Woman raped five times

Jane Johnson* wore a look of frustration and her eyes welled up with tears as she walked into THE STAR office yesterday.

Johnson said she was on her way to another location, when she looked up and saw the Gleaner building. Needing to unburden herself, she decided to tell her story.

"I have been raped on five different occasions. Even one of my children was conceived during one of the ordeals. I love that little girl with all my heart though, but she is currently with another family who takes really great care of her. They still allow me to keep in contact with her," she said.

She added that because of the many struggles she has faced, she attempted suicide on several attempts.

Johnson said she was raped at age four by a relative and was forced to go through a similar ordeal at the age of 11, when she was once again molested by somebody known to her. So traumatising were these events that she ran away as a youngster but that did not make her life any easier.

Earlier this year, she got the devastating news that she was HIV-positive

"When I found out I was HIV-positive, I instantly thought about killing myself. I was at the hospital because I was feeling chest pains and the doctors took some blood tests and the results came back positive. I just thought I didn't deserve to live. I have tried to kill myself so many times but God keeps sparing my life," she said.

Currently homeless

Johnson, a 35-year-old mother of five, says she is currently homeless and has spent the last few nights sleeping on a plaza in Portmore.

Her expression became even more gloomy as she recounted her horrific rape ordeals.

"I was staying with a friend in another parish several years ago and after she left for work, her boyfriend and his friends put a pillow over my head and took turns raping me. I felt like my body was being destroyed. After that one, my relative's friend raped me again. My last rape encounter occurred this year. I was on my way home to Portmore and I must have fallen asleep in the taxi because the medications make me sleepy at times. When I woke up, a part of my body was in the bush and my head was out in the road. Somebody later found me and took me to the hospital," she said.

Now determined to make the rest of her life the best of her life, Johnson says she wants to further her education and land a good job. Though she does not have a birth certificate, Johnson says she hopes she will be able to get one soon.

In the meantime, she is appealing for help from the public.

"I know God is going to work out something for me because I don't want to go back to my original home. Some of my family members deal with me bad because of my sickness. I want to become a pharmacist and help other persons who are in a similar situation. I have developed other medical conditions because of HIV and it's really hard. I want to be independent though because is must a reason why God don't allow me to dead yet," she said.

Persons wishing to assist Jane Johnson* may contact her at 876-363-2468

* Name changed