Description

In this episode of Perfect Prey, I’m joined by Ali Kessler, founder of Greyson’s Choice, child safety advocate, and a powerful voice for prevention, awareness, and systemic change.

Ali shares her deeply personal story of loss, resilience, and purpose—and how unimaginable grief became a mission to protect other children. Through Greyson’s Choice, Ali has transformed pain into advocacy, using her son Greyson’s legacy to create education, awareness, and meaningful change for families everywhere.

This conversation is both heartbreaking and inspiring, highlighting what it means to carry love forward through action, courage, and protection.

What we cover

• The story behind Greyson’s Choice

• Honoring Greyson’s legacy through advocacy

• Turning grief into purpose and prevention

• Why child safety awareness matters

• Systemic gaps that leave children vulnerable

• Supporting families after trauma and loss

• Creating change through courage and community

Why listen

If you are a parent, survivor, advocate, clinician, or someone navigating grief after trauma, this episode offers compassion, courage, and hope.

Ali’s story is a reminder that even after devastating loss, love can still become action—and protection for others.

Guest bio (short)

Ali Kessler is the founder of Greyson’s Choice, a child safety advocacy organization created in honor of her son, Greyson. Through education, awareness, and reform efforts, she works to protect children, support families, and create lasting change in Greyson’s memory.

Connect with Ali Kessler:

Website: https://greysonschoice.org

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/greysonschoice/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GreysonsChoice

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/greysons-choice/posts/?feedView=all

YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjQd87p3UbsHmUWxVkxJlUw

Connect with Dr. Christine Cocchiola:

Protective Parenting Program: https://www.coercivecontrolconsulting.com/services/for-parents/

Official site: https://www.coercivecontrolconsulting.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DrCocchiola-coercivecontrol/videos

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.c_coercivecontrol

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.cocchiola_coercivecontrol/

TEDxTalks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gp2qByKOue4&t=24s

Books:https://url-shortener.me/c/FramedBook

https://url-shortener.me/c/EveryMomentOfEveryDay

If this episode landed for you, please share it with someone who needs to hear it, subscribe for more trauma-informed conversations, and consider leaving a review — it helps other survivors find validation and safety.

🩵

— Dr. Christine Cocchiola & guest Ali Kessler

Description

In this episode of Perfect Prey, I’m joined by Donna Palomba, founder of Jane Doe No More and survivor of a violent home invasion and sexual assault that led to years of institutional betrayal.

Donna shares her harrowing story—from surviving a brutal attack in her own home to being disbelieved, interrogated, and re-traumatized by the very system meant to protect her. What followed was a seven-year legal battle against law enforcement, uncovering systemic failures, bias, and the devastating impact of not believing victims.

This conversation explores not only the trauma of the assault itself, but the profound harm caused by institutional betrayal—and the strength it takes to fight back, seek justice, and create change.

What we cover

• Donna’s story of surviving a violent home invasion and sexual assault
• The immediate aftermath and failures in the investigative process
• Institutional betrayal and being treated as a suspect instead of a victim
• The long legal battle against law enforcement and systemic resistance
• The role of DNA evidence and delayed justice
• How perpetrators often live “double lives” and evade suspicion
• The impact of statute of limitations laws on survivors
• Donna’s advocacy work and the founding of Jane Doe No More
• Prevention, education, and empowering communities to protect others

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Why listen

If you are a survivor, advocate, clinician, attorney, or protective parent, this episode offers a powerful and deeply emotional look at what happens when systems fail victims—and what it takes to hold those systems accountable. Donna’s story is both heartbreaking and hopeful, showing that even in the face of profound injustice, change is possible.

Guest bio (short)

Donna Palomba is the founder of Jane Doe No More, an organization dedicated to improving the way society responds to survivors of sexual crimes and advancing prevention education. After surviving a violent sexual assault and years of institutional betrayal, Donna became a leading advocate for victims’ rights, helping change laws and educate communities on safety, accountability, and survivor support.

Learn more about Donna Palomba & Jane Doe No More:

Website: ⁠https://janedoenomore.org/⁠Book (Jane Doe No More): ⁠https://www.amazon.com/Jane-Doe-No-More/dp/1642939709⁠Podcast (Jane Doe No More Podcast): ⁠https://janedoenomore.org/podcast/⁠

Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/janedoenomore/⁠Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/janedoenomore⁠LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/jane-doe-no-more/⁠

Connect with Dr. Christine

Protective Parenting Program:⁠https://www.coercivecontrolconsulting.com/services/for-parents/⁠

Official site:⁠https://www.coercivecontrolconsulting.com/⁠

YouTube:⁠https://www.youtube.com/@DrCocchiola-coercivecontrol/videos⁠

TikTok:⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.c_coercivecontrol⁠

Instagram:⁠https://www.instagram.com/dr.cocchiola_coercivecontrol/⁠

Books:⁠https://url-shortener.me/c/FramedBook⁠⁠https://url-shortener.me/c/EveryMomentOfEveryDay⁠

If this episode landed for you, please share it with someone who needs to hear it, subscribe for more trauma-informed conversations, and consider leaving a review — it helps other survivors find validation and safety.

— Dr. Christine Cocchiola & guest Donna Palomba

Description

In this solo episode of Perfect Prey, I explore one of the most heartbreaking dynamics of coercive control: the weaponization of children.

Children rely on their parents for safety, stability, and unconditional love. But when a predatory parent is operating within the family system, attachment can become fractured.

Instead of growing up with secure connection, children are often indoctrinated into false narratives, exposed to subtle undermining, and pulled into loyalty binds they cannot cognitively or emotionally process.

I explain how coercive control is the underpinning of all forms of abuse — psychological, legal, financial, physical, and emotional — and how, when an abuser can no longer control their partner, they often shift to controlling through the child.

We’ll talk about:

• How attachment is formed — and how it can be fractured

• Why children may come home dysregulated, angry, or oppositional

• How subtle undermining and false narratives are planted

• The difference between alienation rhetoric and attachment fracture

• Why predatory parents rely on retaliation and loyalty conflicts

• How protective parents can create “roadblocks” to manipulation

• What it means to respond instead of react — even when you are traumatized

  
  

This episode is especially for protective parents navigating post-separation abuse and family court dynamics. The reality is painful: children are often placed in impossible positions, forced into emotional roles they should never have to carry.

But there are ways to respond differently.

If you are watching your child struggle, unravel, or lash out after time with the other parent, this episode will help you understand what may be happening beneath the surface — and how to stay grounded in your role as the secure base.

Protective parents are doing some of the hardest work there is. You are not alone.

Connect with Dr. Christine

Protective Parenting Program:
https://www.coercivecontrolconsulting.com/services/for-parents/

Official site:
https://www.coercivecontrolconsulting.com/

YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@DrCocchiola-coercivecontrol/videos

TikTok:
https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.c_coercivecontrol

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/dr.cocchiola_coercivecontrol/

Books:
https://url-shortener.me/c/FramedBook
https://url-shortener.me/c/EveryMomentOfEveryDay

If this episode resonated, please share it with someone who needs this information, subscribe to Perfect Prey, and consider leaving a review. It helps other survivors and protective parents find validation and clarity.

— Dr. Christine Cocchiola

In this episode of Perfect Prey, I’m joined by Andrew Carpenter, a solicitor and partner at Webster Lawyers in Australia, widely known for his work holding child sexual abuse perpetrators accountable and advocating for systemic reform.

Andrew and I have a frank, uncomfortable, and deeply necessary conversation about child sexual abuse, grooming, coercive control, and the institutional failures that continue to endanger children. We explore how child predators use the same grooming tactics as coercive controllers, how technology and AI have dramatically increased access to abuse material, and why legal systems—including family courts—so often fail to protect children and the parents trying to keep them safe.

This episode centers the reality that child sexual abuse is not rare, not accidental, and not a crime of opportunity—it is intentional, patterned, and enabled by silence, disbelief, and systemic blind spots.

What we cover

• How child sexual abuse perpetrators groom children, families, and institutions

• Why all child predators use coercive control and relational grooming tactics

• The disturbing accessibility of child abuse material online

• How technology, AI, and social media are being weaponized against children

• Why most abuse occurs within trusted relationships and family systems

• The failures of criminal courts and family courts to protect child victims

• Why lack of physical evidence does not mean abuse did not occur

• Warning signs, behavioral red flags, and changes parents should not ignore

• How shame, fear, and silence protect perpetrators—not children

• What meaningful prevention, accountability, and reform must address

Why listen

If you are a survivor, protective parent, clinician, attorney, educator, or advocate, this episode provides critical insight into how child sexual abuse actually operates—and why so many children are disbelieved, retraumatized, or returned to unsafe environments. Andrew’s work exposes how deeply embedded these harms are within systems that claim to protect children, and why uncomfortable conversations are essential to change.

Guest bio (short)

Andrew Carpenter is a solicitor and partner at Webster Lawyers in Australia, specializing in child sexual abuse litigation and survivor advocacy. He is widely recognized for challenging institutional failures, advocating for legal reform, and amplifying survivor voices in cases where children have been silenced or ignored. His work focuses on accountability, deterrence, and systemic change to better protect children.

Connect with Andrew Carpenter

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/andrewcarpentersolicitor

Websters Lawyers:https://websterslawyers.com.au/lawyers/andrew-carpenter

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/andrewcarpentersolicitor?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-carpenter-041456123/

Connect with Dr. Christine

Protective Parenting Program:https://www.coercivecontrolconsulting.com/services/for-parents/

Official site:https://www.coercivecontrolconsulting.com/

YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@DrCocchiola-coercivecontrol/videos

TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.c_coercivecontrolIf this episode landed for you, please share it with someone who needs to hear it, subscribe for more trauma-informed conversations, and consider leaving a review- it helps other survivors and protective parents find validation and safety.

-Dr. Christine Cocchiola & guest Andrew Carpenter