The arrest this week of Lauren Kavanaugh, a survivor of childhood sex abuse, after Lewisville police accused her of sexually assaulting a teen shocked those who knew her well and couldn't imagine her as a predator.

Lauren Kavanaugh was being held on $10,000 bail. (Denton County Jail)

Police received a tip Monday that the 25-year-old Kavanaugh, whose parents tortured and starved her from ages 2 to 8, sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl.

The teen told officers she had been in a sexual relationship with Kavanaugh for two months.

Investigators said Kavanaugh admitted having sex with the teen. She remained at the Denton County Jail on Friday, with bail set at $10,000.

Police said there may be other victims and urged parents whose children may have come in contact with Kavanaugh to talk with them. On Thursday, Lewisville police Capt. Jesse Hunter said there were no developments in the case.

“We hope it was an isolated incident,” he said.

Kavanaugh made headlines in June 2001 after her rescue from a filthy closet at her family's mobile home in Hutchins. Dubbed the "Girl in the Closet," the 8-year-old weighed just 25 pounds.

Her mother and stepfather, Barbara and Kenneth Atkinson, starved Kavanaugh and subjected her to repeated sexual abuse. They are both serving life sentences in prison for felony injury to a child and will be eligible for parole in 2031.

Kim Higgins, the Child Protective Services agent who was assigned to Kavanaugh's case early on, said she stays in regular contact with her and was shocked by news of her arrest.

"I was shocked because she self-harms, but she's never hurt anyone else," Higgins said. "She's not predatory. She's not attracted to young children."

Under Texas law, a child is anyone under 17, and children can't consent to sex.

Higgins said Kavanaugh is "mentally about 15 years old." She said she did not know Kavanaugh was in a relationship, but it didn't surprise her that Kavanaugh finds common ground with teenagers.

She said Kavanaugh struggles with flashbacks and severe post-traumatic stress disorder.

Patricia Kaminski, a professor of psychology at the University of North Texas, said it's rare for a person who was sexually abused as a child to repeat that cycle of abuse, becoming a perpetrator. It's more common for women who were sexually abused as children to be sexually abused again as adults, she said.

"Girls that are abused will go on to be revictimized," Kaminski said. "It is more rare to see the female be the sexual perpetrator."

A year after her rescue, Lauren Kavanaugh celebrated her ninth birthday with (from left) therapist Sondra Mahoney, court-appointed advocate Leslie Baker and CPS caseworker Kim Higgins. (Courtesy)

The vast majority of people who are sexually abused as children don't go on to abuse others. But one in three perpetrators of sexual abuse are victims of abuse themselves, according to the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers.

With physical abuse, Kaminski said, it's more common to see children of abusive parents go on to abuse their own children.

"In general, all of us tend to do what our parents did," she said, "unless we make a conscious effort otherwise."

Kavanaugh has refused contact with her parents.

"I would put them where I was," she said in an appearance on Dr. Phil. "I want them to suffer."

1 / 2Lauren Kavanaugh's mother, Barbara Atkinson, is serving a life sentence in Gatesville.(Texas Department of Criminal Justice) 2 / 2Kenneth Atkinson is serving a life sentence for abusing Lauren Kavanaugh as a child.(Texas Department of Criminal Justice)

Leslie Baker, a former court-appointed advocate for Kavanaugh, said the abuse Kavanaugh suffered resulted in serious educational delays and brain damage, slowing her development.

"In my heart of hearts, I think this was a consensual situation and she just doesn't understand what happened," Baker said.

Under Texas law, anyone under 17 is legally a child, and children can't consent to sex.

Kelly Slaven, the chief clinical officer at the Dallas Children's Advocacy Center, said Kavanaugh's stunted development may mean she doesn't act her chronological age. Rather, she'll feel more like her developmental age.

"This victim, the young girl, she still experiences that as being with an adult," Slaven said. "And Lauren may be having an experience of being a peer, and that gets so confused."

Children of abusive parents who break the abuse cycle often have had access to therapy and a strong support network, Slaven said. She said the advocacy center often works with child sexual assault victims whose mothers also experienced sexual abuse.

Barbara Atkinson, Kavanaugh's biological mother, has said she was sexually abused before being adopted at age 3. Her birth mother, who has schizophrenia, often left her with strangers.

Higgins said no amount of treatment can undo the trauma inflicted on Kavanaugh.

"Trauma does horrible things to people. We don't all function at our chronological age, and she's doing the best she can with the horrible hand she was given," Higgins said. "But she's not a predator."