If This Happened, Why Aren’t Elizabeth Frazier Parents In Jail?
This is another common question, and a good one.
For someone to go to jail, they need to stand trial. That means that someone wants to pursue legal action and go through the long, emotionally difficult legal process to try to reach a guilty verdict.
And, the verdict is certainly not guaranteed. It must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
According to the US Department of State website, there are, at any given time, 27.6 million people forced into human trafficking. 6.3 million of those are forced into commercial sexual exploitation.
In 2021 alone, 69,135 victims of sex trafficking were identified.
That means that of the estimated 6.3 million victims, about 1% are identified by law enforcement.
9,193 of those identified victims led to prosecution of the traffickers. That’s 13% of the victims identified, or 0.14% of the victims who had their abuser prosecuted.
Of those prosecutions, 4,886 resulted in convictions. That’s 7% of the sex trafficking victims identified who had their traffickers convicted, or 0.07% of total victims.
Unfortunately, that means that Elizabeth’s story, where her abusers are neither tried nor convicted, represent the majority of sex trafficking victims (99.86%).
Elizabeth has explored some legal options, but at this time does not feel that a legal battle would be able to put them in jail and would take a drastic toll on her mentally. She wants to focus on raising her family as a healthy, happy mom and not have to financially or mentally deal with a court battle when statistically there isn’t much of a chance for conviction.
You can see more data on trials on this page.
Why are Elizabeth Frazier parents deciding to speak out?
Only they know the true answer to this. But the timing is interesting.
Elizabeth Frazier Public Journey
Elizabeth started her company Hero Bands in 2016. It was the first time she publicly stated that she had been a victim of sex trafficking, and that it was at the hands of her parents.
Elizabeth was worried that this would spark a backlash from her ex-parents. But, it didn’t.
And so, she continued to speak out with her message of hope and healing after abuse.
She was invited to many shows and podcasts to tell her story. Some of the most notable were The Ed Mylett Show and The Chalene Show.
Elizabeth was growing in her audience, her confidence, and her message. She was feeling like maybe, just maybe, her trauma could be used for something positive.
To help others who had been through something similar.
People shared messages of hope and encouragement from her story.
Elizabeth was careful not to share the names of her parents or her maiden name. In fact, she even shared that she had forgiven them for what they had done.
That message of forgiveness also inspired people.
Elizabeth Frazier Parents “Speak Out”
It’s important to note that the number of people who had heard Elizabeth Frazier’s story at this point was quite large. However, her parents made no attempt to “tell their side.”
It wasn’t until Elizabeth spoke at The Human Trafficking Policy and Education Summit at the Malouf Foundation that Elizabeth Frazier parents decided to “speak out.”
This event occurred in Logan, Utah and involved politicians and leaders from the state of Utah. This is important because this is near where Elizabeth grew up, and near where Elizabeth Frazier parents still reside.
Is it possible that as long as they were able to remain mostly anonymous, they were OK with Elizabeth speaking out? But once their reputation was in danger, they felt the need to silence and discredit their ex-daughter?
Here are the facts.
Attempts To Silence Elizabeth’s Story
After this event, Elizabeth Frazier parents made significant efforts to remove any prior publications of Elizabeth’s story.
This included several approaches.
Sending Legal Notice To Media Outlets
Elizabeth’s family worked with a retired attorney to contact the media outlets where Elizabeth had been interviewed.
The letter stated that their could be legal consequences for publishing Elizabeth’s story on their podcasts or websites.
This was frightening enough for many podcasts, media outlets and nonprofits to remove Elizabeth’s message. And Elizabeth doesn’t blame them for doing that.
When someone threatens you with potential legal consequences, you have to protect your podcast, show and brand. Especially since the legal fees for defending yourself may be more than what you make from your small media outlet.
However, bigger podcasts and YouTube channels, like Ed Mylett and The Chalene Show did not listen to these threats.
Creating And Promoting An Invasive, Privacy-Infringing, Hurtful Video And Website To Discredit Elizabeth
Elizabeth’s family worked with Lynn Packer to produce a video that contained highly confidential and sensitive information, and then published this on various websites and on YouTube. This video is full of false information.
The headline of this video is “Elizabeth Frazier – Another Sham Child Sex Trafficking Victim.”
YouTube removed the video due to serious privacy issues. However, Elizabeth Frazier parents uploaded it to a different service that did not have a recourse to have the video removed.
This video exposed items such as:
-Elizabeth’s medications
-Her medical and psychiatric history (Both of these are in defiance of HIPAA privacy rights, which strictly protect medical and especially psychiatric history privacy) Some of the information was also false.
-Pictures of her as a child and a teen (without her permission)
-Pictures of her children (without her or her husband’s permission)
Elizabeth Frazier parents use of pictures of children without any consent shows a continued willingness to abuse minors for their own ends.
The basic premise of the video and website is that Elizabeth has made the entire story up and that she is mentally ill.
Lynn Packer Lies About His Contact With Elizabeth And Michael Frazier
In the video, Lynn Packer claims to have contacted both Elizabeth and her husband Mike to get “their side of the story.”
He states that in his messages to Elizabeth and Mike, he asked to provide any support for her sex trafficking claims.
He also states that his messages to Elizabeth and Mike said “The facts show Elizabeth is perpetuating a hoax.”
Here are the acutal messages (with the phone number deleted due to respect for Lynn’s privacy) that Lynn Packer sent to Elizabeth:
And to Mike:
As you can clearly hear, there is no mention of him writing a piece that was about discrediting Elizabeth and asking for evidence to express her side.
Listen in particular to the misleading attempt to talk to Mike about “Coco Berthmann,” vs being honest that he was planning to produce a video that painted Elizabeth as “perpetuating a hoax.”
One way or the other, Lynn Packer is lying.
Whether he lied when he contacted Elizabeth and Mike, or whether he lied on his video saying he attempted to contact Elizabeth and Mike for their comment.
Is This What A Loving Family Does?
While Elizabeth Frazier parents claim to have done this video and created their website out of love, it begs the question:
Would you treat someone you love this way?
Would you expose the private life of a daughter that you love and call her a liar, while being unwilling to state your own real name?
Or, is this what an abuser would do?
Hurt you… and call it love?
Is Elizabeth Frazier Mentally Ill?
Elizabeth Frazier has been diagnosed by a therapist with Complex PTSD. She underwent therapy for many years to get to a place where she could function well.
This is a condition that occurs after significant trauma, such as repeated sexual abuse or sex trafficking.
It includes symptoms such as:
-Nightmares (of past traumatic events)
-Re-experiencing (flashbacks, feeling like she is back in the moments of abuse)
-Anxiety
-Depression
-Self harm, which Elizabeth herself spoke about
These symptoms can be crippling and debilitating. And they were for Elizabeth for a time.
Elizabeth has shared publicly that she even attempted suicide at one point.
However, PTSD can be treated, and Elizabeth went through extensive therapy to help her heal.
She continues to have frequent nightmares of the abuse. She continues to have frequent memories of the abuse. She continues to fear her ex-family’s actions or potential actions.
And, her ex-parents’ attempt to paint her as mentally ill and a liar have taken a toll on her. She is disappointed that they can still hurt her after all these years.
However, she now functions extremely well as a mother, friend, and wife. She still runs her company, Hero Bands.
She still has occasional bouts of depression and anxiety, but is able to complete the many tasks she has as a mother of five, a soccer coach to her daughter, a business owner and wife.
Does Elizabeth Frazier Have Bipolar Disorder Or Schizophrenia?
There has been some insinuation that Elizabeth might have bipolar disorder or schizophrenia.
To have bipolar disorder, a person needs to have had a manic episode. This is defined as 7 or more days of increased energy, hyperactivity, elevated mood, or hallucinations. It often results in hospitalization. For more information, you can visit this website.
This video is also a decent representation of what a person experiencing mania looks like. Elizabeth has never had any event that resembles a manic episode.
Elizabeth Frazier parents claim that she was placed on lamictal at one point. Lamictal is an antiepileptic medication, used primarily for seizures. It is also prescribed for bipolar disorder. It is also frequently prescribed for depression. You can learn more about the medication here. So, assuming that she was prescribed lamitcal at all, it is very likely that it was prescribed for depression.
According to Elizabeth Frazier birth parents, she was also prescribed Ambien. This is a sleep aid and one of the more commonly prescribed sleep medications. Elizabeth Frazier’s ex-father was also prescribed Ambien. Being prescribed Ambien just means that she couldn’t sleep. Which would make sense given her frequent nightmares due to her abuse.
In their website and video, Elizabeth Frazier parents make an insinuation that Elizabeth hears voices, which might make someone think she has schizophrenia.
Elizabeth in interviews has talked about “voices in her head,” which all people have. She was talking about the voice in your head that says “you’re unlovable” or things like that. Not actual voices. We all have an internal voice of our own thoughts.
She also talks about how there is a negative, critical voice. If you have never had thoughts in your mind that are critical of you and your actions, then you are a very blessed person. But, she distinguishes that the negative voice isn’t really you. Meaning, it’s not coming from the best part of you. It’s coming from a negative force or energy. Not an actual other person that doesn’t exist.
Far from being a psychotic belief, this is an extremely common belief. It’s the idea of the “angel and the devil on your shoulder” or “the internal battle between good and evil.” If this is a symptom of psychosis, then a large percentage of the population is psyhotic.
To have schizophrenia, a person needs to have delusions and hallucinations. Elizabeth’s beliefs are not psychotic but a common belief about the source of good and evil thoughts that come to us. Memories of abuse are not delusions or hallucinations. So, Elizabeth does not have delusions or hallucinations.
But, beyond that, to have schizophrenia, a person must have disorganized speech (speech that makes no sense), abnormal motor movements (like freezing in place for long periods of time), or negative symptoms (not grooming, wearing odd or inappropriate clothing, not eating, limited emotional expression). You can learn more about the diagnosis at the Mayo Clinic website here. This documentary does a good job of showing what living with schizophrenia looks like.
Compare those videos with any of Elizabeth’s interviews and determine for yourself if it seems she has a serious mental illness like bipolar disorder or schizophrenia.
Did Elizabeth Frazier Parents Get Her Appropriate Mental Health Treatment While She Was Living With Them?
Elizabeth Frazier parents did get her help seeing a counselor in her teens and into young adulthood.
However, this counselor, Thom Harrison, was also seeing her mother as a patient at the same time.
This is a continued strategy of control and a pattern of abusive people and parents. They present the idea of helping, while maintaining control of that “help.”
In their video, they cite that this therapist came up with diagnoses including “multiple personalities, bi-polar illness, and other mental disorders typical of abused children.” Elizabeth was never made aware that these diagnoses were even made, if he ever really made them.
However, Thom Harrison apparently did not consider the idea that an abused child may have been abused by their parents, and even took a potentially abusive parent on as a client while seeing a victim of childhood abuse.
Could Elizabeth feel free to express that her mother was involved in her abuse to her therapist, when Elizabeth’s therapist was also seeing Elizabeth’s mother as a client?
Thom Harrison is no longer in practice and would not provide records for Elizabeth’s visits when they were requested in 2021.
Did Elizabeth Frazier’s Story Change Over Time?
In Elizabeth’s first public announcement of her abuse, she claimed that her parents sex trafficked her. That basic story has not changed over time.
As Elizabeth has felt more comfortable, she has expressed more details.
Her parents claim that her story that she told them changed over time. And, that she told different stories to different people as she was growing up.
Keep in mind that during this time, Elizabeth still lived at home. Or, when she went to college, she lived in a condo that her parents owned.
In other words, she was still under physical and financial control by her parents.
Is it a surprise, then, that she would not publicly tell people that her parents were sex trafficking her? Or that she wouldn’t be clear with her parents that they were sex trafficking her?
Do you expect a 4, 5, 8, 10 or 12 year old to say “mom and dad, you are sex trafficking me and that’s not right.”
What would be the likely consequence of that? More abuse and punishment from her parents.
When she was in college and not living under the same roof as her parents, she started to reach out to more people. But, she was still fearful of her parents reach and control over her.
And so, some of her claims and stories were not completely accurate. She had been abused. She was hurting. But, she couldn’t yet tell people that her family was involved. So, she shared that she had been raped and abused. But she didn’t feel safe enough to share the details. It was a cry for help. She wanted people to know she was being abused. But she couldn’t tell people who was abusing her due to their continued control and influence over her life. As noted before, this included her therapist, Thom Harrison, who Elizabeth’s mother also saw as a client.
In other words, as long as she lived in Utah and was under the physical and financial control of her parents… who was she supposed to tell the whole story to?
Once she moved to California and had no direct contact with her ex-family, she was able to share her story completely. They could not influence her physically or financially from thousands of miles away. And so, the story became more clear and became the truth. She now had people who could help keep her safe, and enough distance from her abusers to tell the whole story.
Did Elizabeth Frazier Parents Not Know Their Daughter Was Abused?
Elizabeth Frazier parents claim that she may have been a victim of abuse by a non-family member, but they just don’t know.
If your daughter is claiming to be abused, is cutting and hurting herself, and her therapist and a neighbor who was also a therapist tell you that her symptoms are consistent with someone who has been abused…
Why would you still doubt that she had been abused? Unless you had something to gain by casting doubt on her story of abuse.
Did Elizabeth Frazier Make A False Rape Allegation?
Yes. And this is one of the things she regrets most.
Elizabeth’s side of the story is that she actually did not remember being assaulted by this boy. But, her ex-mother insisted that she make the report and told Elizabeth what had happened to her.
And so, following her ex-mother’s insistence, she made the report. She later apologized to the boy for her false report. She didn’t want his life ruined for the lie.
Why would she make this report when she knew it was not accurate? At that time, she was still under the physical, financial and psychological control of her family. If she didn’t file the report, she would face consequences at home.
Why would a parent encourage her child to file a false report?
A loving parent would not.
But an abusive parent would see this as an opportunity to create a trail of false claims to discredit any real claims. And especially to discredit any claims against them.
Did Elizabeth File A Restraining Order Against Her Ex-Father?
Yes. Once she felt safer in California, she began to take legal steps to help separate herself from some members of her family. A trusted friend who knew her parents saw her ex dad at a local restaurant. She called Elizabeth to let her know to be careful. A restraining order was a logical step to make sure that no contact was made between her ex-family and her, her husband or her children.
Did Elizabeth Still Contact Her Ex-Family After She Knew They Had Abused Her?
Yes. And unfortunately this happens with victims of abuse, even when the abuser is not a family member.
There are names for this phenomenon such as Stockholm Syndrome, trauma bonding and battered person syndrome. Basically, an abused person forms a bond with their abuser. You can learn more about this here.
Imagine, though, that you grew up with a family that sometimes did horrible things, and other times gave you praise. You wouldn’t know what to think. And when you are dependent on those people for your survival, you want to see the good. You want to believe that they really are good, and the terrible things they are doing are “not really them.” That they really do love you.
And, Elizabeth went through all of these feelings. Even after she officially cut her family off. She still misses the idea of family. She still wishes that she had a genuinely loving family.
But, she now understands that their version of “love” is really abuse. Just like the video and website that they produced. They claim they love her while hurting her. And so, she has not had any contact with her ex-family since 2010.
Why Didn’t Elizabeth Get Help Earlier?
This is a common question that people ask. And, if you were not raised in an abusive household, it can be hard to understand why you would not seek help.
But, if you are raised in a situation where abuse is the norm…
And you are taught that the abuse and trafficking is a sign of you being “special…”
And that abuse is actually love…
You don’t really know anything different. Especially as a child.
And, once you do start realizing that what’s going on isn’t right…
You are trapped. You are physically, financially, mentally and emotionally dependent on your parents. Where are you supposed to go?
She was taught over and over that no one would believe her if she told. And this is a common threat that abusers level against the people who they abuse.
And so, she didn’t tell anyone while she was still under their physical and financial control. She did tell people she was abused, but hid the actual indentity of her abusers (her family) for fear of the consequences.
It wasn’t until she created physical and financial separation from her parents, and started to created mental and emotional separation, that she could finally tell the full story.
Why Would Elizabeth Make This Up?
A good question is why Elizabeth would invent a story that her family had sex trafficked her.
Some people will say that it’s for attention. And Elizabeth did get positive attention for sharing her story. But, she was scared to death to do it. And that positive attention didn’t come until years after she started sharing her story.
Some people will say that it’s for the money. But Elizabeth’s business, Hero Bands, was not necessary for her or her family’s income. She had as much as she needed and more from her husband’s income as a doctor. She found something that helped her in her healing journey and wanted to help others.
What would the benefit be to destroying a relationship with a family who was genuinely loving? Elizabeth misses having a family very much. She would love to have a mother who comes out to help with new babies. She would love for her children to have loving grandparents. She would love to have family to visit on holidays, to have family reunions, to have her kids grow up with her cousins. She misses that often. She would much prefer that to any attention or money she might get from sharing her story.
The gain she may get from sharing her story of her family sex trafficking her is significantly less than the loss she incurs by losing a genuinely loving family.
What Are You Asking From Media Who Cover Her Story?
To continue to support survivors instead of abusers, like Ed Mylett, The Chalene Show, and others have done.
Elizabeth Frazier parents have been able to bully their way into silencing some outlets, but others have chosen to stand strong.
Why Would Elizabeth Frazier Parents Say That People Listening To And Publicizing Her Story Is “Victimizing Her”?
This is one of the most ridiculous claims that Elizabeth Frazier parents make. When someone who is abused speaks about their abuse and people listen and believe, it is one of the most healing moments for the abused person.
When a survivor tells their story and they are shamed, disbelieved and discredited, it is one of the most hurtful things that can be done to a survivor.
So, in true abusive, gaslighting fashion, Elizabeth Frazier parents would call helping someone “victimizing” them, while calling abusing them “helping” and “loving” them.
Elizabeth Frazier parents are people who want to abuse her.
So, when she does something therapeutic, like share her story, they don’t like that.
Sharing a story is healing, not harmful.
So, their claim to be trying to protect Elizabeth by threatening the media outlets who cover her story is 100% false.
They also claim to “love” Elizabeth.
Elizabeth was taught by her parents that love includes rape and abuse.
And they continue to abuse her now, calling it love.
Do Elizabeth Frazier Parents Love Elizabeth?
Would a loving parent try to destroy their daughter’s peace?
Elizabeth Frazier had been growing in her ability to reach others and inspire them with feelings of hope.
She felt empowered and on a mission.
She was accomplishing great things and finding a great balance between being a survivor, speaker, business owner, wife and mother.
Since her parents have gone on the offensive to try to silence her, Elizabeth has been much more anxious and quiet.
Her parents have found people who troll her social media, sending messages to anyone who comments on her posts.
This has led her to post less, speak less, and overall feel like she can’t help people the way that she best can.
That is the effect of what Elizabeth Frazier parents are doing.
Trying to discredit and demoralize their ex-daughter.
Trying to silence her from sharing the truth.
So, if that’s what a family who “loves” their daughter does, then Elizabeth Frazier parents must love her a lot.
But, if you would agree that parents who love their children would want their child to grow and help others…
Then it’s clear that Elizabeth Frazier parents, unfortunately, don’t love her at all.
Unfortunately she does not have any physical evidence of these acts, as is common in sexual abuse cases. And she is not ready, willing or able to carry the emotional burden of going through a trial.
This may change at some point, but this is where she stands for now.
Is There Anything Else You Would Like To Add?
Elizabeth never named her parents out of respect for their privacy, and the fact that, unfortunately, there is no video or other recordings of the abuse she suffered.
Because of that, it’s difficult to prove “beyond reasonable doubt” that her parents did abuse her.
Unfortunately, this is why most sex crimes go unpunished and unprosecuted.
Elizabeth’s intention was to try to heal, and also bring attention to the very unfortunate fact that familial sexual abuse is very common.
According to a UK study, about 20% of girls and 7-8% of boys experience some kind of sexual abuse before the age of 16.
In 2/3 of those abuse cases, the abuse was done by a family member.
This means that about 14% of ALL girls under 16 are sexually abused by a family member.
This is terrifying news.
But something we can’t look away from, pretend doesn’t exist, or blame on mental illness.
So, instead of standing with abusers, let’s stand with survivors.
Instead of trying to silence those who have the courage to speak out, let’s support them in the fight.
If anything is clear by Elizabeth Frazier parents’ actions, it’s that they do not want their ex-daughter to escape their mental and emotional abuse, now that she has escaped their physical abuse.