Ellis Co. Sausage Sexual Assault Victim IDs Himself
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ELLIS COUNTY (KRLD) - The alleged hazing incident at Ellis County Emergency Service District 6, January 6, 2015, still haunts Ellis County.
Five former volunteer firefighters face charges of aggravated sexual assault. A woman is accused of using her cell phone to record a video. The former fire chief and his assistant are accused of trying to cover the incident up.
The victim has remained nameless, choosing to withhold his identity after the sickening and embarrassing attack. Now he is stepping out of the shadows.
Jason Waldeck wants to take control of his life. The Ellis County man, after all, is a victim in the assault. He merely showed up for a meeting. His life would, forever, change.
"I felt like, I can't just sit back and watch this all unfold without me even having a say in things." he said. "I feel like I have it in me. I can hopefully reach out to somebody else and maybe inspire somebody else."
The last 10 months have not been easy.
Waldeck had a noble plan for his life, to be a firefighter. A job as a part-time volunteer firefighter at ESD 6 seemed the perfect fit. It was a job with training that would prepare him for firefighting academy. It was a job that would help pay for school.
Whatever happened between the time he walked into ESD 6 firehouse that night and the night he left was not planned ahead of time, he felt.
"They had never done that to anybody else." he said. "They never discussed anything like that. It was definately just an in the moment thing for them for some reason."
The attack itself is something Waldeck cannot discuss. He says he threw-up after the attack. Waldeck is undergoing counseling to recover. He is also trying to relearn trust.
"I feel very betrayed by them. These are guys I'm supposed to trust. And guys I'm supposed to be able to be in a burning house with and be able to trust them with my life."
Waldeck says the attack seemed to ruin everything he had dreamed of.. He had to quit the job. He had to go to therapy. Friends and family gathered to support Waldeck, but he almost had to give up his dream because there was no way to pay for it.
Not that they didn't try.
"My mama was selling some of my grandma's old jewelry just to help put me through college and I felt bad that there's nothing I could do. So that's when I started the GoFundMe page."
GoFundMe is a money-raising method. It gives an individual a chance to make the case for raising money through donations. But establishing the page also meant Waldeck would have to give up two things he cherished: His identity as the victim, and some of his pride. The decision, he says, helped in more than one way.
"I've always been kind of stubborn." he said. "I'm trying to get away from that and ask for help. It's something I didn't do for so long, and I ended up where I am now because of that. I realize it's not....it's okay to put your pride away and ask for help when you need it."
Putting his pride away came with the cost of anonymity. That's when Waldeck realized he could do more good coming forward than staying in seclusion.
His first step came on Facebook. The public admission that he was the victim of the brutal attack flew in the face of some who urged Waldeck to stay private. But the posting was also liberating, he says.
"That's part of me being able to get through this, is getting back to doing what I like. And that will help me more than anything."
Waldeck now plans on attending Hill College in Hillsboro, and later a possible admission to Texas A&M.
He first has to get past the public court procedings of the eight people who changed his life.
"Embarassing as it was and as horrible as it was, nothing feels better than doing something about it and taking a stand for once."
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