Polly Franks – Victims' Rights Advocate
Polly Franks has served as an advocate for victims of violent crime, particularly
childhood sexual abuse since 1995. Her commitment to this cause stems from
her experience as the mother of two children who were victimized by a former neighbor
and family friend who turned out to be a convicted serial predator from another state.
During his crime spree between 1982 to1998, this predator was linked to a minimum
of 286 incidents of sexual crimes. Although she is in a wheelchair, Polly became a
licensed private investigator for the sole purpose of bringing this predator to justice.
He is now in prison for life without parole.
Since that time, she has testified before Congress and lobbied on Capitol Hill for tougher
sex offender laws, such as the nationwide Amber Alert bill and the Adam Walsh Child
Protection Act. Her story was published in Good Housekeeping magazine. Polly has
been interviewed by Dateline NBC, 20/20, Court TV, the John Walsh Show, ABC
World News Tonight, the Montel Williams Show, Nancy Grace and Fox News. In
addition, she has given numerous interviews for national radio programs, as well as
newspaper and magazine articles. She has shared her story to audiences throughout
the country.
In 2006, Polly created the Franks Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to
protecting America's children from sexual predators. She is a also a founding
board member of the National Coalition of Victims in Action. Polly is a
graduate of Bluefield College. She and her husband Patrick are the very proud
parents of three grown daughters, a menagerie of animals (their four-legged
children) and a host of "honorary" sons and daughters.
www.franksfoundation.org