A Sudbury court heard Wednesday that a family with a “happy-go-lucky, fun-loving son” had watched that boy disappear in his teen years, following sexual abuse by a former teacher whom he had trusted.
“We had to watch him self-destruct,” the mother of the boy, who is now an adult, wrote in a victim impact statement. “He turned to alcohol and drugs to numb his pain and shame.”
He became secretive, she wrote, and “viewed his family as the enemy.”
She noted that her son had needed medication and had checked into a treatment facility to get help — a source of financial hardship for the family, but necessary due to the trauma he had suffered.
“He lived inside his head for many years. He is still struggling with various issues. He has only now begun his journey of healing.”
In a decision handed down at the Sudbury Courthouse on Wednesday, Superior Court Justice Dan Cornell placed blame for the victim’s ongoing struggles squarely on the shoulders of his former teacher, 46-year-old Damir Bulic. (more...)
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