Only 15 and addicted to heroin a young girls world was that of a nightmare, three grown men repeatedly offering the teen the powerful drugs in exchange for sexual intercourse, Montgomery County Cops allege in court files.” I was simply really-really unhappy,” the alleged victim, now 16, told the media, asking the public to refer to her utilizing the fake name ‘Lisbeth’ in order to conceal her identity.
She shared in a statement, ” I was cutting and burning myself … I would just hold a lighter up to my skin and then hold the flame up to my skin until I could not take it anymore.”
Depression began to take a toll on the little girl around 11 years old. She described feeling “empty” on the inside and like a “burden” to society. By the age of 15, bipolar disorder had manifested in her mind. She visited doctor after medical professional, each recommended a different cocktail of drugs, frequently with side effects such as stress and anxiety, seizures, loss of appetite and sleeping disorders.
What is Bi-Polar Disorder?
Bipolar disorder—the larger condition that includes bipolar depression—is a lifelong, or chronic, illness. It’s a condition that affects the brain in a way that can cause extreme mood swings that vary in length. People with bipolar disorder can go from mania (the “highs”)—feeling euphoric or revved up and irritable—to depression (the “lows”)—feeling down or hopeless. These highs and lows are called “episodes.”
During her freshman year of high school, Lisbeth began to dabble with alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs for “mood management” and “psychological stability.”
” I was simply trying to be pleased,” Lisbeth recalled. “Getting up every day was a chore. The only thing stopping me from killing myself was that my friends and family were pleading me not to.”
It took only two months for Lisbeth to try 33 drugs including, Adderall, crack, drug, fentanyl, heroin, LSD, marijuana, methamphetamine, morphine, oxycodone, PCP, psychedelic mushrooms and Xanax.” I liked opioids,” Lisbeth said with a sinister chuckle. “Heroin was my first love. I shot up every day, like multiple times a day. I might be sitting in a sewage system and I might be bleeding to death, but then you shoot up some heroin and you’re the happiest person worldwide.”
The addiction and constant urge for “the next high” drove Lisbeth to inject and snort opioids in her bedroom, at her best friends homes, on the street, and at her high school.
” I snorted a line of oxycodone in the middle of lunch when everyone was around, straight off the flooring, in front of everybody,” Lisbeth specified with a discernible sense of pride. “One time I was shooting up in the bathroom and I dropped my bent spoon and someone asked, ‘What the hell was that?’ Somehow I always got away with it.”
After finishing her freshman year, Lisbeth says her growing addiction triggered financial problems. The teenager turned to sell her body for drugs, most notably heroin. At the height of her search for money, Lisbeth had 7 male customers, most in their 20s and 30s.
” I really posted an advertisement online with my specific words, ‘Will f *** for dope,'” Lisbeth mentioned. “There was absolutely nothing stopping me from getting high. I needed to be high all of the time since if I wasn’t, I was sick.”
In August, Montgomery County Police charged Kevin Burdette, 32, of Glen Burnie, Antonio Gilham, 22, of Germantown, and David Knox, 33, of Germantown, with numerous counts of sexual offense.
According to the court records, Burdette and Knox responded to Lisbeth’s greatly worded advertisement posted to the app, Whisper. Knox presumably hosted Lisbeth at his house near Montgomery College’s Germantown school.
Burdette– who is engaged with 3 kids– admitted to having sex with the teen. He blamed his habits, in part, on being “strung out on drugs.”
When it comes to Gilham, Lisbeth describes she met the 22-year-old through friends. As their relationship turned sexual, Lisbeth says Gilham typically advised her to lie about her age. She knew he was aware of the laws being broken.
Lisbeth does not live in a mobile home or a bad part of any city, rather in an upper-middle-class home with a successful family. In fact, Lisbeth’s father has two PhDs in science and her mother is a business owner with a booming business. They held their daughter to high expectations and showered her with support.
” She was such an excellent kid. She was on the honor roll and spoke several languages. We didn’t believe anything, but moms and dads truly have to look for warning signs.”
In Lisbeth’s case that meant changing her mindset, doing improperly in school and increasing time in her bedroom. Nevertheless, the saying goes, “never ever undervalue the power of denial.” In hindsight, Lisbeth’s parents admit they set up blinders.
” It was a shock beyond imagination,” Lisbeth’s mother stated, describing the night in March 2018 when her only child almost fatally overdosed on heroin. “My husband had a bad feeling. He broke into her space and discovered her without a pulse. He called 911 and needed to prove to authorities that he didn’t eliminate. It was dreadful.”
Life After Drugs
Lisbeth is presently 5 months sober. She no longer is skipping classes, she also has a job at her local golf course. What are the next steps? Lisbeth’s mother envisions her child becoming a hair stylist or a forensic researcher. She and her other half want to retire to a cattle ranch in Colorado where they could work to discover a remedy to bipolar disorder. After all, the brain disorder is what first put Lisbeth on the path to drug addiction.
A statement from her parents,” Offering her opportunity, after chance, after opportunity, after opportunity, I believe she finally just developed and valued the forgiveness. We can’t blame her for being a victim of drugs.”
Lisbeth gave a final statement in hopes of sharing her story and helping other young people out there to overcome whatever it may be to stay strong, she shared” I had 3 suicide attempts and I had 2 overdoses where I did lose my life and they did bring me back … I truthfully thought I ‘d be doing drugs for the rest of my life. I truthfully didn’t think I would have the ability to leave it, once I realized that I didn’t have to live that way any longer, was such a relief.”
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