Adult suspect in stolen car/missing girl case appears in Rock Island County Court
The sole adult suspect in an incident involving a missing 4-year-old girl – later found safe – and a stolen SUV appeared Tuesday morning in Rock Island County Court.
Jaron Bailey-Harris, 18, faces charges of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and possession of a stolen vehicle, court records show.
Bailey-Harris, who had at least one relative in the courtroom, appeared in a hearing that took about two minutes. Our Quad Cities News crew heard Bailey-Harris answer questions from the judge, saying 'No, sir' and 'Yes, sir.'
Bailey-Harris, who has pleaded not guilty, waived his preliminary hearing. Now the case is scheduled for pretrial conferences on Feb. 27 in Rock Island County Court.
He is being held without bond in Rock Island County Jail.
A stolen car and a missing child
Bailey-Harris and four juveniles were arrested in connection with the disappearance of a 4-year-old girl who later was found safe, according to a news release from Rock Island Police.
Shortly after 6 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 16, a brown Saturn Outlook was stolen from the 1300 block of 14½ Street with 4-year old Blessing Aoci still in the back seat, police say. Officers responded to the area within minutes and started a search.
About 14 minutes later, the stolen SUV was found unoccupied in the area of 8th Street and 15th Avenue. Immediately, information and a picture were posted about the missing child on theRock Island Police Department's Facebook page, which was shared just under 43,000 times, the release says.
Illinois State Police were contacted to issue an Amber Alert, which was later sent to cell phones by the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
A command post was established in the area of 15th Street and 15th Avenue using the Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System (ILEAS) Unified Command Post Vehicle. Officers canvassed thearea for Blessing while the Rock Island and Moline police and the Rock Island County Sheriff's Office flew drones to try to find her.
Later, search efforts were focused on the blocks surrounding the area from which the car was stolen. They included voluntary searches of residences and property.
Assisting in the search were the Rock Island County Sheriff's Department; Moline, Milan, Davenport and Illinois State police; the FBI; the U. S. Marshals Service; neighbors and volunteers. For almost nine hours, teams of law enforcement and volunteers combed the neighborhood with no sign of Blessing.
Four juveniles also were arrested
A 16-year old boy faces charges of kidnapping and possession of a stolen vehicle
A 16-year-old boy faces a charge of possession of a stolen vehicle
A 15-year-old girl faces a charge of possession of a stolen vehicle
A 14-year-old girl faces a charge of possession of a stolen vehicle.
Rock Island Police Chief Tim McCloud sat down with Our Quad Cities News to discuss the search and the case.
'I know they want answers — and we do as well — but it's important to remember that we have a 4-year-old victim that just experienced a very traumatic event,' McCloud said. 'So how we come to a complete understanding of what happened is going to take a very delicate and patient response.'
'We were in direct communication with the state's attorney's office and Dora Villareal while this was going on. So she played an active role in this as we are presenting evidence and determining charges — and they may be amended later. But this is what we have so far,' McCloud said. 'And I would say that some of the tips that were brought in — some of our leads that were generated from when we went to track down some of the other stolen vehicles — that just led us to more and more people that were involved and other charges that came as a result.'
Blessing was located in apparent good health. She was immediately reunited with her mother and then transported by the Rock Island Fire Department to Unity Point Trinity for evaluation.
'Everybody is just immensely relieved,' McCloud said. 'You know, it was exhausting, it was emotionally exhausting — the entire process. And I can say that I hope we never go through anything like this ever again.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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We shared a Reddit thread about where people's former childhood bullies ended up later in life. This prompted BuzzFeed Community users to tell us about what happened to their former school bullies once they became adults. The stories were pretty interesting. Here's what people shared: 1."She always made fun of me and turned my two best friends against me. I saw her at a reunion a few years ago. She approached me with that familiar nasty look on her face, like she was going to make some snide comment with the intent to humiliate me. I pretended to have no idea who she was, then hit her with, 'Oh!! You're the one who got pregnant in 10th grade!' Then, I walked away before she could respond. We graduated almost 30 years ago." —ponygirl79 2."My school bully is still teaching at my high school. The fact that he's still allowed to teach just sickens me." —a_carp97 3."There was a girl who decided to start a rumor that I asked her to prom, thus making me a 'giant lesbian.' I got spit on, hit, and pushed around, and I eventually dropped out in the 10th grade because of her. One of the girls who instigated the worst of it later tried to friend me on Facebook when I had one. I looked at her profile, and it turns out she has a wife. I never did get an apology." —pullhandlesupnotout 4."The only person I remember bullying me in high school is now my husband. He was naive then and realized I wasn't so awful. We've now been together for 21 years and married for 15. He's a great husband and father. People can change and grow!" —dazzlingcookie746 5."I was bullied throughout school, all the way from elementary through high school. One particular bully called my parents one day out of the blue, apologizing for what he'd done. It turns out he went into the military, and I guess getting bullied during training made him realize what an a-hole he was. However, in my opinion, it was too little, too late. The damage was already done. No amount of apologizing will fix what was broken." —Anonymous 6."One of my former bullies is a stand-up comedian/actor. He apologized, invited me to one of his shows, and said I could heckle him if I wanted to." —Anonymous 7."I was viciously bullied by multiple people through my childhood and teens for all my 'weird traits,' which eventually got diagnosed as autism. Also, I was really tall and, therefore, an easy target. One of my bullies actually became a social worker. I don't know if she's changed, and I don't care. This woman used classic abuser tactics on me, isolating me from my family and friends, telling me nobody would care about me like she did, and taking me on her dates so I could see 'what it looked like to be desired.' She was evil. Now she's a social worker?" "I served her dad in my store a while ago and didn't realize it was him until he gave me some details for his receipt. He said his daughter was supposed to have come in to help him, but couldn't. Once he'd left, I had to hide around the back of the store, throw up, and sob because I was so shaken up. I hadn't spoken to her in 20 years, but never recovered." —garebehr 8."My bully won the lottery and retired early. I'm not kidding. Like most lottery winners, I hope his life was a mess after that. Sorry, not sorry." —ericr1 9."I'm on good speaking terms now with one of mine now. She was also the only one at my 10-year reunion who gave condolences for my dad's passing. Ironically enough, though, she recently made a post about how her daughter is being bullied in school, and she just can't believe people would be so cruel. I kept my mouth shut." —m4eed64e13 10."My bully is a nurse in the NICU at our local children's hospital. I had a baby in February who had to spend a week in the NICU. I was TERRIFIED that I would see her and she would be the nurse to my baby. I seriously wouldn't have put it past her to neglect my baby over her hatred for me. I spoke to my husband and mother about it when I went into labor, knowing (because my baby was coming early) that she would end up in the NICU, and I wanted to know if I had the right to ask for a new nurse. They both told me not to be dramatic and get over it because a nurse couldn't be so cruel. Little do they know ALL the things she did to me over many years." "Luckily, I did not have to see her face once. I don't know if she doesn't work there anymore, was on vacation, or just saw my name and knew it would be a bad scene. Regardless, I breathe a HUGE sigh of relief whenever I remember my baby being discharged from the NICU!" —leahm491b1c910 11."One of my main bullies is now in the Army and posts pictures of himself with guns all too frequently." —triiipi 12."I sold her my childhood home. Why? Because we grew up. A family needed a home, and I had one I didn't use." —Anonymous 13."She was a friend who turned into a bully. After graduating from high school, we went our separate ways, and I haven't reconnected even though she's in the area and runs into members of my family and friends occasionally. I think she's had a chance to mature since then, as she went to college and was exposed to more than just the strict family she grew up with. She does children's book illustrations now and recently got married. I know that at least some of the bullying was in response to stress at home, especially because her mom was going through some pretty serious medical stuff at the time. I hope she's doing well, but I won't contact her. The things she did and said affected me for a long time, and I still have trouble trusting friends to be friends." —torbielillies 14."One of my worst ones is now a judge in Texas. I shudder to think about it." —wonkobox laws 15."I was bullied a lot. I was very tall, skinny, and awkward. Not a cool look in the early '80s. When I was divorced in my early 30s, I ran into two of the boys who were the worst of the lot. Neither of them had grown taller than about 5'7 and didn't recognize me when they offered me a seat at their table and offered to buy me a drink. I looked at them, smiled, held my hand to the top of my head, and told them, 'You need to be this tall to ride this ride.' I'm 5'9. It was a win for my tall, skinny, awkward 13-year-old self." —laurenebannister 16."Someone murdered him. I don't think the case was ever solved." —hello-i-am-a-potato 17."For four years, every day in high school, this guy relentlessly verbally bullied me. I pretended not to hear him. Fast forward 50 years when I walked into our 50th high school reunion. There he was. He followed me everywhere, and every time he spoke, I said something like, 'You were awful to me in high school.' I couldn't get away from him. Everywhere I went, there he was right at my side. Finally, the event was over, and we were leaving, and once again, he was right there. I said, 'You were awful,' again, and to my surprise, he said, 'I'm sorry.' I was able to say, 'I forgive you.' This was the best part of the reunion!" —Anonymous 18."I was bullied/ostracized by a group of five boys when I was 15 years old and in the 10th grade. There was never any physical violence, however. The ringleader of the group was very scarred by his parents' very acrimonious divorce when we were both 14. He was jealous of kids like me who lived in loving and stable homes. At some point, he started using drugs to cope with the difficulties he had dealing with his parents' divorce. He resorted to burglary to help fund his drug habit and was sentenced to prison multiple times. As far as I know, he is still in prison in his senior years, although it's possible that he was released at some point." "Bottom line: His parents' divorce basically ruined his life. I had no experience with divorce and didn't understand what he was going through. Looking back on this experience, if I had better understood it, maybe I could have done something to support him, and the bullying wouldn't have occurred." —sidneykaler 19."A couple of years ago, I reconnected with a girl I knew in high school, and she invited me to a small holiday get-together with some other people we went to school with. No one there had really bullied me, but they were all aware it was happening at the time and were close with the girls who were really leading it. It came up that high school was a bit rough for me, but the conversation quickly moved on, and we had a nice night. The next day, the girl who invited me texted to thank me for coming and apologized for not being a better ally in high school." "She'd known what people were saying about me, and even though she wasn't the problem (she was always very lovely and friendly and still is), she felt bad and wished she'd done something more to support me back then. It was an unnecessary apology. I never blamed her and had processed and moved on from the rest long ago, but it was still very kind of her to say, and it made me feel nice." —dalyaz 20."I was pretty quiet in high school and kept mostly to myself. I was paired with a group of mean girls one day in class, and I complimented a girl on her prom dress and asked her where she got it. She told me not to bother since the store doesn't carry dresses in my size. The whole class heard her and laughed. I never considered myself 'bigger,' just average, but after that day, I never could get out of the mindset that everybody thought I was huge. That girl has three daughters, and I worry about how she talks to them." —jojorollins5678 21."My high school bully wasn't a bully in the traditional sense, but she was a compulsive liar who had our school administrators wrapped around her little finger and would make up these grandiose stories about how we (her classmates) had wronged her in an attempt to get us into trouble. She targeted me because I had been nice to her when she transferred into the district midway through eighth grade. She harassed me (and many others) over text and via social media as well. Everyone knew she was a pathological liar, but it didn't matter because the principal and deans believed her. The only time I got sent to the principal's office in all my years attending school in this district was because of her alleging that I was 'bullying her' in 11th grade. Last year (six years after graduating high school), I met a guy who grew up a few towns away from me and attended the same state college as her. He had even been roommates with her ex-boyfriend." "I told him that the summer between first and second year of college, she came back to our hometown and told everyone that she had a boyfriend, but of course, nobody believed her because you couldn't believe a word she said, and that I was shocked to hear that that was actually true. His response was, 'That actually explains so much.' From what he told me, she hadn't changed much. At college, she was always in other people's business, always had to be the center of attention, and blackmailed several people (including the guy I met). Last I heard, she moved out to the Pacific Northwest (from the Northeast), and even though it's been seven years since I last saw or interacted with her, I still have her blocked on every platform in case she still wants to harass me." —cristinas437192d57 22."I was bullied relentlessly in junior high. I was small, an only child, and had glasses and a mouthful of braces. The girl who believed me the most actually sent me a long message on Facebook about how sorry she was, how she teaches her children to be different, and that her attitude was in response to her crappy home life. We are friends now, send each other Christmas cards, and even met for a glass of wine. After 30 years, let bygones be bygones. However, to this day, I am very particular about my appearance whenever I'm in public to prove that I'm not that girl from junior high anymore. Whenever I hear two people talking in low voices, I think they are talking about me. Bullying sticks with you for life. I'm in my 40s and still working through it." —katied47fd64e0d 23."One of the boys who made it his life goal to bully me came from a nice upper-class family, but he was totally low-class. In sixth grade, we had a class swim party, and he convinced all of the kids that I'd poison the pool and that I wasn't wanted there. I spent the rest of the party in the house, waiting until the end for my mom to come and get me. I never told my parents about it. By the time we got to high school, he'd dropped off the social map. I just found out that the bully died last year. He spent his entire adult life as a stoner, jumping from odd job to odd job. He had lots of chronic health problems related to his lifestyle choices. He lived in an old travel trailer on his cousin's farm." —Anonymous 24."I was a huge nerd and was bullied by a few girls in elementary school. A few years ago, one of them, out of the blue, messaged me to apologize and told me that she was just really jealous. I didn't realize it, but I was reading way ahead of my grade level, and she revealed that she was essentially illiterate at that point and was miserable. I hadn't thought about her in a decade, but she said it bothered her, and I appreciated it!" —skybluedays 25."I was bullied by a lot of kids in elementary school because I was small and quiet. One girl and her mother bullied me. Her mom was the Girl Scout leader. They were social-climbing snobs and even made fun of my mom's accent. They excluded me from activities. She approached me at our 40th class reunion and acted like I was her long-lost best friend. She was getting over cancer, which I wouldn't wish on anyone. We talked for a while, but I was pretty puzzled. Maybe her brush with death made her think about her choices. At earlier reunions, I just got the stink eye from her. Her besties, who were also bullies, also acted all sweet with me. I guess success is the best revenge because they were all surprised at how well I turned out. They're all doing fine, which is great. Sounds like they grew up. They were just following the lead of their snobby, social-climbing moms." —Anonymous 26."She was so cruel to me for years in high school. From the first day we met, she called me names and told horrible stories about me. She was absolutely awful! Especially about my weight because she was thin and popular, and I was the chunky nerd. Fast forward 25 years. I took a job as a teacher, and unbeknownst to me, she worked as an administrator in the gifted/talented department at the same school. We didn't interact much; she had gotten married, so she changed names and also looked very different. She knew it was me for over a year, but never said a word until one day, I realized who she was." "I still marvel at the fact that she bullied me relentlessly as a kid and then acted like we were strangers when she knew exactly who I was." —Anonymous 27."One was a guy who, for some weird reason, used to tease me relentlessly when we were in elementary and middle school. I have no idea why. He's now in prison for murdering someone. He became homeless, lived in an encampment, and got into it one night with some other guy and killed him. Another one was this awful girl from high school who, I swear, inspired Mean Girls. At some point, she was in an accident and is now paralyzed from the waist down, in a wheelchair, and lives alone in government housing. You'd think that would humble someone, but no. Her Facebook is still super rude, so I guess she hasn't changed." "Finally, just based on my own experiences as a parent, I'm pretty sure most bullies grow up and end up being parent bullies in the PTA. I quit doing volunteer work at the schools because I am too old to deal with people who peaked in high school and are still doing the same crap." —j4287b3497 28."I had one 'friend' bully me for my sexuality. She is now a mental health nurse." —woofshoe 29."We wound up becoming friends online. She had dropped out of school and gotten her GED. She's raising a child with her partner and has felt genuine remorse for middle school." —Anonymous 30."I was in high school in California, but moved to the Midwest for college, grad school, and stayed for work. Year after year, I would get reunion announcements from a bully girl who thought she was still in the in crowd. I finally emailed her that she should take me off the mailing list since I had no interest in reliving high school. Petty, but it felt good. She had married the football captain and never grew up." —jfmailacct 31."He's a real estate agent in our area. I looked at his reviews, and they're all written by his friends from high school." —jessethecowgirl 32."My bully and I ran into each other at an AA meeting that set all animosity aside. We are very close now." —kmpbnjelly "Nothing special happened to mine. As far as I know, they continued living in my hometown, got married, and had kids like most people did. When they made my life hell, people said, 'Karma will get them back one day. They'll end up sad and alone,' but it doesn't always work like that. Sometimes, they end up happy and fulfilled. But I don't begrudge them that. I hope they grew up emotionally and realized that being cruel wasn't conducive to happiness." —emmak26 What happened to your childhood bully later in life? Tell us in the comments or share anonymously using this form.
Buzz Feed
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We shared a Reddit thread about where people's former childhood bullies ended up later in life. This prompted BuzzFeed Community users to tell us about what happened to their former school bullies once they became adults. The stories were pretty interesting. Here's what people shared: "She always made fun of me and turned my two best friends against me. I saw her at a reunion a few years ago. She approached me with that familiar nasty look on her face, like she was going to make some snide comment with the intent to humiliate me. I pretended to have no idea who she was, then hit her with, 'Oh!! You're the one who got pregnant in 10th grade!' Then, I walked away before she could respond. We graduated almost 30 years ago." "My school bully is still teaching at my high school. The fact that he's still allowed to teach just sickens me." "There was a girl who decided to start a rumor that I asked her to prom, thus making me a 'giant lesbian.' I got spit on, hit, and pushed around, and I eventually dropped out in the 10th grade because of her. One of the girls who instigated the worst of it later tried to friend me on Facebook when I had one. I looked at her profile, and it turns out she has a wife. I never did get an apology." "The only person I remember bullying me in high school is now my husband. He was naive then and realized I wasn't so awful. We've now been together for 21 years and married for 15. He's a great husband and father. People can change and grow!" "I was bullied throughout school, all the way from elementary through high school. One particular bully called my parents one day out of the blue, apologizing for what he'd done. It turns out he went into the military, and I guess getting bullied during training made him realize what an a-hole he was. However, in my opinion, it was too little, too late. The damage was already done. No amount of apologizing will fix what was broken." "One of my former bullies is a stand-up comedian/actor. He apologized, invited me to one of his shows, and said I could heckle him if I wanted to." "I was viciously bullied by multiple people through my childhood and teens for all my 'weird traits,' which eventually got diagnosed as autism. Also, I was really tall and, therefore, an easy target. One of my bullies actually became a social worker. I don't know if she's changed, and I don't care. This woman used classic abuser tactics on me, isolating me from my family and friends, telling me nobody would care about me like she did, and taking me on her dates so I could see 'what it looked like to be desired.' She was evil. Now she's a social worker?" "My bully won the lottery and retired early. I'm not kidding. Like most lottery winners, I hope his life was a mess after that. Sorry, not sorry." "I'm on good speaking terms now with one of mine now. She was also the only one at my 10-year reunion who gave condolences for my dad's passing. Ironically enough, though, she recently made a post about how her daughter is being bullied in school, and she just can't believe people would be so cruel. I kept my mouth shut." "My bully is a nurse in the NICU at our local children's hospital. I had a baby in February who had to spend a week in the NICU. I was TERRIFIED that I would see her and she would be the nurse to my baby. I seriously wouldn't have put it past her to neglect my baby over her hatred for me. I spoke to my husband and mother about it when I went into labor, knowing (because my baby was coming early) that she would end up in the NICU, and I wanted to know if I had the right to ask for a new nurse. They both told me not to be dramatic and get over it because a nurse couldn't be so cruel. Little do they know ALL the things she did to me over many years." "One of my main bullies is now in the Army and posts pictures of himself with guns all too frequently." "I sold her my childhood home. Why? Because we grew up. A family needed a home, and I had one I didn't use." "She was a friend who turned into a bully. After graduating from high school, we went our separate ways, and I haven't reconnected even though she's in the area and runs into members of my family and friends occasionally. I think she's had a chance to mature since then, as she went to college and was exposed to more than just the strict family she grew up with. She does children's book illustrations now and recently got married. I know that at least some of the bullying was in response to stress at home, especially because her mom was going through some pretty serious medical stuff at the time. I hope she's doing well, but I won't contact her. The things she did and said affected me for a long time, and I still have trouble trusting friends to be friends." "One of my worst ones is now a judge in Texas. I shudder to think about it." laws "I was bullied a lot. I was very tall, skinny, and awkward. Not a cool look in the early '80s. When I was divorced in my early 30s, I ran into two of the boys who were the worst of the lot. Neither of them had grown taller than about 5'7 and didn't recognize me when they offered me a seat at their table and offered to buy me a drink. I looked at them, smiled, held my hand to the top of my head, and told them, 'You need to be this tall to ride this ride.' I'm 5'9. It was a win for my tall, skinny, awkward 13-year-old self." "Someone murdered him. I don't think the case was ever solved." "For four years, every day in high school, this guy relentlessly verbally bullied me. I pretended not to hear him. Fast forward 50 years when I walked into our 50th high school reunion. There he was. He followed me everywhere, and every time he spoke, I said something like, 'You were awful to me in high school.' I couldn't get away from him. Everywhere I went, there he was right at my side. Finally, the event was over, and we were leaving, and once again, he was right there. I said, 'You were awful,' again, and to my surprise, he said, 'I'm sorry.' I was able to say, 'I forgive you.' This was the best part of the reunion!" "I was bullied/ostracized by a group of five boys when I was 15 years old and in the 10th grade. There was never any physical violence, however. The ringleader of the group was very scarred by his parents' very acrimonious divorce when we were both 14. He was jealous of kids like me who lived in loving and stable homes. At some point, he started using drugs to cope with the difficulties he had dealing with his parents' divorce. He resorted to burglary to help fund his drug habit and was sentenced to prison multiple times. As far as I know, he is still in prison in his senior years, although it's possible that he was released at some point." "A couple of years ago, I reconnected with a girl I knew in high school, and she invited me to a small holiday get-together with some other people we went to school with. No one there had really bullied me, but they were all aware it was happening at the time and were close with the girls who were really leading it. It came up that high school was a bit rough for me, but the conversation quickly moved on, and we had a nice night. The next day, the girl who invited me texted to thank me for coming and apologized for not being a better ally in high school." "I was pretty quiet in high school and kept mostly to myself. I was paired with a group of mean girls one day in class, and I complimented a girl on her prom dress and asked her where she got it. She told me not to bother since the store doesn't carry dresses in my size. The whole class heard her and laughed. I never considered myself 'bigger,' just average, but after that day, I never could get out of the mindset that everybody thought I was huge. That girl has three daughters, and I worry about how she talks to them." "My high school bully wasn't a bully in the traditional sense, but she was a compulsive liar who had our school administrators wrapped around her little finger and would make up these grandiose stories about how we (her classmates) had wronged her in an attempt to get us into trouble. She targeted me because I had been nice to her when she transferred into the district midway through eighth grade. She harassed me (and many others) over text and via social media as well. Everyone knew she was a pathological liar, but it didn't matter because the principal and deans believed her. The only time I got sent to the principal's office in all my years attending school in this district was because of her alleging that I was 'bullying her' in 11th grade. Last year (six years after graduating high school), I met a guy who grew up a few towns away from me and attended the same state college as her. He had even been roommates with her ex-boyfriend." "I was bullied relentlessly in junior high. I was small, an only child, and had glasses and a mouthful of braces. The girl who believed me the most actually sent me a long message on Facebook about how sorry she was, how she teaches her children to be different, and that her attitude was in response to her crappy home life. We are friends now, send each other Christmas cards, and even met for a glass of wine. After 30 years, let bygones be bygones. However, to this day, I am very particular about my appearance whenever I'm in public to prove that I'm not that girl from junior high anymore. Whenever I hear two people talking in low voices, I think they are talking about me. Bullying sticks with you for life. I'm in my 40s and still working through it." "One of the boys who made it his life goal to bully me came from a nice upper-class family, but he was totally low-class. In sixth grade, we had a class swim party, and he convinced all of the kids that I'd poison the pool and that I wasn't wanted there. I spent the rest of the party in the house, waiting until the end for my mom to come and get me. I never told my parents about it. By the time we got to high school, he'd dropped off the social map. I just found out that the bully died last year. He spent his entire adult life as a stoner, jumping from odd job to odd job. He had lots of chronic health problems related to his lifestyle choices. He lived in an old travel trailer on his cousin's farm." "I was a huge nerd and was bullied by a few girls in elementary school. A few years ago, one of them, out of the blue, messaged me to apologize and told me that she was just really jealous. I didn't realize it, but I was reading way ahead of my grade level, and she revealed that she was essentially illiterate at that point and was miserable. I hadn't thought about her in a decade, but she said it bothered her, and I appreciated it!" "I was bullied by a lot of kids in elementary school because I was small and quiet. One girl and her mother bullied me. Her mom was the Girl Scout leader. They were social-climbing snobs and even made fun of my mom's accent. They excluded me from activities. She approached me at our 40th class reunion and acted like I was her long-lost best friend. She was getting over cancer, which I wouldn't wish on anyone. We talked for a while, but I was pretty puzzled. Maybe her brush with death made her think about her choices. At earlier reunions, I just got the stink eye from her. Her besties, who were also bullies, also acted all sweet with me. I guess success is the best revenge because they were all surprised at how well I turned out. They're all doing fine, which is great. Sounds like they grew up. They were just following the lead of their snobby, social-climbing moms." "She was so cruel to me for years in high school. From the first day we met, she called me names and told horrible stories about me. She was absolutely awful! Especially about my weight because she was thin and popular, and I was the chunky nerd. Fast forward 25 years. I took a job as a teacher, and unbeknownst to me, she worked as an administrator in the gifted/talented department at the same school. We didn't interact much; she had gotten married, so she changed names and also looked very different. She knew it was me for over a year, but never said a word until one day, I realized who she was." "One was a guy who, for some weird reason, used to tease me relentlessly when we were in elementary and middle school. I have no idea why. He's now in prison for murdering someone. He became homeless, lived in an encampment, and got into it one night with some other guy and killed him. Another one was this awful girl from high school who, I swear, inspired Mean Girls. At some point, she was in an accident and is now paralyzed from the waist down, in a wheelchair, and lives alone in government housing. You'd think that would humble someone, but no. Her Facebook is still super rude, so I guess she hasn't changed." "I had one 'friend' bully me for my sexuality. She is now a mental health nurse." "We wound up becoming friends online. She had dropped out of school and gotten her GED. She's raising a child with her partner and has felt genuine remorse for middle school." "I was in high school in California, but moved to the Midwest for college, grad school, and stayed for work. Year after year, I would get reunion announcements from a bully girl who thought she was still in the in crowd. I finally emailed her that she should take me off the mailing list since I had no interest in reliving high school. Petty, but it felt good. She had married the football captain and never grew up." "He's a real estate agent in our area. I looked at his reviews, and they're all written by his friends from high school." "My bully and I ran into each other at an AA meeting that set all animosity aside. We are very close now." And: "Nothing special happened to mine. As far as I know, they continued living in my hometown, got married, and had kids like most people did. When they made my life hell, people said, 'Karma will get them back one day. They'll end up sad and alone,' but it doesn't always work like that. Sometimes, they end up happy and fulfilled. But I don't begrudge them that. I hope they grew up emotionally and realized that being cruel wasn't conducive to happiness." What happened to your childhood bully later in life? Tell us in the comments or share anonymously using this form. Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
