At 13 years of age, Martin Andrews was abducted from the streets of Portsmouth, Virginia, by a serial sexual predator. He spent the next eight days in an underground bunker enduring physical, sexual, and mental abuse before being chained, abandoned and left to die. Following his rescue, Martin spent the next 30 years of his life unable to speak about the experience, facing the demons of his past alone and in silence. In 2002, learning that his assailant was to be mandatorily paroled in 9 months compelled Martin to speak out about his past. He began a one-man campaign to prevent the release of that dangerous predator. The result of his efforts is the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Civil Commitment for Sexually Violent Predators and the Virginia Center for Behavioral Rehabilitation (VCBR), along with much of Virginia’s current sexual predator legislation.

Martin Andrews remains an activist for civil commitment programs and regularly speaks to victim’s advocates, law enforcement, and probation and parole personnel about his personal experiences, civil commitment laws, and working with victims and the media. He regularly speaks with victims’ groups, delivering his message of survival, hope, and healing through grace and advocacy.