Sherry Yvonne Johnson was raped for the first time at eight by a man nine years older than her, by the age of 10 she had given birth to his child, and by 11, she was married to him Activist Sherry Yvonne Johnson (Image: YouTube)

At just eight, Sherry Yvonne Johnson was sexually assaulted for the first time by a man nine years her senior, had delivered her attacker's baby by age 10, and found herself wed to him by 11. ‌

Her abuser, Alfonsa Tolbert, served as a deacon at the rigid apostolic church her family worshipped at. Recounting the dreadful ordeal, Sherry said: "All you had to do was walk down the steps from the church and you'd walk into our kitchen. That's where he raped me. I woke up with him on top of me. Many times." ‌

The sexual assault persisted for another year,

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