LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A victim in a landmark Arkansas rape case is opening up after her abuser is granted parole.
More than 25 years ago, a jury found Len Yates guilty of rape for using drugs on women. It made him one of the first men to be charged and convicted for using the date-rape drug known as roofies.
Stacey Bullard was one of the the women he sexually assaulted. We first talked to her three years ago when she first found out Yates was up for parole.
Since then, she has fought to keep him behind bars to protect herself and other women. Now, she's preparing for his release.
"I'm doing okay, but I will have my moments," Bullard said. "I had a panic attack in the middle of Walmart last night. I'm kind of scared."
Bullard has been fighting for justice since she was raped 27 years ago.
It was Labor Day weekend in 1997 when she and a friend went out. That's when she met Len Yates.
She said he offered to take her to Canon Grill for drinks, but that was the last memory she had before waking up at his home.
When Bullard went to get a rape exam, toxicologists found Rohypnol in her system, commonly known as roofies.
Stacey soon found out she wasn't alone. Len Yates was sentenced to 35 years in prison for multiple counts of rape after more women came forward. He was one of the first people in Arkansas to be charged with drugging his victims.
"It's really tough," Bullard said. "I'll become a survivor again, but just not right now."
It's a day she didn't want to come—the day he would be released from prison.
She has been fighting alongside other victims to keep their abuser behind bars, but she said this time the parole hearing was different.
"I got a weird feeling... it wasn't the same," Bullard said. "I knew immediately that they were going to let him out."
The conditions of Yates' parole are that he must register as a sex offender and he cannot have contact with any of his victims.
"I want to just thank the parole board for keeping him in this long," Bullard said. "He had been denied two times before, so I want to thank them for that."
The parole board will set Yates' release date in about 10 days. In the meantime, Stacey said she is doing everything she can to remain calm and healthy.