Yarenci Hernandez鈥檚 abuse started the night she met her father. Born in Mexico City, she lived with neighbors until, when she was about seven or eight, her father came to take her to Columbus, Ohio.
鈥淓ven from the moment that I met him 鈥� because that was really the first time I had met him 鈥� I can remember the uncomfortable feeling I felt,鈥� said Hernandez.
She and her brother had no choice but to go with him. She said the sexual abuse continued until she was 16 and that she tried many times over the years to get him to stop, including threatening to tell her stepmom.
鈥淎nd he would be like, 鈥榃ell, tell her. She's not your mom. She can't do anything. You鈥檙e not legal here,鈥欌�� said Hernandez. 鈥淐ause I wasn't. He didn't bring me here legally. 鈥榊ou'll just get taken away, sent to Mexico and see what you do there.鈥欌��
In 2024, Child Protective Services in Ohio . About 3,400 of those cases were found to involve victims of sexual abuse.
Hernandez tried to run away many times. She attempted suicide. At 16, she left home for good.
At her boyfriend鈥檚 house, she called the police but they told her they couldn鈥檛 take any immediate action.
Hernandez was running out of options.
She called her therapist, who then reported the abuse to authorities. The resulting process made for the longest day of her life, said Hernandez.
鈥淸I] went through clinic after clinic and interview after interview and the same questions and detectives and cops and case workers and nurses all asking pretty much the same questions,鈥� said Hernandez.
Law enforcement declined to bring a case against Cisneros. Her family members didn鈥檛 believe her and prosecutors told her there wasn鈥檛 any evidence. She was placed in a foster home.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know what was going to be of my life but that emptiness I felt, of going into that room of my now-safe home where I was by myself. It was this little room where it was safe, but I felt like I was in jail,鈥� said Hernandez.
A different way to handle her case
Jennifer Johnson is executive director of Canopy Child Advocacy Center in Cleveland, an organization that works with victims, prosecutors, police and social workers so child abuse victims only need to tell their story once.
鈥淲hat happens and should be happening is when they are talking with the child they should be trained in how to do a forensic interview,鈥� said Johnson.
She added that, while she doesn鈥檛 know all the details, a scenario like Hernandez鈥檚 isn鈥檛 very common - prosecutors bring less-than-perfect cases to trial frequently.
鈥淭here are situations where there's just not enough evidence. It doesn't even mean they don't try the case. Sometimes they do, and sometimes they still can't get a successful conviction,鈥� said Johnson.
Johnson says prosecutors could have handled it differently. And if they had, it might have prevented the abuse of others: A few years ago, Hernandez discovered another underage girl had accused Cisneros of sexual abuse.
Years later, an indictment
In February 2024, Cisneros was indicted for abusing five children, including Hernandez. The incidents spanned from 2006 to 2021.
鈥淚'm so angry because of course he did [it] again. Like, what did you guys expect?鈥� said Hernandez. 鈥淵ou guys let this monster free. And I was so angry, I called my therapist crying and I'm like, 鈥榃hat do I do? Did I do the wrong choice by not continuing to fight more?鈥欌��
Cisneros pleaded guilty in December to some of the charges. His sentencing is scheduled for next month.
Hernandez isn鈥檛 sure if she'll attend. After being adopted, she went on to gain citizenship, marry, become a devout Christian and have three kids of her own. Now 29, she鈥檚 focusing on her future.
鈥淚 think the most important thing is to continue with my life and be successful. There鈥檚 no better revenge than your own success,鈥� said Hernandez.
She and Cisneros鈥檚 other victims will never get their childhoods back, said Hernandez, but she hopes stories like hers are less likely to happen in the future.