A stunning Miss USA hopeful revealed Thursday that she was conceived when her mother was attacked and raped at knifepoint when she was 19 years old.
Miss Pennsylvania Valerie Gatto, 24, who will compete for the Miss USA crown on Sunday, told NBC’s “Today” show that she wants to use her mom’s rape experience to teach women to be more aware of sexual assault.
“Being a child of a rape, not knowing who my father is, not knowing if he’s ever been found, most people would think it’s such a negative situation,” she told the network.
“Being a voice is life-changing, and I just want to keep going.”
Gatto said that her mother was attacked on a busy Pittsburgh street by a man who dragged her behind a building and raped her.
“My mom managed to get away,” Gatto told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
“He was going to murder her, but there was just this bright flash of light and he got scared and didn’t want any onlookers to see her and what he was doing to her.”
At a very young age, her mother told her: “Something bad happened to me. A very bad man hurt me, but God gave me you,” she said on the “Today” show.
Gatto’s mom kept the pregnancy a secret and intended to give her baby up for adoption.
But Gatto’s great-grandmother encouraged the new mom to keep her bundle of joy. “God doesn’t give you more than you can handle,” her great-grandmother said, according to Gatto’s online bio.
Now the pageant contestant uses the traumatic experience to teach others about the reality of sexual violence.
“Unfortunately, we have to be aware of these crimes,” Gatto told “Today.”
“I hope to show others how to be proactive, what to do, to be present, to be aware of your surroundings.”
She said that she hopes that winning the Miss USA pageant can provide her with a larger platform to educate and inspire people.
“There’s not that many role models for young women out there today that are actually positive and uplifting,” she told the Tribune-Review.
“That’s why I got into pageantry.”
Gatto graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh, pursued acting opportunities, and most recently won the crown in the Miss Pennsylvania pageant.
The Miss USA competition will air live from Baton Rouge, La., at 8 p.m. Sunday on NBC.