Author Julie Cruz describes childhood and higher-education abuse in new memoir; says she did not file formal complaints

Julie Cruz, author of The Burn List, told Bronxet's Open that her memoir traces violent abuse from childhood through higher education and that the book documents communications she says show grooming, threats and manipulation.

Cruz described a traumatic event when she was three and named a person she identified as Mike Barrett, saying he has a criminal record in the local police files. She said the experience led to foster care, her mother's hospitalization, and years of instability.

On the subject of higher education, Cruz said a professor in graduate school used what she described as sexual, physical and psychological coercion, and that the professor later advanced to a tenured role at a "prestigious university." Cruz said she uses pseudonyms in the memoir and fears continued surveillance and retaliation. "I still fear him to this day," she said on air.

Cruz said she did not go to police or file Title IX complaints because formal processes would require disclosure of her identity and whereabouts, which she said would create safety risks. She urged survivors to review resources she has compiled and described her book as offering "secret strategies" for documenting and contesting institutional abuse.

The memoir and an accompanying website (academicabuse.com) and podcast (The Academic Verdict) are presented as survivor resources; Cruz said her book reproduces unaltered communications to show the dynamics of grooming and coercion. She also said some survivors have contacted her following the book's release.

The claims Cruz makes about individuals and institutions are allegations as presented on the program; she said she did not file police reports and uses pseudonyms in parts of her account for legal and safety reasons. The program did not include on-air responses from any person or institution she described.