Local family shares story of life-changing attack, support from poorly-known advocacy group
'I refuse to let her story end in silence,' Meadows-Servantes said. 'That assault took the last bit of peace she had left and she never got to see closure.'
Meadows-Servantes and her mom had no idea the hurdles they'd have to face to see justice. Honestly, Meadow-Servantes said her mom came clean with her about the attack, nearly a year later, because the man who would be charged later, was living with her daughter, husband and grandchildren.
'He was my brother-in-law and he did this to my mother,' Meadows-Servantes said.
Meadows-Servantes said her mother would have rather pretend it never happened, but she told them because she knew Bobby Servantes was living with them at the time, and worried for her young grandchild.
* Meadows-Servantes and her husband have been together since they were teenagers, now 23 and 24. They met through her twin brother, along with 's brother Bobby. Meadows-Servantes said due to their hard homelife, the brothers came to live with her family when they were 14 and 16.
'We were family before even making it official with marriage,' Meadows-Servantes said. 'We were all super close until we all moved out into our different places. My husband's little brother Bobby, he was homeless into adulthood, couch hopping … He just went down a bad path.'
The incident occurred on July 4, 2023—Priscilla and her brother's birthday. It took until April 2024 for the family to convince Diana to press charges, but Diana would not live to see the sentencing. She passed away due to unrelated medical conditions in July 2024.
'The anger I have been carrying has been crippling,' she said. 'Not only had she been struggling with this, but she also grieved his loss, because she viewed him as a child … He might as well have killed her himself.'
Priscilla said one of the first calls she made when her mother passed was to ensure that her mom's case would still be heard.
'Her rape and death shattered me,' Priscilla said. 'Her suffering became my suffering.'
Meadow-Servantes and her husband took on the mantle of victim, doing all the things that her mother would have done. It was a real struggle, because, not unlike other assault victims, Meadow-Servantes didn't know how to manage the system.
'It was difficult to do by myself,' she said. 'I didn't know what I was doing. I was trying to find resources for victims or their families and I couldn't find anything online and Victim's Assistance didn't have any additional resources. I kind of just let it go. I ended up going to a suicide awareness walk in South Bend and one of the vendors was this nonprofit.'
Raindrops Rising is survivor run nonprofit focusing on offering support for those who have endured sexual violence or experienced human sex trafficking at any level.
The organization is based out of Valparaiso but Meadows-Servantes said when she called them, the following week they were sitting down with her at her home talking her through her predicament.
'They were such a relief off my shoulders,' she said.
Raindrops Rising helps find resources, provide education, offer referrals and direct in-court and in-hospital advocacy.'
'They'll sit with you in court, they can testify on your behalf, they have a bunch of different forensic experts and specialists that can come and testify for you,' Meadows-Servantes said. 'Here in Elkhart County, the prosecutor's (office) said they have a hard time finding those kinds of people.'
The nonprofit can also help provide transportation, clothing, gas, and other things to help victims get to court hearings.
'They would be really vital to our community if more people just knew about them.'
Meadows-Servantes said. 'They have so many resources that can help struggling people and I think it's just so important to get them out there and known.'
Meadows-Servantes said her mom was funny and resilient, despite her own personal struggles with serious debilitating conditions. The Servantes brothers weren't the only ones she took in; she'd take in any kid that needed it. Meadow-Servantes hoped that her brother-in-law would plead guilty, but the trial ended up taking place in June.
'I love my husband. It isn't fair to him, but his brother broke something sacred inside us all,' Priscilla said. The case also resulted in the loss of many members of her husband's family due to their decision, Priscilla said, to support and defend Bobby.
Servantes, throughout court proceedings and his trial, maintained his innocence. Elkhart County Superior Court 1 Kristine Osterday told Servantes, 23 of Elkhart, during his sentencing on Tuesday that while she acknowledges he pleaded innocent and maintained his innocence, 'DNA evidence does not lie.'
Due to aggravating factors, Servantes was sentenced on Tuesday to 16 years at the Indiana Department of Corrections, with three years suspended on probation.
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