Man who accused mom of sexual abuse reveals the conversation that made him question if his brother is actually his son
Warning: This article contains allegations of child abuse which some readers may find distressing.
Logan Gifford wants to know who his brother's biological father is.
He says he was sexually abused by his mother, Doreene Gifford, from the age of 10.
It wasn't until 2015 that Doreene was convicted of attempted sexual assault, incest, and lewdness with a child under 14.
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Doreene has maintained that she's innocent. She took an Alford Plea which is where a person does not admit guilt, but acknowledges prosecutors have enough evidence to convict. This prevented the case from going to trial and Doreene was sentenced to eight to 20 years behind bars.
She is currently on parole.
As well as being Logan's mom, Doreene is a mom to Logan's 15-year-old brother who has disabilities. Logan is currently fighting for legal custody of his sibling.
With the age of his sibling and the time of the abuse he endured at the hands of his mother in mind, there are questions that Logan could actually be his brother's biological father.
Logan is fighting to find out the truth but recent DNA results came back inconclusive as the results matched 99.9 percent to both Logan and his father, Theodore Gifford.
Logan has now spoken to UNILAD about the ordeal he's going through and shared what first made him question if his brother was actually his son.
He told us: "When my brother was born in 2009, he immediately had post-birth issues. He was stuck in my mother's canal for three days, had a massive speech impediment, his brain was deprived of oxygen during the birthing process as well.
"My mother was sexually abusing me during this time frame and was knowingly cheating on my father."
Logan continued: "Doreene, my mother, was under the impression at the time that the child in question was not Ted's and fully intended to divorce him and run away with this new child to start a new life.
"Eventually, after growing up with the kid for a couple of years, we all started seeing this one therapist in Las Vegas.
"This therapist was seeing a majority of my family members. In a private session with me, the therapist had asked me directly if there was any possibility that my brother could be my son."
Logan went on to note that the therapist had been working with his brother as well and had seen the progression of his sibling's disabilities over the years.
In light of the therapist being 'a clearly intelligent man, having numerous degrees', Logan said it felt 'wrong' to dismiss the suggestion that his sibling could be his son.
"In my opinion, [our therapist] was the only other person who was trying to look out for my brother," he added.
"I know it must not have been easy for my therapist to ask me that, but that's really when I realized that there could have been this possibility."
At the time the suggestion was made, Logan, now 26, hadn't even graduated from high school yet.
If you've been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can contact The National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800.656.HOPE (4673), available 24/7. Or you can chat online via online.rainn.org.
Niamh Shackleton