SPRINGVILLE — A man who sexually abused his grandchildren was denied parole and will remain in prison for at least three more years.
For granddaughter Ashley White, however, the battle to break free from her emotional prison will last much, much longer.
"I just hope he doesn't get excited about those three years," she said Wednesday at her home in Springville. "Even if he does get out, it will never be over for him."
Ashley White says she was 7 years old when her grandpa, Eugene Holt Swenson, started molesting her.
Nine months after the abuse started, she said, Swenson was arrested. That's when an aunt and other family members accused him of abusing them, too.
Swenson, who has been in jail since 1994, was convicted of aggravated sexual abuse of a child and sodomy on a child. He was denied parole once before, in 1997, and this May was eligible for a second parole hearing.
The Whites learned Monday that the Utah State Board of Pardons turned him down for parole again. The 77-year-old won't get another hearing until July 2008.
"The parole board has given him three more years (in jail)," said Susan White, Ashley White's mother. "That's a very short-term victory for us."
The so-called victory is disappointing. The family hoped for a life-in-jail-without-parole verdict. Ashley White tearfully testified against her grandfather in front of the parole board in May — but now must testify again in three years.
But until then, she and her mother will keep sharing Ashley's story in hopes it will help other young men and women who are suffering the same way.
"It takes guts, but the reward is healing," said Susan White about her daughter's willingness to go public about the abuse. "It was a slow walk through hell to get her where she is today." -->
In May, that walk took mother and daughter to New York, where Ashley appeared on "Good Morning America" to encourage in similar situations.
"It's hard for me to talk about," Ashley said, "But I want to let (others) know it's OK to talk about it. I came from something really bad and turned it into a positive (thing.)"
Through networking with other victims, their families and a new organization called the Butterfly Haven Foundation — www.butterflyhavenfoundation.com — the Whites are trying to raise awareness about child sex abuse.
"Most people don't want to talk about this thing because it's so horrific," Susan White said. "We're fighting terrorism abroad, and for good cause, but this is our scariest form of domestic terrorism."
The Whites also are working with Marc Klaas, president of Klaas Kids Foundation, which was established in honor of Klaas' daughter, Polly, who was kidnapped, raped and murdered by a paroled sex offender in California in 1994.
Klaas said "brave young girls like Ashley" are crucial in the fight.
"They are willing to take a stand against evil," Klaas told the Deseret Morning News. "(To) have the courage to do that is a huge step, and represents in many ways an example that we should be trying to emulate."
The recent case of Shasta and Dylan Groene — kidnapped by a convicted sex offender — has helped the cause
Although Shasta Groene was later found, Dylan Groene had already been killed.
Longer sentences, forced compliance of sex-offender registry, more offender tracking, a national sex-offender, searchable database are some of the big changes Klaas and people like White want to see happen.
"People are starting to wake up, starting to realize the seriousness of some of the problems," he said. "The change we've needed for so long, much of it is at hand right now."
E-mail: sisraelsen@desnews.com