Date Rape Drugs: Real Life Stories

By Lindy ThackstonFirst Coast News

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- You probably know date rape drugs are out there, and you may think they're slipped into drinks at places you would never go.

Date rape drugs, like Gamma hydroxybutyrate, or GHB, and Rohypnol, are two of the most common.

They have long been linked to raves and bodybuilders.

At certain doses, date rape drugs put you in a coma like sleep. Rapists know that. That's why you should to.

At the University of Florida, three teenage girls from different crowds, all showed up at different hospitals, confused. One woke up in the bed of a pickup truck. One teen had cuts and bruises on her knees, elbows, and hips. They believe they were drugged, but if they were, the drug was out of their blood by the time they were tested.

No charges could be filed.

Investigators say date rape drugs are being slipped into drinks on the First Coast, and yet prosecutors have yet to be able to prove a case.

The drugs leave your system in just a few hours, and that's about the time you realize you may have been a victim.

Not everyone slipped a date rape drug is assaulted.

First Coast News Lindy Thackston was hospitalized a few months ago after someone slipped a date rape drug in her drink.

Fortunately she was not assaulted. Many women, and men, are assaulted for hours with no idea it's happening.

Like Kelly Addington from Tampa, Florida.

You name it, and Kelly and her best friend Becca Tieder have been through it.

"Family problems, boyfriend dos and don'ts," said Kelly.

Kelly met Becca at school when Becca walked up to her and said, "I need your schedule so we can be friends!"

"Starting from that first day we've been the best of friends ever since and it's been almost 17 years now," said Kelly.

"I knew absolutely nothing about date rape drugs except for what you hear, oh careful, someone may slip a roofie into that hunch punch," said Kelly. "It was kind of a joke."

It was joke until one weekend night in college.

"My friends were with me all night and I didn't drink an unusual amount of alcohol."

Kelly left with her designated driver, a man she'd been dating.

"On the ride home I was passing out, going in and out of coherence, and didn't really know what was happening."

The next morning, Kelly woke up with a terrible headache, and assumed it was a hangover.

Then the nightmares started.

"I would wake up screaming, sweating, and sometimes crying," said Kelly. "The one thing that I remembered in almost every dream was that I felt like something or someone was on top of me and I was trapped."

For weeks, Kelly thought it was stress.

"Here I thought I was crazy for taking a pregnancy test when I hadn't had sex in almost a year."

The pregnancy test was positive.

Kelly immediately called Becca.

"We took another test and the second test was positive as well and that's when we started putting pieces of that weekend together," said Kelly.

Kelly called her date from that night.

She says he told her she was begging for it.

"I had a miscarriage a week later," said Kelly.

Kelly stayed quiet for six months, not telling anyone but Becca she'd been drugged and raped.

Investigators say date rape drugs like GHB and Rohypnol can get past anyone.

All it takes is a few drops from a container like an eye drop bottle.

The drugs are colorless, odorless, and nearly tasteless.

To deal with the physical and emotional mess she'd been put through, Kelly started counseling with Becca.

"She was my rock," said Kelly. "She was the person that was going to be there for me and when I couldn't speak, she could speak for me," said Kelly.

At the time, Kelly didn't know Becca would one day be speaking beside her.

"From the time we're young, "Are you doing it? What's going on? Are you hitting it?" We don't even say it when we're adults!" said Becca. "So we said 'Let's talk about it!"

They've talked about "it" to more than 100 universities around the country, trying to fight the stigma they once believed.

"We thought rape and things like this are what happened to girls who made stupid choices," said Becca.

Kelly and Becca talk about the guilt they both felt; Kelly for drinking and Becca for leaving her.

They say they're realistic in their approach.

They don't tell people not to drink, but rather how to be smart about it.

Seventeen years later, Becca still asks for Kelly's schedule, because she'll be there by her side.

"I have not had a program that finished that we didn't have at least one person come up to us directly after we spoke to say the same thing happened to me and I'm so glad that now I feel like I can talk about it," said Kelly.

Investigators say never leave your drink alone, or take one that's already been opened.

Also, don't fall victim to Kelly's biggest regret: not telling someone immediately that she didn't feel right.

Kelly says she'd also carry a drug detector, a credit card sized detector.

If you rub a little liquid from your drink onto the sensor, it will turn black if the liquid is not safe to drink.

For more information on the The Reusable GHB Card shown on First Coast News, you can call 1-866-SPOT-GHB or visit www.beveragetest.com.

There are several other detectors available in drugstores and online.

For more information on Kelly Addington and Becca Tieder, visit www.kellyandbecca.com and www.uniteforchange.com.

Wednesday on First Coast News at 6:00, we'll look deeper into why it's so hard to prove a date rape drugging case on the First Coast, and what you can do to increase your chances of being able to prosecute.

And later on First Coast News at 11:00, the date rape drug's you are trying to avoid, are being taken by teenagers willingly. One family shares their story with First Coast News Lindy Thackston.