How an Elderly Sex Assault Survivor Became Activist for Testing Thousands of Backlogged Rape Kits

Elaine Aradillas
Updated
How an Elderly Sex Assault Survivor Became an Activist

When 79-year-old Carla Brooks opened her eyes from a deep sleep, a shadowy figure appeared above her, stroking her hair. Before she could scream, the stranger stuffed a rag into her mouth and sexually assaulted her.

“It happens to everybody — no matter their age,” Brooks tells PEOPLE, explaining that rape is about power.

As soon as the man left her St. George, Utah, home, Brooks called 911, and the investigation began.

Like thousands of other rape victims, she felt disappointed and afraid when her attacker’s DNA did not produce a match in local and statewide databases. But when investigators sent the DNA for further testing, her rapist was identified and arrested.

“I didn’t have to worry about him coming back,” she says. “It gave me quite a bit of peace.”

In February, 32-year-old Spencer Monnett pleaded guilty and was sentenced five years to life for first-degree felony of object rape. He also pleaded guilty to burglary of a dwelling.

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Since her attacker was arrested, Brooks has become determined to help other victims after learning of the thousands of rape kits that continue to sit on crime-lab shelves due to resource constraints. Currently, there is no database tracking untested rape kits, according to the Joyful Heart Foundation, a nonprofit founded in 2004 by actress Law & Order: SVU actress Mariska Hargitay aimed at helping sex assault survivors.

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Brooks has raised nearly $40,000 through her GoFundMe page and has donated to groups like End the Backlog, an organization devoted to change laws around the country to get rape kits tested.

Brooks believes that merely sharing her story of trauma and survival can make a profound difference in people’s lives. “I learned if bad things happen, you can still go on,” she says.