Sharilyn Lux stands in a bedroom of her house in Snoqualmie, Washington. This story was originally published b y InvestigateWest , a nonprofit newsroom based in the Pacific Northwest.
Lux, a year-old middle school Spanish teacher, had sent thousands of emails to city staff in Snoqualmie, a small suburb of Seattle, accusing them of being liars, frauds and criminals. Ross, Lynch and the clerk declined to comment for this article, citing ongoing litigation with Lux. For Lux, the constant stream of messages was necessary to get someoneβ anyone βto dig more deeply into her case. The hearing was just one chapter in an escalating small-town saga, one that eventually led to the city taking the rare step of pursuing criminal charges against a rape victim over her fight for transparency.
A rape gone unsolved. Evidence resulting in no suspects and no arrests. In the March hearing, the judge listened to testimony from both parties, took a few minutes to review the case, and came back with a decision.
The judge approved the protection order, effective for 15 years. It makes it illegal for Lux to contact the city clerk or to email public records requests to the city. And if she needs to go to the post office? When Lux woke up that cold February morning in , she remembers reflexively rubbing her hands over her thighs. It was wet, she realized as she lay in bed. Like fluid was coming out of her. She opened her eyes and took in the pastel yellow curtains and teal walls surrounding her.
Her bedroom. What looked to her like blood and feces coated her naked body, her sheets, the floor, her pants, her jacket. She slowly crawled out of bed. Pain seized her ribs and shot through her knee. Her mind felt clouded in a thick fog.
