Child sex abuse victim tells others to remain vigilant, speak out

WALTERS — Speaking up and speaking out about abuse, even when no one believes you, is an act of heroism.

When James Robert Pennington, 45, and Rebekah Ashton Cooper, 32, both of Walters, pleaded guilty Monday in Caddo County District Court to a list of child sexual abuse and pornography charges, one of the victims and her “chosen mother” said it all came down to someone taking them seriously.

As 19-year-old Lotus Crane readies to turn 20, she spoke out against her now-convicted abusers. She said when she offered her victim’s statement from the witness stand, it was a moment of empowerment. She was publicly taking her life back.

“I knew, with them, it fell on deaf ears,” she said. “I didn’t give my statement for them, I gave my statement for me.”

Crane’s adopted mother, Melinda Iles, said Crane and the other juvenile teen victimized by the couple “walked taller” when they left the court.

With all the sentences running concurrently, Pennington will have to serve at least 85 percent of 18 years in prison and Cooper will serve 85 percent of 10 years before becoming eligible for parole. The sentences were part of their plea agreement. They also will have to register as sex offenders for the rest of their lives.

“We think they got off easy,” Iles said during an interview with The Lawton Constitution on Tuesday.

Iles said after Pennington and Cooper signed their plea papers, Pennington attempted to get into in-patient sex offender treatment. This was a no-go for those he abused.

“We all shook our heads, ‘No,’” she said. “He needs to go into general population (when in prison); he needs to live in the same fear as these girls.”

Crane came to the couple in 2020 as her biological mother, who was friends with Pennington and Cooper, battled drug and gambling addiction. The then-16-year-old was pregnant and believed she was moving into a stable home. She said Cooper had been like a big sister to her.

Then the sexual abuse began from Pennington. Crane said Cooper knew about it. She said they both made her feel as if no one would believe her if she told someone.

Crane was right.

When she moved in with Iles at the age of 17, she told her “chosen mother” of the abuse. They reported it to the Department of Human Services and reports were taken twice.

They spoke with Lawton police about the allegations in November 2021 after a previous attempt to report it to Walters police since the abuse happened at the couple’s Walters home in 2020. Soon after, someone listened, Iles said. It was Walters Police Officer Leslie Williams.

“She listened,” Iles said. “She’s the pit bull that bit into them in a dog fight and never let go.”

Crane spoke of the difficulty she found in being believed. She said she was written off by so many because of her troubled upbringing. Even after the charges, when the couple had bonded out of jail, she said she felt terrorized and threatened by them. She said she felt like they preyed on her emotions and trauma.

Iles said Pennington and Cooper “found her insecurities and fanned those flames.”

The father of her child also had been abusive, Crane said. She credits Iles for opening her heart as a foster mother when everything had come to a head. Still, suffering from PTSD, night terrors and anxiety, therapy has helped her find strength. She spent two months in in-patient mental health care and has taken up journaling.

“This broke her,” Iles said.

Crane spoke of living with a bat beside her bed and some type of defensive weapon everywhere in her house. She doesn’t want to be hurt again and feels robbed of her sense of security. It means a lot of solitude outside of Iles and a friend group she’s begun to develop. Trust, however, is in short supply.

“I’m a hermit nowadays,” she said. “I don’t hardly go outside. … It’s really hard to enjoy good things.”

Iles said she sees improvement and growth in her daughter.

“As a mom who watched her for the last three years,” she said, “it means a lot to see her know it wasn’t her fault.”

When Crane and the other teen spoke Monday, Iles joined them to offer a victim impact statement. They all wore red. There’s lore that wearing red in court is a sign of anger. It was the right uniform, Crane said.

“I wore red because I am angry,” she said.

Iles may not have been a victim, but she has been affected no less. In her statement, she said, she talked directly to Pennington and Cooper from the stand.

“I may not be your victim, but I am the chosen mother of your victim,” she said. “These two girls were not afraid … they beat you.”

Crane hopes her story can embolden others being victimized to speak up and keep telling their truth, even when no one seems to be listening. Keep speaking and someone will hear you, she said.

“Speaking about it is really important and sticking to it,” she said. “Finding someone you trust is really important.”

Now, Crane is readying for a new start with her 3-year-old son. It means moving out of Oklahoma. It also means remaining vigilant.

“The big reason I’m speaking up is because of other girls,” she said. “I want to let them know they aren’t alone and to speak up.”