Four decades on from a horrific ordeal involving abuse, kidnapping and witnessing his father murder his rapist karate instructor live on TV, Jody Plauche is not the broken man one might expect.
Contrarily, Jody is flourishing, using his experiences to help others through his new book, speeches and other engagements, hoping to inspire other young men to share their stories.
Gary Plauche, Jody's father, shot Jeff Doucet, Jody's karate instructor, dead on live television after he was brought back to Louisiana from California following two years of rape and abuse that ended in Jody's kidnapping in February 1984.
Jody and his siblings were students in Doucet's karate class when Jody was only in fifth grade in 1983. It was then that Doucet began grooming him and his family while also sexually assaulting young Jody, pushing his limits until it escalated to full-blown rape.
"I guess I passed his test, so he started [raping] me," Jody shared with TheMirror.com . This dreadful abuse continued from March 1983 until February 1984, when Doucet kidnapped Jody, who was just 11 years old at the time, reports the Mirror US .
Doucet allegedly had debts and was due in court, Jody remembered, so he decided to flee - and, as Jody had been his "love interest for the past year," Doucet chose to take him along.
On 19th February 1984, Doucet's brother dropped him off at Jody's house and asked if he could borrow the family car. He claimed he didn't own a car and needed to rush off to another of Doucet's karate students' homes where his parents were building a new house and required carpet installation - his brother's line of business.
Jody's mother agreed to lend the car on the condition that Jody was returned home by the end of the day, warning them not to stay out too long.
However, Doucet had different plans. He drove Jody to his brother's house in Gonzalez, Louisiana, roughly 24 miles southeast of Baton Rouge, the state capital.
Here, he picked up some items before heading to his mother's house in Port Arthur, Texas , a city along the Louisiana border.
The following day, they travelled to Doucet's uncle's house in Vinton, Louisiana, just across the river. They borrowed money for bus tickets and reassured Doucet's worried mother that they would drop Jody off in Baton Rouge on their way to New York City - after all, Baton Rouge was on their route.
Instead, they took a bus from another town on the Texas-Louisiana border, Orange, all the way to Los Angeles , California - a gruelling journey of 2,000 miles. Once they got there, they did some sightseeing, Jody remembers, before finally booking a hotel room just outside Disneyland in Anaheim a few days later.
That's where Doucet was apprehended on Feb. 29, 1984, after Jody was allowed to make a collect call to his mother.
A member of the Baton Rouge Sheriff's Department was listening in and demanded that the operator reveal the location of the call, informing her it was a kidnapping case. She complied, and police stormed the hotel room minutes later, arresting Doucet.
Eventually, he was extradited to Louisiana after it was discovered that he had been sexually abusing Jody. Gary learned about the extradition from a local TV reporter, and he arrived at the airport, a gun hidden in his boot, prepared to do what he believed was necessary.
When the camera lights turned on and Doucet walked past, Gary - who was on the phone with his best friend on an open line on the payphone behind him - aimed and shot Doucet in the head point-blank on live TV.
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Blood spurted from the injury, and as Doucet collapsed, the officers escorting him apprehended Gary, accusing him of attempted second-degree murder before detaining him.
The following day, after slipping into a short coma, Doucet passed away, leading to an escalation of Gary's charges to outright second-degree murder. However, Gary's time behind bars was brief he spent just three nights in jail, from his arrest on Friday, March 16, until Monday when he posted bail.
His ultimate sentence was seven years of suspended hard labour, 300 hours of community service, and five years on probation.
In 1991, Jody made his talk show debut, recounting his traumatic experiences. After the broadcast, he received a call from the Baton Rouge sheriff, who informed him that his interview had encouraged another boy to report abuse by a local pastor, resulting in the pastor's arrest and molestation charges.
Jody resolved then to continue his advocacy: "That's the moment where I decided that I'm going to keep raising awareness. I'm going to keep speaking out, and hopefully, I can make a difference," he declared. This commitment led to a career in public speaking and activism, during which he has rubbed shoulders with stars like Little Richard, Peggy Sue, Shaquille O'Neal, and his favourite comedian and pal, Jim Norton.
He also had the chance to see Michael Jackson perform live twice.
Despite his past trauma, he confessed that his life has still been wonderful, something he wouldn't swap for anything else. He decided to face up to his troubled past and also began to aid others in dealing with their own traumas.
"I hope to let victims know that if you've been through something like that, with the proper support, you can be OK," he said confidently. "You can turn your life around. You're not scarred for life. You're not damaged goods. Your innocence - that may have been taken, but for the most part, you're going to be OK."
Eventually, Jody put his experiences into a book titled "Why Gary Why? : The Jody Plauche Story,". He revealed that the reader response towards his book has been encouraging.
While he admitted that the summer of 1984 left him feeling somewhat emotional and depressed, Jody did not wallow for too long. He started dating during his high school years and now, four decades on, he takes pride in his growth and how he handled the situation in hindsight.
He remembered Gary, who he fondly referred to as "the greatest dad of all time," who died in October 2014.
"I wouldn't trade my life," he spoke out. "Knowing how it turned out, I wouldn't trade it in for anything."
On the anniversary of the historic shooting, March 16, he is planning to celebrate in Austin, Texas, along with his godson and his godson's brother, who are rumoured to be attending a bachelor party wedding celebration.
Jody himself intends to enjoy an evening at Joe Rogan's Comedy Mothership, a famous comedy venue situated in the city centre. There he'll be enjoying a performance by his pal, Jim Norton.
"This isn't something I'm going to be spending sitting around moping [about] - no, I'm spending it at the [Comedy Mothership] with my favourite comedian," announced Jody.
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