Thread by @KaleyJohnson6

I write a lot of stories, but one I posted last week really got to me. A police dept had dropped the ball on a case against a sex abuser, and he walked free. He raped another girl and beat her almost to death.

We posted the story, but what happened next really bothered me

No one read it. The story got about 4,000 views. For context, a story about a parade being canceled the prior week got 10,000 views. A story about the first baby of the New Year got 8,000.
As reporters, we can't control our audience, but I can't stop thinking about this case.

Two families had their lives ruined. A police department really messed up (per their own internal investigation). The sergeant they found responsible, who left evidence buried on his desk in paperwork, went on to run for, and win, city commissioner.

And no one seemed to care.

I've written stories before that I found deeply important that went unread. With this story, maybe our readers didn't see it. Maybe we posted it at a bad time. Maybe people are tired of reading about sexual assault and #metoo and are worn out on injustice.
But this story matters.

The girls who were assaulted - their story matters. The families involved matter. Reform on sex assault investigation matters. So here it is. And if you have a minute, read it. Not for me or the views, but for those involved who will never be the same.
star-telegram.com/news/state/tex…

I want to say thank you to everyone who has read/shared this thread & story. Sometimes journalism can feel like yelling into the void. This time, the void yelled back - and what I heard from it was compassion. Thank you for listening, and for bearing witness to this girl's story.