I was 12 years old when I was robbed of my innocence. In 2003, my PE teacher at school began to sexually abuse me. He continued to do so for two years.
Children are taught to trust adults, especially their teachers, and to believe they will keep them safe. But how could a little girl believe that when she was being violated by someone entrusted with her care, in a place where she was supposed to be protected?
At 14, I finally found the courage to tell someone. I did what children are taught to do: tell the truth, trust the police and prosecutors, and believe justice will follow.
My abuser faced multiple sexual-abuse charges, including dangerous crimes against a child committed while in a position of trust, which carried the possibility of 25 years to life in prison. Instead, he received a reduced plea: two Class 3 felonies, nine months in jail, and “lifetime” probation.
I was told the plea deal would spare me the trauma of a trial. Instead, it prolonged my suffering.
Nearly 15 years later, in 2020, I was summoned back to court because my abuser sought to terminate his lifetime probation. I was stunned. I had no idea that terminating lifetime probation was an option. That’s when I learned something no one had explained: if his probation ended, my protections tied to it could end, too.
A closed case did not mean my story — or my fight — was over. That realization became Kayleigh’s Law.
I worked with Arizona lawmakers to create a lifetime no-contact injunction that can be issued at sentencing and is based on the conviction itself — not the temporary duration of probation or other supervision. It does not expire. Only the victim can choose to lift it. Violating the order is a new crime.
Arizona became the first state to enact Kayleigh’s Law in 2021. In its first full year, more than 1,000 victims received permanent protection from their abusers. Wisconsin followed in 2023, and Missouri has now enacted the law.
But most survivors across America still lack that protection.
The Kayleigh’s Law Act of 2026, H.R. 8481, introduced by Rep. Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ), and S. 5372, introduced by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), would require federal courts to issue natural-lifetime no-contact injunctions at sentencing for covered violent and sexual offenses, with the victim’s consent or at the victim’s request.
The principle is simple: If the harm can last a lifetime, the protection should last a lifetime.
This matters because plea deals are not the exception in our justice system. They are the norm. Survivors are often told a plea will spare them additional trauma. But a plea agreement does not erase the crime, and it should not leave a survivor’s future safety dependent on how long an offender remains under supervision.
I know because nearly 20 years later, I am still actively fighting.
I have been brought back to court repeatedly because my abuser wanted the terms governing him changed. In February 2026, I returned once more. But this time was different.
Before the hearing, I watched my abuser be served with a lifetime no-contact injunction under the law that carries my name.
For the first time, something permanent stood between us — something that did not depend on whether his probation continued.
I could not protect myself when I was 12 years old. I can fight now — for myself, for children, and for survivors who should not have to repeatedly return to court to defend protections they thought they already had.
My experience has taught me that lasting change begins with exposing the gaps in our justice system and then fixing them through policy.
Nearly two decades after my case was “closed,” I am still fighting for justice. And I know I am not alone.
So I keep showing up. Because when we know the system is failing survivors, we have an obligation to change it.
A closed case should not mean closed protection. Congress should pass Kayleigh’s Law and ensure survivors never have to choose between moving forward with their lives and fighting, again and again, for the right to be left alone.
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Kayleigh Kozak serves as the senior manager of the America Combats Child Exploitation Initiative at the America First Policy Institute; she is the namesake of Kayleigh’s Law.
