Is ‘Girl in the Closet’ on Lifetime Based on a True Story?

Saturday night on Lifetime is ripped from the headlines night, and this week’s attention-grabbing and eye-opening movie is Girl in the Closet. The film stars Tami Roman and Remy Ma as very different sisters with very, very different ideas about childcare. Remy Ma plays a mother whose daughter Cameron is handed over to her sister (Roman) while she recovers from an aneurysm. That’s when Cameron learns the horrible truth about her aunt: Aunt Mia has people locked up in the basement while she sits back and cashes their benefit checks.

The story is too wild to be true, but that’s the case with pretty much every story that Lifetime adapts. They’re not ripping boring stories from the headlines. But what about Girl in the Closet? How true-to-life is it, and what story is it based on? Here’s what we know about the real girl in the closet.

Is Girl in the Closet based on a true story?

In short: no, Girl in the Closet is not totally based on a true story. Kinda like 12 Desperate Hours from a few weeks ago, Girl in the Closet was seemingly inspired by the true story of a girl who the media nicknamed “the girl in the closet.”

Instead of 10-year-old Cameron who goes to live with her sadistic aunt, the real girl in the closet was 8-year-old Lauren Kavanaugh. Lauren’s mother, Barbara Atkinson, initially sought to put Lauren up for adoption; in fact, Lauren did live with her adoptive parents for eight months before Atkinson moved to regain custody. Since Lauren’s adoptive parents hadn’t signed a crucial document, Atkinson and her husband Kenneth were given full custody of Lauren.

Lauren was kept in a closet for six years where she lived in her own filth and was only removed from the closet to be abused physically and sexually by her parents. And when they weren’t abusing her, Lauren’s parents would actually loan her out to pedophiles. The police got involved when they were tipped off about the Atkinsons’ abusing their daughter. What they found was a severely malnourished and abused 8-year-old who doctors said had stopped developing around the age of two. Lauren received her nickname — the girl in the closet — upon her rescue in June 2001.

There are a few similarities between The Girl in the Closet and Lauren’s story. Both Lauren and Cameron were taken from a healthy home and handed over to an abuser. And while the Atkinsons didn’t keep prisoners in their home, they did have five other children who all endured varying levels of neglect and abuse.

Where is the girl in the closet today?

Bill and Sabrina Kavanaugh were finally able to legally adopt Lauren after her rescue. Lauren was able to graduate high school, but her escape from her parents wasn’t the end of her hardship. At the age of 12, Lauren was sexually assaulted by a relative; and in 2018 at the age of 25, Lauren was arrested for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old. Lauren was found mentally unfit to stand trial and, three years later, the case was dismissed. Lauren is currently out of jail and reportedly living in Texas with the Kavanaughs. Barbara and Kenneth Atkinson are serving life sentences in prison.

Girl in the Closet premieres on Lifetime on March 11 at 8 p.m. ET.

If you or someone you know needs to reach out about sexual abuse or assault, RAINN is available 24/7 at 800-656-HOPE (4673), or online at RAINN.org.