When Mariah Larocque was 11 years old, a middle school teacher she trusted betrayed her.  

He groomed, exploited and assaulted her, she said. The impact of that abuse affected the way she feels about love and trust and shattered her perception of herself at a time when children are supposed to be finding their independence. 

“As a survivor of child sexual exploitation, I know firsthand the impact it has on your life,” she said Wednesday. “It took me years to find my voice and speak out about my experience but along my journey of healing, I have seen so many survivors who have been through unimaginable trauma and those resilient people are bright lights of hope in a world that can often feel dark and hopeless.” 

It wasn’t until 2019 that Larocque sought help for her trauma and began to use her voice to support other victims and survivors. In 2021, she was crowned Miss Maine and has used her platform for advocacy. 

Now, at 27, she’s continued to use her experience as a source of strength and hope to create a world where sexual violence isn’t tolerated and survivors are met with passion, support and understanding, she said. 

Larocque shared her experience to a room full of people during a Resilience Breakfast, a fundraiser for the Crisis Center of Central New Hampshire to honor their 45th year of service to domestic and sexual assault survivors throughout Merrimack County. The breakfast, which is the first hosted by the crisis center, honors Sexual Assault Awareness Month and survivors of abuse.

“We chose resilience because survivors are resilient and there is no healing from trauma without resiliency,” said executive director Jessica Vaughn Martin. “We’ll continue to work to destigmatize seeking help when it’s needed,”

After Larocque was sexually assaulted, she said she sought help from the principal of her school who not only didn’t believe her but sent her back to the classroom to apologize to the teacher, she said. 

“We don’t raise our kids to discuss consent very well and it’s important that when we think of consent, it’s not a one-way street,” said prevention educator Kayte Gilmore. “When we’re talking about consent, especially with kids, we’re giving them the power to say no to things they want to say no to and giving them the power to say no to scarier things as they get older.” 

The resources provided by the crisis center help to educate and support survivors while bringing advocacy and awareness to students and schools, like St. Paul’s, which hosted Wednesday’s breakfast. In 2017, more than sexual misconduct allegations were made against former faculty at the private boarding school alleging incidents over a span of 41 years between 1967 and 2008. In an agreement with the state, the school committed to revamp its sexual assault prevention policies, and initiate independent investigations into any allegations of abuse. 

Over the course of one day, more than 20,000 people nationwide contact domestic and sexual assault hotlines for help.

In celebrating 45 years of service, Martin announced a new administrative center on Warren Street with plans to hold community listening sessions to serve the community and survivors while increasing prevention, education and outreach efforts to expand to trauma support. In the next five years, Martin hopes to launch a satellite location within Merrimack County to further support victims and survivors. 

“There is resiliency in all of us and we will continue to stand despite the injustices that have been committed against us,” Larocque said. “Without institutions like the crisis center, and so many others, many of us wouldn’t be where we are today and we are so thankful for that.” 

Need help?

If you or someone you know is experiencing relationship violence, sexual violence, stalking or any other form of interpersonal violence and are in need of advocacy services, the Crisis Center of Central New Hampshire has trained advocates available to of er crisis intervention, emotional support, resources, and referrals. You can contact the 24/7 Hotline at 866-841-6229 or resourceconnect.com/cccnh/chat to be connected with an advocate.

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