friends. He unzipped his pants and grabbed my hand and placed it on himself. He kept repeating, 'isn’t it smooth?' and 'don’t you like it?' I started crying and told him I was feeling sick and I needed some water.

"He got up and threw my clothes to one side of the room and went downstairs to get me some water. I grabbed my phone and texted my three friends begging them to come upstairs and help me. I heard him downstairs telling the other people that I was “throwing up everywhere” and that I was fine and he was 'taking care of me' so no one 'needed to worry.' He came back upstairs with a glass of water as I still had my phone in my hand. He grabbed my phone and said, 'You won’t be needing this.' He put it on the dresser on the other side of the room. You are probably now thinking what I constantly think every single time I relive this memory. 'Why didn’t you run when he went downstairs?' 'Why didn’t you get out of there?' Honestly looking back that is exactly what I should have done, but I was scared.

"I was almost completely naked with my clothes on the other side of the room. He is a big guy. Much bigger than I am. How could I get away if he caught me throwing on my clothes? I was scared. I was stupid. After he was done moving my phone, he undid his pants once again and stuck his hands on me. He felt me all over and rubbed himself on me. I cried and begged him to let me go and to let me go talk to my friends. He kept saying they were on the boat and that no one was downstairs. I heard him talk to people and tell them I was sick. I was stuck. He then invaded me without my permission.

"I closed my eyes and put my head back wishing for this all to be over. It felt like I was trapped under him for hours but honestly it was only a few minutes. Then the most beautiful sound I have ever heard came and someone knocked on the door. He got still and didn’t say anything. Then the knock came harder. He looked at me and said, 'Do you want me to get that?' I pretty much screamed ‘yes’ at him and he got up and adjusted himself. He threw me my clothes and whispered 'hurry up.' He unlocked the door and cracked it open just enough to look out of it.

"One of my friends was there asking for me. He said I was fine and I didn’t need his help. My friend asked me if I was okay and he muscled his way in and saw me lying on the bed crying my eyes out. My friend grabbed me and helped me up. I remember him getting my friends together and saying ‘we need to leave NOW.' We left shortly after that. Afterwards, I just sat in the back of the car behind the passenger seat shivering and crying quietly. I had never felt like that before. So exposed, so vulnerable, so dirty. I didn’t tell any of them what happened until we got back home 45 minutes later. I cried myself to sleep that night and for a few weeks after that. It really messed with my head. I was the Vice President of Student Senate at this time. (Wagner wasn't elected SGA President until March 21 of this year)

"I had work to do and I didn’t have time to be out of control and upset. I stopped eating for a while. If I did eat I threw it up. This lasted for an entire summer.

(Jade Wagner pictured with her sister, Jordyn, mother, Rhonda and father, John in this November 2012 Facebook photo)


"I finally found counseling in August of 2012 from the JSU Counseling services. My counselor talked to me for many weeks. I started eating right again, I told my parents what happened and I went to the police. There was nothing I could do. I waited too long. I didn’t want people finding out. I was scared of ruining not only my reputation but also the SGA’s reputation. I blamed myself for the longest time. If I hadn’t drank that night, if I hadn’t have worn those clothes, (I ended up throwing them away after that night), if I didn’t have to use the bathroom, it might not have happened. But it did. (Wagner says she chose not to file a police report and an investigation into the incident was never launched.)

"I am a firm believer in that everything happens for a reason. I really hope the only reason this happened to me is so I can help other women who this has happened to know that it is okay. It is not your fault. You will survive. You already did. I am not saying my case is worse than anyone else’s rape case, but it did happen to me. It can happen to anyone. It shouldn’t happen, but it does. Everyone needs to be careful. If you are drinking then please be smart about it. The buddy system does work. Even if you are around people you have known for a long time, you never know what can happen.

"I won’t tell his name. There is no point to that. I know what happened and so does he. If anyone asks me for his name, I will only call him, ‘Him’. I do not blame myself anymore, but I could have been safer if I only knew how. I seriously might not be here if it wasn’t for my supportive family, friends, sisters, and my counselor who still to this day makes sure I am eating. “It’s funny how those memories, they last like strawberry wine."

For rape victims needing assistance, please call The Second Chance Domestic and Sexual Violence Assistance Hotline at 256-236-7233 or toll-free at 1-800-650-6522.


This report was made through WLJS News in Jacksonville, Alabama. Created 9/15/2013 at 7:28 P.M.