Paige Parkhurst Says Maryville Rape Case Intervention ‘A Miracle’

The Maryville rape case that sparked renewed interest this week when Anonymous clicked into action after a lengthy newspaper investigation involves two young victims — Daisy Coleman, 14, and Paige Parkhurst, 13 at the time of the alleged crime.

Initially, Daisy Coleman was the victim named in the Maryville rape controversy, and Paige Parkhurst later came forward with her own confirmation of the events on the night in question as stated by the Coleman family.

Parkhurst has since spoken about her reaction to the movement for prosecution in Maryville and outside the small Missouri town, saying the intervention of Anonymous was like a “miracle” after months without any legal movement in the case.

Parkhurst and Coleman were allegedly assaulted on a cold winter night back in 2012 after sneaking out — Coleman was later dumped on her front lawn and left to freeze. Parkhurst did not suffer in the cold, but did give her version of events in an interview this week.

She explained:

“… another boy that was there with me, had taken me into another room, and had sexually assaulted me, after me telling him no, pushing him away. And after he was done, he made me go back out into the living room with him, and we sat and waited until Matt was done with Daisy.”

Parkhurst adds that stepping forward has been a relief, and says she’s grateful for the outpouring of support:

“I felt like I needed the story to come out from me also, and that I needed to be able to voice my opinion, along with my mother. We didn’t have this kind of support when everything happened, but now that we do have a lot of support and we do have people listening, it’s like a miracle. It feels really good that it’s finally getting spoken about. We’ve waited for this day for a very long time.”

Along with Paige Parkhurst, Coleman’s mother says that simply having the case looked at again is a positive step, even if no conviction occurs.