latimes: Emerging from a notorious hell of abuse to counsel others: Laura Cowan was desperate and alone with two children when she moved into a motel with a man and his family. What followed was a bizarre, four-year odyssey of polygamy, torture and mental trauma.
The case, involving 19 victims, made national headlines, earning the abuser seven life terms in prison. As outrageous as it was, her story fits a typical pattern. It’s a story of fear so intense it strips victims of everything but the will to survive.
Photo: Avon, Ohio — Laura Cowan with her 13-year-old daughter Tasslimah Muhummed, fathered by their abuser. Credit: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times
(Source: Los Angeles Times)
