• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- As a TV reporter, Jolene Loetscher told other people's stories. Now, as an advocate for childhood sexual abuse, she's telling her story, if somewhat reluctantly.
• Loetscher, who was assaulted as a teenager, has started a camp for abused kids and lobbied in support of legislation to remove the statute of limitations in some cases of child rape.
• She's currently helping in an effort to create a panel that would study the issue and recommend policy changes to state lawmakers. It would be called Jolene's Law Task Force.
• "It's not just 'Jolene' that's going through this," Loetscher said. "I wanted it to be for all these other voiceless victims."
• An estimated 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys are victims of sexual abuse.
• The South Dakota Senate approved the creation of the task force last week and sent it to the House for review. As Loetscher entered the Capitol building before testifying, she hesitated, saying it happens every time she plans to relive the worst experiences of her life. Then she steels herself.
• "I need to do it," Loetscher said. "I need to be able to help those women and children and adults, those men out there that can't talk about it."
• She said telling her story publically allows her to be authentic with the viewers who let her into their homes during her roughly five years on KELO-TV.
• "I owed it to them to be open and honest about who I was," said Loetscher, who's 4 feet 11 inches tall. "It wasn't just the image of a little petite girl chasing a tornado. She has struggles too."
• The 35-year-old said those struggles started at age 15 when a respected member of her community in Wayne, Neb., sexually abused her. The experience ended her childhood abruptly and shattered her spirit, she said.
• Loetscher suppressed the memory for more than a decade. She focused on her professional experiences as a journalist and entrepreneur. She and her husband started a company called Doo Gooders that collects dog droppings and donates part of the income to charity. She calls herself the Chief Doo Officer.
• Loetscher said that over the years, she presented a positive face but in her late

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