MassLive does not identify victims of sexual assault. Jane Doe is the name used by the subject of this story in court filings.

For years, Jane Doe has had unanswered questions about her rape.

The assaults, by a male relative starting when she was 5 years old, and the subsequent arrest and trial gave her many names: victim, witness, patient, survivor.

But the criminal justice process, driven by Assistant District Attorneys and her mother, did not make her whole. It did not let her fully know what happened, Doe, now 28 years old, said in an interview on Friday.

When Darrell Croshier Jr. was convicted of serially raping her in his Pittsfield home, all Doe heard was that he'd be in prison for a while, and then he would be out. She did not testify at the trial, which ended in a guilty plea; the adults in her life kept her in the dark, she said.

Croshier served four years in prison before his release on probation. But the consequences have lasted far longer for Doe - an adolescence and adulthood marked by the emotional and physical trauma of the assaults. The violence left her with chronic internal injuries and chronic flashbacks.

And when she grew up, she needed answers.

"He just went away to prison and I learned that he didn't go for that long. But I didn't know when he got out," Doe said. "I knew from my point of view how things felt and how things looked, but I wanted to know what really happened. What was actually said, what was actually done."

She began compiling police reports and records related to the investigation. And in 2014, the state extended the civil statute of limitations from three to 35 years for sexual assault lawsuits. The reform, which was upheld by the Supreme Judicial Court in 2015, also applied retroactively, giving Doe a chance at something she felt had been denied her - a day in court.

"It was important to me to get his name out there so other people know who he is," Doe said. "I wanted to hopefully save people. I wanted others to be aware. I wanted to inspire others to come forward."

Doe hired Springfield-based attorneys Robert DiTusa and Laura Mangini, and in August of last year filed a civil lawsuit against Croshier in Berkshire Superior Court.

The complaint describes years of rape and abuse, when Doe was between the ages of 5 and 9. He only stopped when he was caught in the act by Doe's mother.

She was diagnosed with a litany of physical and mental conditions in the years after the abuse, according to the legal complaint: post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder, bulimia and anorexia; nausea, stomachaches and other symptoms from the physical trauma of the assaults.

Croshier pleaded guilty to five counts of rape and abuse of a child without force, three counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 and a count of assault on a child with intent to rape in 1998.

He served four years in state prison and eight years of probation. Doe said he has since been downgraded from a level three to level two sex offender for being a "good citizen;" he does not appear on the state's online sex offender lookup service.

The case was heard before a judge, and due to Croshier's criminal conviction in the case the outcome was never in doubt. Croshier did not respond to the suit, and on March 9 Judge John Agostini issued a $2.5 million judgment in Doe's favor, plus interest.

Agostini ruled that the assaults had led to debilitating mental, physical and social consequences for Doe, including estrangement from her mother over her support of Croshier.

"The damage is overwhelming, systemic and [affects] every aspect of her life," Agostini wrote in his decision.

Doe still lives with the trauma of the abuse, and does not anticipate it will ever fully recede. But the outcome of the case gives her hope, she said.

"I felt like I was heard. I felt validated," Doe said. "It felt like a weight off of my shoulders to have been able to go in and say all the hard things that I said. That's a high number and I feel like the judge heard me."

It is unclear how much of the money she will be able to collect. But the case was about more than that, Doe said; she finally had the chance to testify, and to name the wrongs done to her on her own terms.

"I did want to do it because I had never had the chance to speak. It was extremely hard. There are no words to explain how hard that was and how hard this entire process has been," Doe said. "It was worth I because I did it."

DiTusa said the case was a testament to his client's bravery, and that the large judgment - and the public release of that information - is important for encouraging abuse victims to come forward. A Kaiser Permanent study in the 1990s found that nearly a quarter of women and 16 percent of men reported being sexually abused as children, and much of that abuse goes unreported.

"It's important that people know that civil suits are brought against abusers," Ditusa said. "It allows the victim to take control of the situation. It makes you feel like you've been listened to."

The lawsuit has given Doe a form of justice she did not experience as a child. It has publicly named Croshier as a rapist. And it has also given her a voice, she said.

"It'll never be over for me unfortunately, but this helps me a great deal to be able to stand up for myself and get my day in court."