A teenage girl in Florida was forced to collect her own evidence of being sexually assaulted and raped by her adoptive father after police charged her with filing a false report.
Taylor Cadle, 13, had reported that she had been sexually abused by her adoptive father, Henry Cadle, since she was 9.
However, lead detective Melissa Turnage of the Polk County Sheriff's Office accused her of lying and instead charged her with filing a false report. The detective also threatened to return her to foster care if she continued making the allegations.
This forced the teen to collect evidence of her own rape, which led to the arrest of her adoptive father in 2017---a year after the initial report. Her story was featured on PBS NewsHour.
Taylor's First Report and Charges
Taylor, who was removed from her mother's care when she was 7, spent two years in foster care before she was ultimately adopted by her great-uncle, Henry, who began abusing the teen within months of her arrival in the home.
Taylor did not report the first time Henry molested her in fear of being sent back to foster care. However, the abuse progressed further, leading the now 12-year-old teen to tell the local youth pastor about what Cadle had been doing to her. The pastor reported this to the police, which launched an investigation.
Turnage led the interviews as part of the investigation. The detective interviews Taylor and her parents in different locations. Taylor said she believes Turnage was swayed by her parents describing her as "materialistic" and "a brat."
"Every interview that we talked, she made me out to be a liar. And I told her time and time and time and time again that I am not the liar here," she added.
In the investigations, police had failed to find surveillance footage showing Henry buying condoms at a store Taylor named. The teen was also questioned for failing to remember what brand of condoms her adoptive father bought.
Taylor had undergone a sexual assault forensic examination, which did not find semen in her underwear or the sample. This was later used to support filing a charge of false report against the teen.
She recanted her story and pleaded guilty at the suggestion of her adoptive mother.
Recording the Assault
A month after Taylor's court appearance, she joined Henry on a drive to his business when he tossed a pack of condoms on the seat. She later decided to open the camera on her phone and capture photos of Cadle exposing himself to her while the vehicle was parked near the junction of Rockridge Road and Deen Still Road, per The Ledger.
Additionally, she mentally marked the spot where Henry threw the napkin he used to wipe himself when he finished as well as the spot where he threw out the unused condoms.
She reported the assault a second time. The investigating team did not include Turnage.
Henry was subsequently arrested and pled "no contest," which spared Taylor from having to testify in court. The State Attorney's Office for the 10th Judicial Court also motioned to dismiss the false information charges against the teen.
It was noted that no official from the Polk County Sheriff's Office had ever apologized to Taylor for their handling of her initial complaint.
