IN THE NEWS.
Crime survivors focus on ‘good things’ during a day of fun in Irvine
December 23, 2019
UC Irvine Sexual Assault Survivors Getting New Resources
November 12, 2019
Vice, The Man Who Almost Killed Me Only Did 120 Days in Jail
June 21, 2018
The Marshall Project, I Survived a Violent Crime, Then the Justice System Let Me Down
June 21, 2018
LA Times, Irvine mother who survived violent assault runs organization to empower crime victims
May 3, 2018
Behind the Badge, Newly opened Crime Survivors Resource Center is a place for victims to find healing
April 16, 2018
ABC7 News, Crime victims’ advocate opens resource center in Santa Ana
April 4, 2018
OC Register, Survive and Thrive in Irvine empowers crime victims
April 10, 2017
Behind the Badge, Hundreds run to honor and support crime survivors
April 10, 2017
Behind the Badge, Attacked by personal trainer, she fights back and launches annual walk for fellow survivors
April 13, 2016
OC Register, Survivors celebrate moving on during ‘hopeful healing day’
Nov 21, 2016
OC Judge Cuts 15 Years Off Mandatory Sentence of Man Convicted of Sodomizing Toddler
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http://www.ocregister.com/articles/kelly-657448-judge-sentencing.html
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http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-child-molester-sentencing-20150409-story.html
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http://www.newser.com/story/205254/judge-who-let-sex-offender-off-easy-asked-to-resign.html
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http://abc7.com/news/oc-board-of-supervisors-threaten-recall-campaign-for-judge/646471/
April 10, 2015
OC Register, Attack victim moves past her pain to help others
February 27, 2015
Group to honor civilian who saved woman’s life
April 23, 2010
MSNBC.com – Crime survivors show strength in numbers
October 10, 2010
Brea Police Partner with Crime Survivors, Inc.
November 12, 2009
Creators.com –The Crime Clock and You
October 24, 2009
Creators.com – How Crime Victims Become Crime Survivors
October 10, 2009
2009 Crime Survivors Awards Banquet Video
May 1, 2009
Cypress Police Partner With Crime Survivors, Inc.
March 2, 2009
Orange County Register – She’s Not A Victim Anymore
December 24, 2008
News Enterprise – Crime Survivors Run/Walk Draws Good Crowds
October 21, 2008
Calif. initiative would mandate victims’ rights
October 1, 2008
Capitol watchdog // Spitzer: Committee, office changes are reprisals
Byline: BRIAN JOSEPH
Orange County Register, The (Santa Ana, CA)
I.D. number: 108561601
SACRAMENTO In June 2006, former San Fernando Assemblywoman Cindy Montanez loses the Democratic primary for state Senate. In January 2007, Orange County Assemblyman Todd Spitzer loses his seat on the Assembly Public Safety Committee. Believe it or not, the two are related, Spitzer says. Five months before the primary, Spitzer, R-Orange, led a Republican attack on a bill the party thought was soft on sex offenders. Spitzer helped craft “hostile amendments” that
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May 18, 2007
Patricia Wenskunas, Founder of Crime Survivors, Inc. Interview
February 1, 2006
WHAT WE’RE THANKFUL FOR
Byline: TOM BERG
Orange County Register, The (Santa Ana, CA)
I.D. number: 86820552
I am thankful every day, not just Thanksgiving, that I survived an attempted murder. I’ve been given a gift. I can take this gift and present it to other victims of crime so they too can be proud and happy to be a survivor. I formed “Crime Survivors” in 2004. We’ve helped over 100 victims. This week, we will go to over 250 locations in Orange County, including police, fire, ambulance, district attorney and victim-witness locations,
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November 24, 2005
Crime survivors walk for their rights ‘Victims Bill of Rights’ in the hopper for state and cities.
Byline: GREG HARDESTY
Irvine World News: Orange County Register weekly (CA)
I.D. number: 78483058
The balloons were black and blue — like the bruises on her body, like the ones inside after she was assaulted and threatened by her personal trainer in 2002. On a gray Saturday morning, Patricia Wenskunas watched the balloons float away at the start of her rganization’s second walk and fun-run to honor crime survivors. The balloons were meant to symbolize letting go — of horrific things like being raped, of being attacked by a spouse with a butcher knife, of being stalked
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October 13, 2005
Survivors movement
Crime victims race to draw attention to resources, promote lobbying for rights.
Byline: GREG HARDESTY
Orange County Register, The (Santa Ana, CA)
I.D. number: 78201128
The balloons were black and blue — like the bruises on her body, like the ones inside after she was assaulted and threatened by her personal trainer in 2002. On a gray Saturday morning, Patricia Wenskunas watched the balloons float away at the start of her organizations’ second walk and fun-run to honor crime survivors. The balloons were meant to symbolize letting go — of horrific things like being raped, of being attacked by a spouse with a butcher knife, of being stalked
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October 9, 2005
Victim becomes survivor
An Irvine woman is providing others hurt by crime the kind of support she never received.
Byline: JENIFER B. McKIM The Orange County Register
Orange County Register, The (Santa Ana, CA)
I.D. number: 70268245
IRVINE Almost getting killed, it seemed, wasn’t enough. For Patricia Wenskunas, the beating she suffered in 2002 ended in a minor sentence for the man convicted of assaulting and threatening her. The single mother and small-business owner felt she had nowhere to turn for support, despite a number of groups established to help victims. She didn’t fit into those groups: She wasn’t haunted by the murder of a loved one.
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September 19, 2004
Survivor aims to help victims
Patricia Wenskunas, a violent crime survivor, is seeking approval of a Victim’s Bill of Rights in Rancho.
Byline: WILLIAM WHEELER STAFF WRITER
Canyon Life – Ladera Post – Rancho Santa Margaita News: Orange County Register weeklies
I.D. number: 73565849
Patricia Wenskunas shared the story of the time she was drugged and almost killed in her Irvine home with the City Council recently.”I ended up jumping off a 12-foot(-high) balcony in order to get away,” she said. Wenskunas came to the Rancho meeting with Assemblyman Todd Spitzer, R-Orange, as part of an effort to seek approval of a Victim’s Bill of Rights. The proposed policy, which Spitzer called “a psychological
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March 11, 2005
Plan’s afoot to read crime victims their rights
Byline: FRANK MICKADEIT The Orange County Register
Orange County Register, The (Santa Ana, CA)
I.D. number: 72680901
A certain politician invited me to a meeting of O.C. law-enforcement types at the Hacienda restaurant in Santa Ana this week to let me in on an amazing victim-rights idea he’s “facilitating.” I’m not naming him because after the meeting, when I said to him, “So, Todd (not his real name), does this play into the district attorney’s race, seeing as how you are going to be running?”
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January 21, 2005
THE MORNING READ
Steady aim, steel will
Assault transformed a mortgage broker into an advocate for victims’ rights.
Byline: GREG HARDESTY The Orange County Register
Orange County Register, The (Santa Ana, CA)
I.D. number: 73468462
ORANGE It was shooting time, and Deborah Courtney politely excused herself to reapply her deep pink lipstick. She headed to the ladies room, black Prada purse in hand. She arrived at the indoor shooting range in a black suit and wine-colored blouse, patterned black nylons and black boots with 4-inch heels. Sort of the stylishly functional business look she had the day she was raped nearly five years ago. The brutal sexual assault transformed Courtney into one of Orange
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March 5, 2004
Convicted trainer to undergo testing
Byline: LAYLAN CONNELLY
The Orange County Register
I.D. number: 66994560
A personal trainer convicted of assault with a deadly weapon and criminal threat will be sent to state prison for 90 days for psychological testing, said deputy district attorney Paul Chrisopoulos. Jeffery Kelavos, an Oceanside resident, will be sentenced on July 2 after the judge reviews the findings. Kelavos was found guilty for assault with a deadly weapon and criminal threat on Feb. 5 for attacking a former client, Patricia Wenskunas, in her Irvine home nearly two years
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March 28, 2004
Accused attacker rejects plea bargain
Byline: Laylan Connelly
The Orange County Register
I.D. number: 63460489
Patricia Wenskunas has been questioning the justice system for the past month, struck with the realization that a man she said tried to kill her was not going to face a jury. A year’s worth of therapy to help get her through the trial process was wasted, she said.
But in an unexpected move, Jeffrey Kelavos, a personal trainer accused of drugging Wenskunas in her home last year and trying to suffocate her with saran wrap, at the last minute Friday rejected a plea bargain
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August 21, 2003
Trial of Jeffrey Kelavos
Byline: — Laylan Connelly
The Orange County Register
I.D. number: 63422435
Trial: Jeffrey Kelavos, a 28-year-old Oceanside resident, will go to trial on Oct. 27 on charges he drugged and tried to suffocate Patricia Wenskunas, a personal-training client for nine months. A plea-bargain agreement to drop burglary and attempted-murder charges was not reached.
— Laylan Connelly
(949) 553-2911
[email protected]
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August 19, 2003
Victim unhappy with attacker’s plea bargain // DA dropped charge of attempted murder
Byline: Laylan Connelly
The Orange County Register
I.D. number: 62945923
Patricia Wenskunas needed someone to help keep her from dying.
The 34-year-old woman had eating disorders that were destroying her life. At the guidance of a doctor, she sought help from a personal trainer who promised to help her look and feel better. He was a registered nurse knowledgeable about disorders who eventually became a counselor and a confidant. She never expected the man who promised to save her life to assault and attempt to suffocate her. Oceanside resident
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July 17, 2003
Assault survivor stands up for crime victims
Byline: Jenn Stewart Irvine World News
Irvine World News: Orange County Register weekly (CA)
I.D. number: 69263629
Just over two years ago Patricia Wenskunas was savagely attacked in her home. She escaped by jumping 12 feet from a balcony. One might call her a victim, but she prefers to be called a survivor. Part of the healing process for Wenskunas has been the creation of Crime Survivors Inc., a non-profit organization designed to help those who have been victimized by crime and don’t know where to turn.
“I feel such a need to do this,” Wenskunas said.
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August 5, 2004
Personal trainer held in assault
The Orange County Register
I.D. number: 54847594
A personal trainer will be arraigned Thursday for allegedly assaulting a female client in her home, police said. Jeffrey Kelavos, 27, of Oceanside was arrested Thursday after a woman who lives on Orange Blossom reported that he drugged her drink and tried to smother her, Lt. Sam Allevato said. The woman, who received moderate injuries, was treated and released at a hospital. Kelavos had been her trainer for eight months. Kelavos’ other clients
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April 9, 2002