Cheryl Burke
David Becker/Getty Images for iHeartRadioWhen Cheryl Burke was 9 years old, she testified in court against a caretaker who had sexually abused her and her stepsister.
The former Dancing with the stars pro recalled the traumatic experience on the Monday, January 20 episode of Old lady podcast.
“We were both sexually abused by the same person, the caretaker who looked after us,” Burke, 40, said. “And then my sister’s best friend ran home and told her mom. That was the reason he was convicted – he was supposed to be in prison for life, but he got out.
During his case, “I almost got fired up,” she continued. “I’ll never forget when I was actually testifying with that man sitting in front of me. They wouldn’t even let my mom come with me, which was so crazy. I was 9. And I was like, “Am I making this up?” I was literally saying that to myself.
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Burke added: “I already felt, at 9 years old, like I was a pedophile. That’s how they made me feel.”
She explained during it Old lady she appears to be a “professional disassociator” as a result of a past trauma she is trying to come to terms with.
“There’s no, ‘Okay, I’m done with this part of my life,'” Burke said. “But I had done so much work that I couldn’t deal with the anger that I had towards this one person that I felt like I was slowly dying, so some kind of peacemaking had to happen. Not condoning the act by any means, but I had to create something like, “Okay, this guy was sick.”
However, she noted: “I do not forgive. I don’t want people to take this the wrong way as if I’m condoning his bullying.”
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Burke has previously spoken about the abuse she experienced as a child in 2015 and later as we discussed how the trial was affected her relationships with men as an adult.
She believes that going forward it will become increasingly difficult for other victims to speak out against their abusers.
“It’s society today, man,” Burke said Old ladyadding, “Why would anyone ever want to come out and tell their truth when the person who is the victim feels like they are doing something wrong?” And it’s so easy to judge someone and all that obsolescence. It’s all bullshit—because it takes decades, if not lifetimes, to finally realize, or have any awareness, that “Yes, maybe I really was raped.”
She added: “There were no quick fixes to any of this. There isn’t one. And I don’t want even that to come across in any way. There are no drugs. No fungus. Trust me, I’ve tried everything. And it just comes back tenfold unless you do the work, and boy, it doesn’t hurt. This is painful. This work is painful.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
