“Yes, it’s happened to me. It was a staff person. It started out where he was buying pop for me and candy for me at, it was called, the canteen. … Then one time he asked me to come down in the basement. He wanted to show me something. And I trusted him. That’s where that happened.” — Sam Maxwell, Meadville, Pa.

“Debbie Robinson has been a leader and an advocate, in Pennsylvania and across the country, for people with disabilities. – Meg Anderson/NPR”

“Editor’s note: This report includes descriptions of sexual assault.

“Somebody with an intellectual disability by definition has difficulty learning, reasoning or problem-solving.

“But many often think deeply about the things that affect them — and the things that isolate them, like sexual assault.

“As part of its investigation into the hidden epidemic of sexual violence faced by this group of Americans, NPR reached out to people with intellectual disabilities across the country to hear their voices, what they have to say about the sexual assaults they’ve survived, and how those experiences have affected their lives.”

Read this article in its entirety (and listen to their stories) at NPR here.