Lessons in self-defense | Forensic Files

All right, I appreciate you all coming. For some of you, this is your first time here. What
we're doing here is a class that's designed specifically for women to deal with a sex offender. Again, the idea is
to understand the sex offender behavior, the underlying fantasy for what they do,
and then turn the tables on him and use that information against him during uh your escape attempt. He's grabbed me
from behind. Oh, no. So, I took my knowledge of sex offenders along with my self-defense teacher's knowledge about
self-defense, and we married him together to say, "Okay, let's develop a class."
Hold on to your arms. Victoria's story was actually a part in the development of it.
Victoria is a very was 19 years old at the time, just out on her own, and she did a lot of things that helped her
survive. And what we're doing, we're going to draw from that case and a bunch of other ones that I've worked to tell
you what she did to survive. Because at 19 years old, she had no formal training, nothing whatsoever, but she
had a will to live. Just push me anyway. Just push. Yeah, I talk about Victoria a
lot and a couple of other my my my victims a lot for their ability to not become psychologically captured. And
that's a big thing. But once you become psychologically captured, you're not thinking about escaping.
Going to push here and eventually I'm going to let go. Don't let him psychologically capture you. Now, you
may become physically captured. Victoria was physically captured. Two guys grabbed her. Okay, one of them actually
put his finger into her eye socket and drug her about her skull. Okay, that's kind of a game ender right there as far
as being able to resist, but she fought back anyway. There you go. One, two, three, come on. Even though she's being
beaten unmercifully by these guys and they're telling her they're going to kill her, she wasn't going to believe
it. She wasn't going to buy it. She's just a fighter. And that that's what we need to instill
here. Also, bring push push push is keep moving, keep thinking. Eventually, you're going to get away.
And that's what Victoria did. Excellent example of self-defense. She made up stories about children she didn't have.
She made up all anything she could think of. She kept thinking all the time. All
the time to delay them killing her. They need to take away that they can defend themselves.
There you go. Come on. Push me. And self-defense doesn't mean gouging some guy's eyes out or something. That's
a part of it obviously. But what it means is I can be aware enough to where I can see the guy coming to me. I can
see the threat coming to me. Punch me someplace and I can misdirect it. I think I'm a little bit lower. Okay.
Okay. Most sex offenders have pre-planned. The assault and the pre-planned aka the
fantasy is always perfect. Well, if you the reality becomes not perfect because you interrupt the plan, he doesn't know
how to think on his feet enough to adapt. So, what we need to do is teach women that you can defend yourself.
There you go. You can do it. It's okay. We're done. Thank you, ladies. [Applause]

Watch as Det. Don Howell, the lead investigator in Victoria's assault case, uses his 30-plus years of experience to teach women how to defend themselves against a sexual predator.

Brief Summary

Women learn self-defense strategies against sex offenders through Victoria's survival story and practical techniques.

Key points

Victoria's Survival Story. At just 19, Victoria fought back against her attackers, showcasing incredible resilience.

Episode highlights

Victoria's Survival StoryAt just 19, Victoria fought back against her attackers, showcasing incredible resilience.“She wasn't going to believe it. She wasn't going to buy it.”1:32Jan 24, 2016

Episode quotes

She wasn't going to believe it. She wasn't going to buy it.

Discussing Victoria's resilience during her attack.

1:30WatchJan 24, 2016

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