Pregnant 10-year-old’s family speaks out in Marion molestation case
MARION, Ind. (WISH) – The grandmother of a young girl who was molested and impregnated in Marion says the man charged with the crime was someone they trusted.
34-year-old Nicholas Deon Thrash is facing 10 counts of child molestation.
“He’s not type of person that you’d think would do something like this,” said the grandmother.
She said she met Thrash multiple times.
“We invited him into our home. He helped my husband all he could,” said the grandmother.
Now Thrash is behind bars, and family says the young girl is 20 weeks pregnant.
“Now her whole life has changed. … She’s scared being this far along and having to carry this baby,” said the grandmother.
Family members are caring for the girl while her mother is in jail. They said it’s heartbreaking watching someone so young go through this.
“She came out and asked, ‘Can I get my Barbies?’ I said, ‘Of course you can.’ She is still a little girl that wants to play that has to grow up overnight,” said the grandmother.
It’s something that’s not easy for her to talk about, but she said she is hoping this will inspire other parents to talk with their children, possibly preventing something like this from happening to another child.
“Teach your kids to have enough trust in you to come to you and say ‘This is wrong, help,’” said the grandmother.
Sandy Runkle, director of Prevent Child Abuse Indiana, said having those conversations with your kids is important. She said parents should also be cautious of adults who want to spend too much alone time with a certain child.
Runkle said about 90 percent of the time the abuser is someone the child knows and trusts.
The grandmother said Thrash was someone they trusted.
“I hope he gets what’s coming to him. He’s got to pay for this,” said the grandmother.
The family is now asking for help getting maternity clothes for that young girl. They say she is a size small.
As soon as we learn more information about how you can help, we will post that here on our website. The family says they are not sure yet if they will give the baby up for adoption.