16-year-old Cheryl Pierson was a popular cheerleader from Long Island with numerous friends and a loving boyfriend, Robert Cuccio. But behind this facade of normality, she was harbouring a horrific secret. From the age of 11, Cheryl’s father, James Pierson Sr., was molesting her. She later recollected how he would often force her to the bed and tell her to pretend that he was her boyfriend. Whenever James felt as though Cheryl was acting out of place, he would beat her mercilessly and would even exact punishment on her dog, Cocoa: He kicked her so hard, she bounced off the wall, then cried for hours. He wouldn’t let me go near her to comfort her. She kept crying and it made me feel so sad I wanted to die,“ she said. When Cheryl’s mother passed away in 1985, she hoped the abuse would cease but her hopes couldn’t have been further from the truth. In fact, the abuse became more frequent and Cheryl would be raped up to three times a day.16-year-old Sean Pica sat beside Cheryl in their high school homeroom. As the duo chatted one day about a recent hitman murder, Cheryl confessed that she wanted somebody to kill her father. After withstanding the abuse for years, Cheryl reached her final tether when her father threatened that he would rape Cheryl’s 8-year-old sister. Cheryl decided she would ask Sean if he would kill her father for her. Robert collected $1000 which would be paid to Sean once the job was done. On the afternoon of 5 February, 1986, Sean hid behind a tree outside the Pierson household, armed with a .22-caliber rifle. When James stepped foot out of the door, Sean shot him dead.
It wouldn’t be long until rumours were circulating around their high school. Multiple pupils had heard Cheryl, Sean, and Robert talking about hit men. By the following week, Cheryl, Sean, and Robert were arrested. Both Cheryl and Sean pleaded guilty to manslaughter. As the lurid details of her father’s sexual abuse came to light, numerous witnesses came forward to admit that they had failed to act on signs of the sexual abuse. Many people said they knew something was awry but didn’t know what to do about it or if they should report it. Cheryl served 3 ½ months of a six-month sentence before she was released. Sean served 16 years. When Cheryl was released, Robert was waiting for her. He had been given probation as an accessory. The couple got married and went on to have two daughters.
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