DENVER (KDVR) — A 12-year-old girl was repeatedly raped, strangled and left for dead more than 25 years ago. The 1995 survivor is now a prosecutor in Colorado and is fighting to keep the man who nearly killed her behind bars. She is asking for the public’s help.

Her attacker, Patrick May, is up for parole this year and it’s possible that he could be released from prison. Laura is speaking out for the first time in an on-camera interview with FOX31 to inspire others, but to also keep the man, who she calls a violent predator, locked up. Since she is a survivor of sexual assault, she will be identified through this story only as Laura.

What happened in August 1995

It was a case that took over New York news 27 years ago. It was in August of 1995 when Laura and her family were vacationing in Brant Lake in the Adirondacks in Warren County. Laura went for a bike ride in the early evening and stopped by a local shop to use a payphone to call her parents, who told her to return home for strawberry shortcake. That store is where Patrick May first spotted and followed the young girl.

“I saw this vehicle,” Laura explained. “It just pulled in front of me and cut me off and jammed on his brakes.”

Fear began to quickly set in and at just 12 years old, Laura knew something was terribly wrong.

“I jumped off my bike and was screaming, just blood-curdling, bloody murder screams and I remember being chased,” Laura recalled.

She added that she ran for her life into the woods. May, who was 31 years old at the time, was able to catch up and robbed Laura of her innocence.

“The next thing I remember was being on the ground and watching it from above, like sort of dissociated, watching myself get raped at 12 years old in the woods,” Laura said.

She said the man sexually assaulted her multiple times. He then put her in his car and drove off, with Laura not knowing where she was headed as her hands were bound by duct tape.

“I remember thinking I’m going to die,” Laura said. “My parents are never going to find my body and they’re not going to know what happened to me.”

When the car stopped moving, Laura was in another remote area and let out of the car. As she was using the bathroom, she was able to get a look at the license plate number. That vital information would later help crack the case. She said she kept repeating that number over and over in her head in case she somehow survived. Then there was one final assault.

“I felt him start strangling me and I tried to fight,” Laura said.

The young girl was kicking and screaming, but no air would come out. At 12 years old, she had enough smarts to play dead, which likely saved her life. She shared that she remembers dangling there and things went dark.

After blacking out, Laura woke up the next morning disheveled, naked and disoriented, but she still mustered up the strength to walk. That’s when she stumbled upon a woman driving who called authorities. Police quickly alerted Ferne and Don, Laura’s parents, who rushed to the hospital where their daughter stayed for four days.

“My first question was: Is she alive? And they said yes,” Don remembered. “When the word ‘raped’ came out my mouth associated with a 12-year-old, it was so bizarre. I mean, I believed it, but I couldn’t believe it. In fact, I still don’t believe it.”

10 seconds from death

Their precious daughter was alive but badly beaten and bruised. At that young age, Laura knew she didn’t want this to happen to anyone else and agreed to testify at 13 years old.

During the trial, a forensic doctor testified that Laura was just 10 seconds from death, which was determined by the whites of her eyes being red — a reaction to being strangled called petechiae. Also, during the 1996 trial, May gave an odd statement to the court seemingly shifting the blame.

“Hopefully, when your memory does come back and you do remember what has happened, you will have the courage and the strength to come forward and tell the truth,” May said aloud.

However bite marks, hair and that memorized license plate number proved otherwise and ultimately led to a conviction. May was sentenced to 75 to 150 years behind bars. However, New York is not a truth to sentencing state, and that meant years down the line May would be eligible for parole.

But more than two decades passed and Laura gained even more strength. She moved on with her life and has lived life to the fullest. She’s since traveled all over the world, gotten married, went to law school and is now an attorney in Colorado.

For the past 13 years, Laura has been prosecuting predators — the Patrick Mays of the world. She shared that being a victim herself allows her to have a unique perspective on victims. She has a message for all survivors.

“It is not your fault,” Laura said. “There is nothing that you can do that makes somebody do this. The problem is with them. Do not be ashamed.”

Perpetrator a serial rapist, sheriff says

Laura shared that 27 years later, she still gets anxious when a car slows down near her and doesn’t think that feeling will ever go away. But what also looms now, like a dark cloud, is May’s release from prison. The convicted man was up for parole in 2020, which was denied. But now he’s up again and could be released.

Bud York, former Warren County sheriff, arrested May for another violent sexual attack 10 years before Laura’s assault. York said May is a serial rapist and victims are still coming forward to this day.

“The criminal justice system failed these people,” York proclaimed. “The next victim is going to be a dead victim and this parole board better listen.”

In an effort to be heard, Laura and her parents started a letter-writing campaign. They’re asking people across the country to write to the parole board objecting to May’s release.

“There will be more victims,” her mother said. “There will absolutely be more victims and there’s no doubt about that.”

In 2020, at least 1,000 letters were received, and Laura and her parents believe it was a factor for keeping May behind bars. Now in 2022, they’re asking people to step up again and write letters.

“He has demonstrated time and time again that he is a violent predator,” Laura said. “He should never, ever, ever be free. He will not stop.”

Laura added that she wants her attack to be his last and will continue to fight, often saying Patrick May picked the “wrong girl.” Right now, May has a conditional release in 2028, but until then he’s up for parole every two years.

Letter-writing campaign

If you’d like to help keep May behind bars and write a letter, there are two ways.

It can be mailed to the address below and in the subject line of the letter, it must include Patrick May DIN 96B1082.

C/O SORC Cayuga Correctional Facility
2202 State Rte. 38A
P.O. Box 1150
Moravia, NY 13118-1150

Or it can be submitted online here, and Patrick May DIN 96B1082 must also be included.