My fiancé has been accused of sexual assault. The victim lives next door, and I know her very well. She’s young and recently completed senior high school. According to her, my fiancé lured her into his room, and it happened.

I know my fiancé. Until this accusation, I believed he wouldn’t hurt a fly. We’ve been together for three years, but I’ve known him for what feels like forever.

I asked him, “Why did you do that to the girl?” He replied, “I can swear before any deity of your choice that it didn’t happen. It’s a setup. I suspect her mother is behind it.”

To get more clarity, I secretly spoke with the girl. She broke into tears while narrating her story. I asked her three questions. She answered the general ones, but when I asked a specific, intimate question about something she would have noticed if she had truly seen him in such a situation, her response was inconsistent. She tried, but her answers didn’t align.

Still, I’m not one to dismiss a victim’s story. So many factors could be at play when such incidents happen.

The case is in the hands of the police. Everyone around me expects me to leave him. The street verdict is already against him, and they want me to take a stand against him, too.

When A Man Cheats And Doesn’t Disrespect You, It Should Be OK

If this were a straightforward issue, I would have walked away. But it’s not. I want to wait and see how everything unfolds. What confuses me is how both families—his and the girl’s—are handling the situation. They are trying to resolve the matter privately, away from the police.

How will I ever know if he’s truly guilty or innocent if they turn this into a “home issue”? Would it be selfish of me to persuade him to allow the case to follow its full legal course?

— Efia Broni

This story you just read was sent to us by someone just like you. We know you have a story too. Email it to us at submissions@silentbeads.com. You can also drop your number and we will call you so you tell us your story.

******