"I was a witness before I was ever a victim."

That's what Crystal Bailey, 25, of Sharon, said when she recalled her traumatic experience with a man who severely burned her six months ago.

On Sept. 30, Ms. Bailey was in the home of a friend in Sharon when Charles Norris, 30, formerly of Farrell, walked into the house and started a fight with Ms. Bailey. During the fight, Norris -- who was recently sentenced to serve 12 to 29 years in a state prison for the attack -- picked up a pan of hot cooking grease and threw it on Ms. Bailey, causing severe burns to her side, arm and part of her back.

Ms. Bailey said in looking back on the situation she feels the justice system let her down. "They never protected me," she said. "I don't trust our justice system."

Her story began about two years ago when she was driving through the snow one night and saw Norris, whom she did not know, walking. Ms. Bailey said he asked her for a ride and she felt sorry for him so she gave him a ride to a halfway house. "I was just trying to be nice because it was snowing," she said.

Days after she gave him a ride, Norris showed up on her porch and asked for a cigarette, Ms. Bailey said. She told him she didn't smoke because she had a baby, and the two began talking.

Ms. Bailey said she only wanted friendship, but Norris wanted more. She said he started showing up at her house and she would tell him to leave. One time she came home to find her baby-sitter gone and Norris sitting in her living room, she said.

She said there was another time when he walked into her house, took money that was sitting out and left.

Ms. Bailey said people told her that Norris was "crazy" but never said that he had a criminal history and a penchant for attacking women.

Norris began going after her friends, and she was a witness in several cases where Norris attacked women she knows.

Eventually, Ms. Bailey said she filed for a protection from abuse order against Norris, but it didn't protect her from anything.

Ms. Bailey said there were times she called the police and they didn't respond or said things like, "Good old Chuck Norris strikes again."

Sharon Police Capt. Michael Menster said he can't respond to Ms. Bailey's claims without specific examples.

"I feel in all the cases -- we've arrested him how many times -- we charged him, and we got him convicted on two out of the three cases," Menster said. "In the assault incident (involving the grease) we arrested him, prepared the case, it was prosecuted and he was convicted."

"I find it extremely hard to believe that someone would call the Sharon police and they would not respond," District Attorney James P. Epstein said.

Every time Norris got arrested he was eventually released to await hearings on the charges, which gave him time to terrorize witnesses against him before hearings, Ms. Bailey said.

"I just feel so violated by our so-called justice system that I don't even know which way to go," she said. "Just because you call the police and they come and arrest someone, that doesn't mean you get justice.

"I felt many times like I shouldn't go to court. I was discouraged, but I realized he would get off if I didn't testify."

"It's extremely hard not to be sympathetic to someone like Ms. Bailey who suffered the kinds of injuries she suffered," Epstein said. "It took an awful lot of courage for her to come into the courtroom and face him (Norris) down."

Ms. Bailey said she also has concerns with the Mercer County Victim Witness program.

After she was burned, Ms. Bailey said her insurance didn't cover all of the topical medication and bandages she needed and she wasn't well enough to get supplies for herself.

She said her caseworker with Victim Witness, Beverly Proper, helped her get the medication she needed and supported her throughout the ordeal.

Just before Norris' trial, Ms. Proper's employment with the program ended. Epstein said she was hired as a temporary replacement for an employee who was out on medical leave.

The purpose of Victim Witness is to help victims through the court system, but the employees are not supposed to counsel or take over things like medical care or transportation.

Epstein said Ms. Proper was "extremely dedicated and she truly went to the level and went beyond the level and had good intentions. What she did was good, and the feedback we got on her was uniformly good from the clients she dealt with."

Epstein said he's not surprised that Ms. Bailey noticed a contrast after Ms. Proper left. "It's perfectly understandable," he said. "I'm sorry that she felt the Victim Witness assistance wasn't as good after (Ms. Proper) left."

Ms. Bailey said she believes if Norris hadn't been incarcerated, his crimes would have continued and continually gotten worse.

"I'm just trying to get all of this out so I can find forgiveness in my heart," Ms. Bailey said. "If it took me getting burned to save someone's life, then I'm glad it was me. I just want the police, judges and everyone to know I feel let down."

She said Norris' sentencing did give her some sense of closure.

"Him being locked up doesn't take my burns away. It makes sleep easier. I can let my daughter out to play," she said.

Ms. Bailey said she wants Norris to get help while he's serving his prison sentence. "If he gets out anytime soon, someone's gonna die," she said.

The attack that led to her burns left other victims as well. She said her small children are victims because they had to witness the attack, and the incident happened in her friend's home. "Nobody even cares about her," she said.

Ms. Bailey said she still has to have skin grafts to help heal her burns, but she's hoping this is a new beginning for her life.