The Unspoken Reality of Being a Victim Witness: What Media Commentators Don’t Understand By C.Kimberly Toms | May 5, 2025 Today, I found myself watching commentary about the P. Diddy (Sean Combs) federal trial in New York. The discussion centered around victim experiences in the court system, but something struck me immediately: none of these commentators […]
The Dark Web Economy: How Criminals Made Crime Shockingly Affordable By C.Kimberly Toms | April 14, 2025 In the shadows of the internet, there exists a marketplace where illegal services are packaged, priced, and sold with the same consumer-friendly approach as legitimate businesses. The dark web—accessible only through specialized browsers like Tor—has transformed criminal services […]
The Badge as a Weapon: How a Federal Agent Exploited His Position to Victimize Women By C.Kimberly Toms | April 14, 2025 In June 2026, a former U.S. Department of State agent convicted of my sexual assault in Waukesha County, Wisconsin will complete his probation. As that date approaches, I feel compelled to share critical […]
Tech-Enabled Abuse: When Those Meant to Protect Become Predators My journey from victimization to advocacy in the nation’s capital and the disturbing truths discovered along the way By C.Kimberly Toms | April 13, 2025 Last Tuesday, I traveled to Washington, DC to join RAINN on Capitol Hill. A significant part of our mission was to […]
The Role of the Dark Web in Tech-Enabled Abuse By C.Kimberly Toms | April 4, 2025 The dark web exists as a hidden corner of the internet, accessible only through specialized software that masks users’ identities. Beyond its legitimate uses for privacy and free expression, this shadowy realm has become a marketplace for tech-enabled abuse, […]
Deepfakes. Revenge porn. Sextortion. No matter what you call it, tech-enabled sexual abuse is harmful and unethical—and it should be a crime in every state. What Is Tech-Enabled Sexual Abuse? Tech-enabled sexual abuse is NOT pornography. Informed, capable adults may legally choose to participate in the creation and distribution of consensual pornographic media. But when explicit content […]
Tech-Enabled Sexual Abuse: A Survivor’s Perspective By C.Kimberly Toms | March 24, 2025 The intersection of technology and personal safety has emerged as a pressing issue in today’s digital age. While technology offers countless benefits, its misuse can lead to insidious harm, particularly through tech-enabled sexual abuse. This phenomenon represents a growing threat, where perpetrators […]
The day I decided to speak out about the crimes against me was the day I truly understood the weight of power imbalances in our system. As a survivor of sexual assault at the hands of a federal agent, my journey has been fraught with unique challenges that have opened my eyes to the urgent […]
A Survivor’s Call for Change As I sit down to write this, I’m reminded of the long and arduous journey that brought me here. It’s been years since I first found myself thrust into a nightmare I never could have imagined – a survivor of violent sexual assault, fighting not only my own trauma but […]
When I first stepped into the realm of the justice system, I naively believed it would be my refuge, a place where the wrongs done to me would be righted. Instead, I found myself trapped in a labyrinth of systemic flaws, each turn revealing new horrors that threatened to silence me forever. This is my […]
As a preteen and teenager I lived in an old home constructed during the Great Depression. As I have explained through another story, the house was a new construction in the ’30s, albeit one that used aspects of a preexisting manse in the newer build. The original couple who designed and built the Colonial Revival […]
Roulez Media’s Nicholas Crawford and I went on an adventure last week. We decided to drive to Manteo, North Carolina to take in some of my favorite coastal sights down there, namely the Elizabethan Gardens of Manteo, Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse, Bodie Island Lighthouse and Cape Hatteras Light. We have explored Currituck Light in the recent […]
Water presses against my legs, quietly urging me to join its direction. I stand firm, dedicated to my spot – the spot – within casting distance of where I sense trout congregate, awaiting the dance of my hand-tied fly upon the river’s surface. Ten o’clock, two o’clock, the rod swishes through the summer morning air. […]
In the past, Roulez Magazine featured a story about English prison inmates learning Culinary Arts during imprisonment. Those prisoners even operate their own restaurants at multiple Her Majesty’s Prisons (HMPs). Since writing this piece, the prison-to-plating concept has never left our minds. American prisons are heavy with despair and hopelessness. This makes one wonder why […]
Photos by Nicholas Crawford It was September 2, 1945 that Japan officially surrendered to the Allies to end World War II. At that time, the “American Caesar” General Douglas MacArthur delivered a remarkably penned speech at the surrender ceremony aboard the U.S.S. Missouri in Tokyo Bay. His words hold true even today, perhaps more so […]
Whenever I choose to live in a new region – as I do quite often, given an ongoing case of curiosity over what is on the other side of the fence – I love to really “dig into” my surroundings. I enjoy exploring all of the regional trails and parks, just as much as I […]
It was 124 years ago that 15 year-old Annie Moore of Ireland stepped onto Ellis Island and through the immigration processing area there to become an American, the first to be processed into the country through Ellis Island’s new facilities. Over the next 60 years, about 12 million more immigrants passed through the island’s gateway into […]
Roulez photographer Nicholas Crawford and I recently ventured into Virginia cemeteries on the hunt for unique sculptural representations of life and death. Our original goal was for capturing imagery for Halloween and other purposes. But in addition to coming away with pretty photos and shadowy landscapes, we emerged with big questions about our own burial […]
Meghan Agresto is a modern day lightkeeper. She and her two sons, Benicio and Paolo, several chickens and the family dog Jess live on Currituck Beach Lighthouse grounds where she manages operations for this popular and historic attraction of the Outer Banks. Located in Corolla Village at the northern end of the Outer Banks, Currituck […]
On a recent outing with a friend, I explained that I fear heights because this fear is accompanied by a magnetic pull into the abyss. The look on their face was a funny mix of shock, fear and humor. I have long known that I react this way to heights. Perhaps my worst adventure to […]
I grew up in a haunted house. Wait, let me rephrase that. I learned about 15 years ago that some family members like to pretend nothing ever happened. They said, “Don’t say it is haunted!” Meanwhile, none of us slept at night. So let me rewrite our history a little. I grew up in a […]
Photos by Nicholas Crawford. No Halloween is complete without consideration of some known haunted spots, whether you believe in ghosts or just love the folklore. Hampton Roads of Virginia, a region steeped in our history and home to multiple battlefields, certainly has its share of myths, mysteries and the macabre. Photographer Nicholas Crawford and I […]
I am a grown up. As makes sense, when going on vacation I want to go on a grown-up vacation. In other words, lying on a beach where spring break television is filmed is not enticing to me. I want to be comfortable, pampered even. I want to be entertained, well fed, dressed up, dressed […]
The newest celebrities of the East Coast are not located in New York, Boston, Miami or even Charleston. Unexpectedly, Currituck County, North Carolina is a breeding ground for some of the hottest new faces on social media. Even more unexpected, these media darlings are hairy-faced wild mustangs of Corolla, a breed of horses calling the […]