Survivors, bereaved aim to Take Back the Night

There is one night Gil Harrington wishes she could take back.

It is Oct. 17, 2009, the night her daughter, Morgan, disappeared after leaving a Metallica concert at the John Paul Jones Arena. A farmer found Harrington’s body months later in a pasture just 10 miles from where she was last seen.

“That was the night Morgan was abducted from JPJ, raped and murdered,” Harrington said Thursday night. “That is the night all of our expectations and plans for our lives were shattered.”

Gil Harrington was among the speakers Thursday at the 24th annual Take Back the Night rally in Charlottesville.

More than 40 people attended the rally, which is part of a week of events to remember survivors of sexual assault and protest violence against women.

Margaret Mikkelsen, director of the Sexual Assault Resource Agency, said that sexual violence not only affects women, but also children and men. SARA, a nonprofit based in Charlottesville, provides resources for victims of sexual assault.

“One out of four girls and one out of every six boys will be sexually assaulted before their 18th birthday,” Mikkelsen said. “Most of these children will be assaulted by someone they know and trust — a parent, a grandparent, an uncle, a babysitter, a friend of the family, a teacher.”

She said it is up to the public to become more aware of the causes and consequences of sexual assault.

“Sexual assault is not a bad decision,” Mikkelsen said. “It is not a misunderstanding; it is not a teachable moment. It is a tool of oppression, an act of violence and a weapon of war and perpetrators have a concealed, carried license.”

During her eight-minute speech, Gil Harrington talked about the need for all people to be aware of their own surroundings and to speak out if they think someone else is being victimized. Morgan Harrington, a 20-year-old Virginia Tech student, was last seen hitching a ride on the Copeley Road bridge on the night of her disappearance.

“It’s graduation time at Virginia Tech and Morgan will not graduate with her class,” Harrington said. “Morgan will not partner and marry, will not have children and will not be playing loud music down in my basement hanging out with her friends.

“Our lives have changed. I would take back that night.”

The Harringtons, who have spoken at both the Take Back the Night events in Charlottesville and Blacksburg for the last two years, said it was important to remind young people to stay safe.

“People think that battery, assault and rape happens to others, not ours… not us, not here,” Harrington said. “Wake up. On college campuses, the statistics are one in four women. One in four women will be the victim of some form of sexual assault.”

Gil Harrington said she will continue speaking out about her daughter’s case as long as the person responsible is still out there.

“I am here to contradict the position that the risk is over and that everyone should go back to business as usual,” Harrington said. “There is a serial offender still at large. When he’s arrested I’ll stand down, but not until that time.”

Dan Harrington, who did not speak at the Charlottesville rally this year, said afterwards that he hopes continuing to share his daughter’s story helps others.

“Many students don’t think this could happen to them,” Dan Harrington said. “Morgan never thought something like this could happen to her, but it did.”

Virginia State Police continue their investigation into Morgan Harrington’s death. There is a $150,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for Morgan’s death.

“[Investigators] are fairly encouraging to us that they will be able to solve this case, but they don’t give us very many details,” Dan Harrington said.