08/22/2026
I posted this on my personal page and received several messages from people who had no idea about the details of this and also some people who demanded I take it down. So instead of being intimidated yet again I’m going to post it here. I’m going to share it because I fully believe that all my loyal customers deserve to know the truth behind why I abruptly closed my shop. And why there were days when I would forget an order or something would slip my mind or the fact that there was days when I was just “off”.
When you deal with a small business like mine and many others you are dealing with real people, real families and sometimes those families face real challenges. So here’s my story.
✨it’s time✨
I can not stay silent anymore.
For nearly years I have carried something I never should have had to carry alone.
4 years and 7 months ago in Old Town Slidell, Louisiana, my life changed in a matter of minutes.
I was out with my now ex husband and my best friend, Michael (who was in town visiting) when I was sexually harassed by
✨Ruben Jimenez✨
What began inside a bar and what was supposed to be a fun carefree night out, did not end there.
Ruben followed us across the street to the courtyard of the The Maple Room and continued verbally attacking me, (mind you this was minutes after he sexually assaulted me) calling me a w***e, and escalating the situation.
Shortly after, he returned with four other men.
What happened next was not a bar fight.
It was an attack.
I watched my former husband get brutally beaten and left lying on the ground, covered in blood and appearing lifeless. At the same time, I was trying to process what had just happened to me.
I was terrified. I was crying. I was in shock.
And then the Slidell police arrived.
I will never forget what happened next.
Instead of being treated like a woman who had just been sexually assaulted and had watched someone she loved nearly beaten to death, I was treated as though I were the problem. I was crying uncontrollably, and one of the officers (whom I can name) screamed in my face and told me to shut up.
Not one officer asked me if I was okay.
Not one asked what had happened to me.
I was not given the opportunity to provide the statement I desperately wanted to give.
The incident was treated as though it were simply a bar fight, despite what I personally witnessed and experienced.
And there was something else I have never been able to forget.
I was told by several people that the owner of The Maple Room had security footage. Y’all know exactly who I’m talking about. And from what I understand that restaurant is now closed and I say good riddance to that.
Footage that could have shown exactly what happened. Evidence that could’ve put several people behind bars for what they did. Instead, they are all walking free.
To my knowledge, that footage was never turned over to law enforcement.
For years, I stayed silent.
And I stayed silent because I was afraid.
I was threatened.
I was left notes at my shop threatening my life that if I ever publicly identified the person I say assaulted me, I would regret it. I was made to believe that speaking publicly could put my life in danger.
My security cameras were smashed at my business.
I lived with the very real fear that speaking publicly would make me a target. And that is why I closed my business, a shop that I loved so much and a business that I spent years building.
So I kept my mouth shut.
I left Louisiana.
I moved 1,100 miles away.
And for the first time in years, and after years of therapy, I finally feel far enough away and safe enough to say what I have been afraid to say:
The man I hold responsible for what happened that night was ✨Ruben Jimenez✨
And I want to make something very clear.
This is not a case of me randomly making an accusation against a stranger.
There is a documented public court record showing that Ruben previously pleaded guilty to and was convicted of sexual assault/battery…among many other crimes that are publicly documented. This is not my assumption.
This is a matter of public record.
I am also speaking out about how I was treated AFTERWARDS.
I am not writing this because I want revenge.
I am writing it because silence has protected everyone except the people who were hurt.
And I have questions that have haunted me for years.
To the people in town who knew what happened why did you look away? Why did you treat it as gossip instead of a the violent attack that it was?
To the business owners who knew, why was it easier to protect his reputation than to stand beside the people who were harmed?
To the people who knew who was responsible, why was silence the answer?
And to the law enforcement officers who were there that night: why was a terrified, crying woman treated as an inconvenience instead of a victim? Why wasn't I allowed to tell my story? Why wasn't anyone asking whether I was okay?
And to the former chief of police, Randy, who I made aware of what happened directly as we spoke on the phone the very next morning..why was nothing done? Why wasn’t there never anyone held accountable for my assault?
I know some people will say I should have spoken sooner.
But you weren’t the one laying awake at night wondering whether speaking publicly would put my life in danger. My kids lives.
I was surviving simply surviving all while trying to raise my 4 kids and maintain my business.
But surviving something does not mean you have to remain silent about it forever.
That night changed the trajectory of my life. It changed how I trusted people. It changed how I viewed authority. It changed how safe I felt in my own community, a community that I dedicated my heart to. I have never been the same person since that day, a part of me died that night.
And while I have spent years carrying the weight of what happened, the person I hold responsible has continued living his life and being embraced by people in the same community where I was left to carry mine.
But I will no longer allow fear, intimidation, community reputation, or the silence of others to determine whether I am allowed to tell my own story.
I cannot change what happened to me.
I cannot undo what happened that night.
I cannot make the people who looked away suddenly grow a conscience.
But I can finally speak. I can finally say that Slidell is not the quiet peaceful wholesome town some of you may think it is.
Leaving was absolutely without a doubt the best decision I’ve ever made.
