SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The victim of a case KELOLAND News has been following since 2023 is speaking out for the first time.
Former Sioux Falls counselor Roy Conrad is behind bars, for preying on one of his clients. Last year, he pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual penetration.
Now, the woman known as Jane Doe since the start of the case, is sharing her story about the abuse she experienced for more than three years.
Her name is Tambi White.
“Trauma is a really hard thing to explain and obviously go through. It has many, many layers,” White said. “A lot of people don’t realize that trauma is also a grieving process.”
The Sioux Falls woman said she’s had to rebuild her life because of the trauma caused by Conrad’s actions. She had her first appointment with Conrad in 2019.
“He groomed me for three and a half years until the sexual assault, rapes happened,” White said.
Conrad received a 15-month prison sentence last April.
“I thought that would bring closure, but the impact didn’t end there,” White said.
White said she was handed divorce papers claiming adultery right before he pleaded guilty. As the victim of a sex crime, she says being accused of adultery only added to the trauma.
“I said, ‘You realize that he’s pleading guilty this week. Why are you doing this?’ ‘Well, that’s not how I see it.’ That was his response. ‘That’s not how I see it,'” White said.
Conrad is eligible for parole in December. But according to court records, White may not have been his only victim.
And that’s why she’s speaking out.
“For too long, I was known as Jane Doe. Today, I choose to speak with my name, my voice, and my truth,” White said. “Not just for me, but for every victim still too afraid to come forward.”
White’s full victim statement is below:
“What happened to me wasn’t a relationship. It was calculated abuse by a therapist who exploited trust, power and vulnerability, and the impact didn’t stop there. It reached into my home, my children and my future. My own daughter was also a victim. She had to write a victim impact statement. No child should ever have to do that. Even after a conviction, the system failed me again. My trauma was weaponized in my divorce. I was forced to relive it, explain it and defend it while the people who should have protected me used it against me. I’m speaking today to say no more. No more silence. No more shame. No more systems that protect predators over victims. Justice doesn’t stop with sentencing; It begins when we listen, when we believe and we act.”
