With her abuser finally behind bars, a Yarmouth, N.S., woman is sharing her story in hopes it will help other survivors and shed light on the lifelong damaging effects of sexual abuse.
“I also wanted to let him know, like, you chose the wrong girl,” said Kayla Deveau-Adams.
The 30-year-old was 14 when she was sexually assaulted by her friend’s father — at a time when the word “rape” was the farthest thing from her young mind.
“He was the cool dad. He let us go for drives, listen to cool music,” she said. “I’m assuming it was the grooming.”
As heard in court, during a weekend away in Halifax in 2010, Bruce Douglas Hatfield supplied Deveau-Adams and his own daughter with alcohol and pills. He then sexually assaulted Deveau-Adams multiple times over the course of three days.
“My mother actually said that I never truly came home. The little girl that left didn’t come back, you know? She said she could tell. And I wasn’t the same, and I still ain’t,” said Deveau-Adams.
Following the attacks, Deveau-Adams said she spent years in an abusive relationship and turned to substances to cope. It wasn’t until she met her husband that she felt ready to come forward.
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She filed a police report in 2022 and Hatfield was charged in 2024. A trial took place last year.
Hatfield, now 60, was found guilty of two counts of sexual assault and two counts of sexual interference.
Witness testimony during that trial prompted Halifax Regional Police to say they were concerned there may be more victims.
“During the trial, witness testimony suggested that Hatfield had made trips between Yarmouth and Halifax with other young women. Investigators are concerned that there may be additional victims who have not yet come forward,” police said in a Feb. 13 news release.
Last week, he was sentenced to nine years in federal custody, less remand credit. It was the longest sentence for sexual assault that the repeat offender has received to date.
“While Bruce was awaiting trial for raping another 14-year-old girl, I was his next victim,” said Deveau-Adams.
“They gave him 550 days for him pleading guilty on raping a child — that’s devastating (…) Nine years isn’t enough, but I was ready for less. For it to be nine years, I think that’s a start.”
Even now, 16 years after the attacks, Deveau-Adams said not a day goes by that she doesn’t think about that weekend. It has also changed how she parents.
“It has changed me. I am definitely a helicopter parent,” she said. “I just look at my daughter, who’s a year younger than I was when it happened, and I can’t imagine somebody hurting her in that way.”
While Deveau-Adams would like to see sentences for sexual predators increase substantially, she has now turned her focus to raising awareness. Her goal is to one day speak in schools and help educate on the warning signs and far-reaching impacts of sexual assault.
“I hope we can move mountains with this. And the start of it is speaking with the youth,” she said.
“You feel very alone in these things, very ashamed. And I think it’s just so important for us to stand together and make a change.”
Deveau-Adams has begun supporting survivors through her email, safeplacewithkayla@hotmail.com.
Since sharing her story, she says the number of messages she’s received is “astronomical.”
“It never goes away,” she says. “But (…) it’s worth it if I can just save or help one person.”
Survivors of sexual violence can call 911 in the case of an emergency. The province of Nova Scotia offers an Independent Legal Advice Program for legal advice. Avalon Sexual Assault Centre offers free services to all genders aged 15 and older who have experienced sexual assault, childhood sexual abuse or sexual harassment. And Halifax Regional Police’s Victim Services Unit can be reached at (902) 490-5300.
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