The Drama Is Over!!!

I'm not sure if you remember the depressing and frustrating post that came after the last hearing date we had on December 6th, but this post will have an entirely different tone. Today was the date for the rescheduled hearing for the person who broke in to our home in late September. I was again subpoenaed and despite a call to the District Attorney was mandated to attend due to the fact I was the only victim that saw the defendant face-to-face in the act of the crime. I'm not sure if you recall, but my big prayer request after the last hearing date was that the Lord would use the time between the two hearing dates to allow this defendant to please plead guilty (since he had already confessed to all 6 felony charges, but at the last hearing date had said he would plead innocent anyways) meaning both that he would receive rehabilitation away from our neighborhood and that I would not need to testify in front of him. My other prayer request was that I wouldn't have to go or wouldn't have to see him. Well, the Lord completely and specifically answered my prayers. That is exactly what happened. When I called the DA in early 2012, he said he needed me to come to the courthouse, but he allowed me to stay in the protected victim and witness waiting area even when the hearing was called into the courtroom. He would only call me in to testify if the defendant were to plead innocent and the judge would need to hear my testimony. Doug went to represent us as the judge, DA, defendant and his family and lawyer all discussed the situation. The defendant did plead guilty and apologized to the victims. Although his mom and lawyer tried to make light of his crimes by saying he had a rough few weeks running with the wrong crowd, etc. when the victims spoke about what he did (particularly when Doug stood up and mentioned my face-to-face encounter with Koen in the background), the judge quickly ruled for the defendant to have the suggested "treatment." We were so thankful for this decision as it is quite obvious that this man/boy has an inconsistent home life and no real male role models to look up to, it seems that getting him out of his element could definitely be the best thing for him. We are praying that the rehabilitation center will be a new start for him and he will graduate from high school and go on to build a new life for himself and obviously, we are praying that along the way he would meet the Lord and find true purpose and accountability in His example.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and encouraging texts and emails today. The Lord was my Shield and Defender, preserving me from another difficult encounter. And we are so thankful to finally close the door on this incident.