Concern for Carly Fleischmann after sexual assault post

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On Friday, Feb. 1, media producer and YouTube personality Carly Fleischmann, a woman on the autism spectrum who is nonverbal, alleged in a Facebook post that she had been sexually assaulted “on a couple occasions” by her father’s boyfriend.

Fleischmann, who hosts her own popular YouTube series, “Speechless with Carly Fleischmann,” also uploaded a photo of a man lying behind her on a couch. The Mighty has not yet confirmed if the man in the photo is her father’s boyfriend. Since telling her father of the incidents, Fleischmann said he “kept on sweeping my statements under the rug.” In addition, Fleischmann revealed her staff started talking behind her back, saying she “was lying or not telling the truth.”

The full Facebook post reads [Warning: This post contains graphic language.]:

ny of you may have noticed that I have not been on social media for the past few months. I told my father about an incident that affected my life regarding his boyfriend. After I told my father what His boyfriend did to me my life changed drastically. My staff started whispering and talking about me as if I was lying or not telling the truth. My father kept on sweeping my statements under the rug.

I proceeded to shut down when I should’ve stood up.

The truth is that on a couple occasions my father’s boyfriend laid on top of me and proceeded to press his genitalia against my behind rubbing it in a inappropriate motion that made me feel uncomfortable.

I realize I should not be treated as the villain. I was a victim. His action should never have happened. I was stunned and shocked and did not react. That is not my fault. He should never have done it to me in the first place.

This is not the first time I’ve been assaulted. It will probably not be the last. The thing that hurt me the most was my father’s reactions not to believe his own daughter. Instead he took the opportunity to make me feel alone and made me question myself.

My birthday mission is to make sure that I stand up for myself and not be afraid of doing the right thing."

The response on Facebook to Fleischmann’s post has elicited a variety of comments, from those who have called the Toronto police on her behalf, from parents of nonverbal autistic children voicing concern for their own children, to those thanking her for speaking out.

A spokesperson for Toronto police confirmed to The Mighty that a complaint was made in October 2018 and an investigation started. Fleischmann declined to press charges at the time of the original complaint. Toronto police are aware of the Facebook post. The case is still open, police said.

Arthur Fleischmann, who commenters believe to be Carly’s father, also commented on the post, defending the actions of his boyfriend.

“Carly – I’m sure he was not intending to make you uncomfortable,” Arthur commented. “He thought he was hugging you and i’m sure would apologize if given the chance. Let’s discuss.”

The Mighty reached out to Carly Fleischmann and has yet to hear back.

I took down my old post bc people were threatening my families life. They put my address online that made me unsafe. I have started working on making my life a safer place. My parents have heard my voice. They will listen to words to keep me safe. Thank you for believing my words. I am safe.