Their brothers and father sexually abused them most of their lives; their mother let it happen; and neighbors and police rescued them in 2005. Twins Kellie, left, and Kathie Henderson say it will take a lifetime to recover.
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Travis Heying / The Wichita Eagle
When they went for a walk behind the Vasey house in Wichita in November, the sisters instinctively reached out to hold hands.
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Travis Heying / The Wichita Eagle
Kellie Henderson, left, visits with her twin sister, Kathie, in November in Wichita. The twins have a loving but edgy relationship, and conversations veer often between laughter and words that cut.
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Travis Heying / The Wichita Eagle
Kellie Henderson, left, took a break from college classes in Great Bend in November and visited the home of Shelly and Jim Vasey, where her sister Kathie, right, now lives.
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Travis Heying / The Wichita Eagle
As the trauma of their early lives becomes more distant in memory the Henderson twins have begun to enjoy life more, including when they meet to visit with their mentor and friend Shelly Vasey.
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Travis Heying / The Wichita Eagle
In the five years since she sent police to their door, Shelly Vasey, right, has stayed in touch with the girls, offering them everything from food to movies to conversation to a place to stay.
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Travis Heying / The Wichita Eagle
Kellie, left, shares a clever story with twin sister Kathie in November.
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Travis Heying / The Wichita Eagle
Notice the practiced technique as they clown for the camera in the Vasey backyard, Kathie Henderson says. Kathie, right, was a high school cheerleader; her twin Kellie was a cheerleader and dancer.
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Travis Heying / The Wichita Eagle
Kellie and Kathie Henderson sharing an intimate conversation with mentor and friend Shelly Vasey.
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Travis Heying / The Wichita Eagle
Kellie Henderson, left, and her sister Kathie, middle, chatting in November on the same couch in Shelly's home where in 2005 the the girls told her they were being sexually abused in their own home.
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Travis Heying / The Wichita Eagle
Kellie Henderson, left, and her sister Kathie, right, in the Vasey kitchen in southeast Wichita, Nov. 5.
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Travis Heying / The Wichita Eagle
Looking at year-old prom photos inspires a laugh at the Vasey house. Kellie Henderson, left, and her sister Kathie stay in nearly daily contact these days with Shelly Vasey, sharing texts and photos posted on Facebook.
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Travis Heying / The Wichita Eagle
Kathie Henderson, right, visits with Shelly Vasey at the Vasey home in southeast Wichita. Shelly made the 911 call that freed the Henderson sisters from sexual abuse in 2005.
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Travis Heying / The Wichita Eagle
Excerpt from Kellie Henderson's writings
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/ Submitted
Kellie Henderson looks up photographs from her senior prom. (Nov. 5, 2010)
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Travis Heying / The Wichita Eagle
Kathie, left, and Kellie Henderson at their senior prom, 2009.
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Travis Heying / The Wichita Eagle
Since she moved in with Jim and Shelly Vasey in Wichita in November, Kathie Henderson has spent time resting and thinking about what to do with her future; she might go back to school to study nursing or physical therapy.
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Travis Heying / The Wichita Eagle
Kathie Henderson, Nov. 5, at the Vasey house shortly after she moved in with the couple who helped rescue her five years ago.
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Travis Heying / The Wichita Eagle
Kellie Henderson, at her senior class prom, May 2009.
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/ Courtesy Photo
Kellie, left, and twin Kathie Henderson, in November at the Vasey house in Wichita. The twins fight frequently, but remain close.
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/ Courtesy Photo
The Henderson twins, Kellie, left, and Kathie, just after their high school graduation ceremony in May 2009. Years of abuse and protecting a family secret had stunted their lives, meaning there have been few high points in life so far. This was one of them, Kathie says.
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/ Courtesy Photo
Kellie, left, and Kathie Henderson, at their high school graduation party in May 2009. They got gifts from friends and their foster family.
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/ Courtesy Photo
Kellie Henderson, right, with Shelly Vasey, the woman who made her rescue possible, at the twins' graduation from Thunder Ridge High School in Kensington, Kan., in May 2009. The Vaseys made the five-hour drive that day, and have stayed in the girls' lives since police freed them from sexual abuse in 2005.
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/ Courtesy Photo
Kathie, left, and Kellie Henderson, senior prom 2009, at Thunder Ridge High School, Kensington, Kan., four years after their rescue. "The night of our lives," Kathie said later; dancing and a last party with high school friends.
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/ Courtesy Photo
Kathie, left, and Kellie Henderson, family photo taken about two years before their rescue, while they were still living with the rest of their family in Wichita.
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/ Courtesy Photo
Kathie Henderson, senior class photo for Thunder Ridge High School, Kensington, Kan., 2009.
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/ Courtesy Photo
Kathie, left, and Kellie Henderson, at a going-away party in Wichita in 2005 shortly after they were rescued. They were in foster care and would soon live with a family in northwestern Kansas.
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/ Courtesy Photo
Kathie Henderson in 2009, four years after her rescue, in her senior class photo at Thunder Ridge High School, Kensington, Kan.
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/ Courtesy Photo
Andrew Henderson, left, with Shelly Vasey, who five years ago made the 911 call that got Henderson arrested, convicted and sent to prison. He has told her that stopping him from raping and molesting his own sisters was the best thing anyone has ever done for him, and he remains grateful to her for reaching out to him, offering friendship and a chance to atone for his wrongs.
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/ Courtesy Photo
Though Andrew Henderson, right, used to jokingly refer to Jim Vasey as "Pastor Jim" because of Vasey's active Christian faith, the convicted rapist remains grateful to Vasey for reaching out to him in prison.
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/ Courtesy Photo
Jim Vasey, left, baptizes convicted rapist Andrew Henderson in March, five years after Vasey and his wife turned Henderson in to Wichita police for molesting and raping Henderson's own sisters.
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/ Courtesy Photo
After the baptism, inmate Andrew Henderson, left, embraced Jim Vasey in a hug that lasted at least a minute. "It was as though it released a big burden for him," Vasey said later.
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/ Courtesy Photo
Jim Vasey, left, fulfilled a request from inmate Andrew Henderson this past March by baptizing him into the Christian faith inside the Hutchinson, Kan., Correctional Facility.
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/ Courtesy Photo
Kellie, left, and Kathie Henderson. (Nov. 5, 2010)
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Travis Heying / The Wichita Eagle
Kellie, left, and Kathie Henderson. (Nov. 5, 2010)
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Travis Heying / The Wichita Eagle
Kellie, left, and Kathie Henderson walk though a field together in southeast Wichita. (Nov. 5, 2010)
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Travis Heying / The Wichita Eagle
Kellie, left, and Kathie Henderson walk though a field together in southeast Wichita. (Nov. 5, 2010)
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Travis Heying / The Wichita Eagle
Excerpt from Kellie Henderson's writings
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/ Submitted
Kellie, left, and Kathie Henderson walk though a field together in southeast Wichita. (Nov. 5, 2010)
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Travis Heying / The Wichita Eagle
Kellie, right, and Kathie Henderson walk though a field together in southeast Wichita. (Nov. 5, 2010)
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Travis Heying / The Wichita Eagle
Excerpt from Kellie Henderson's writings
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/ Submitted
Jim Vasey, left, has been like a father to her all her life, Kathie Henderson says. He helped her rescue from sexual abuse five years ago and in early November, he and his wife took her into their home to help her rebuild her life.
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Travis Heying / The Wichita Eagle
Kellie Henderson, left, visits with her twin sister, Kathie. (Nov. 5, 2010)
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Travis Heying / The Wichita Eagle
Excerpt from Kellie Henderson's writings
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/ Submitted
Five years after they helped rescue her and her sisters, Kathie Henderson in November reconnects with Exploited and Missing Child Unit detectives Bill Riddle, center, and Chris Zandler. She wanted to thank them for helping her.
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Jaime Green / The Wichita Eagle
Kellie Henderson, Nov. 5, at the Vasey house to visit her sister. Kellie is a sophomore at Barton Community College in Great Bend and is considering social work or psychology as majors; she says she wants to help other victims of abuse.
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Travis Heying / The Wichita Eagle
Scott Wiswell made a key and quick decision that led to the rescue of the Henderson sisters in March 2005. Wiswell is a sex crimes detective for the Wichita Police Department.
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/ The Wichita Eagle
Shelly Vasey, left, has stayed involved in the lives of the Henderson family for five years, since she made the call to police that rescued the sisters and sent the men in the family to prison for sexual abuse.
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Travis Heying / The Wichita Eagle
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