Logan Gifford: A Voice of Unshakable Courage in the Face of Unimaginable Trauma
Logan Gifford is, without question, one of the bravest men I’ve come across in a very long time. His decision to come forward and share a story so harrowing — so deeply personal — is not only an act of immense courage, but a necessary one.
In choosing to speak out, Logan offers something invaluable: hope. His words carry the power to educate, to open eyes, and perhaps most importantly, to empower others living in silence to find their voice.
Breaking Free from the Darkness
Now 26, Logan has endured a lifetime’s worth of trauma. Pain, betrayal, and abuse have marked his journey — the kind of experiences that would break most. And yet, rather than burying his past, Logan has chosen to confront it.
He could have stayed quiet. He could have let fear win.
But Logan refuses to be silenced.
A Childhood Stolen
In one of the most heartbreaking parts of Logan’s story, he revealed that the person who should have protected him — his own mother, Doreene Gifford — was instead the one inflicting the deepest wounds.
According to Logan, the abuse began when he was just 10 years old and continued until he was 16. What he endured during those years is beyond comprehension — a cruel betrayal by the one person he should have been able to trust most.
His nightmare finally came to an end when he made the brave decision to alert authorities, exposing the truth about the woman who had caused him so much harm. In 2015, Logan testified in court against his mother. As a result of his courage, Doreene was sentenced to 8 to 20 years in prison.
Doreene has consistently claimed her innocence, but Logan has remained firm in his truth, sharing heartbreaking details about his childhood.
Younger brother passed away
For example, he says said that his mom brought him into a bedroom she shared with his father, in which a pornographic video was playing, when she sexually assaulted him. He also opened up about his troubled upbringing, revealing that child protective services were frequently involved in his life. Tragically, his younger brother, Liam, passed away at the age of 3 after drowning in a pool.
A Shocking New Twist
In the wake of these unimaginable events, Logan was forced into the role of caregiver for his younger siblings, a responsibility thrust upon him due to his mother’s heinous actions. But as if his life weren’t already marked by tragedy, a new, devastating revelation has emerged — one that has shaken him to his core.
Logan now believes that his 15-year-old brother might, in fact, be his biological son.
He suspects that the boy was conceived during another instance of abuse in late 2008. The young teen, whose identity Logan has chosen to protect, faces significant cognitive challenges. Tragically, children born from incest face an elevated risk of genetic disorders and disabilities, compounding the heartbreaking nature of this discovery.
“Look at the Mess I’m Left With”
In a raw, emotional interview with the Las Vegas Review Journal, Logan Gifford expressed the overwhelming burden he now carries: “Look at the mess that I’m left with. I didn’t ask for any of this.”
The weight of the past is something Logan can’t escape. And now, in an effort to seek the truth and protect his younger brother, he is asking a judge to order a paternity test.
His attorney, Timothy Treffinger, confirmed that Gifford’s mother has vehemently denied the claim that Logan is the father. However, she has expressed a willingness to undergo the paternity test, despite the deep pain and complexity of the situation.
A Duty to Uncover the Truth
For Logan, this isn’t just a matter of seeking answers for himself. He feels it is his solemn duty to find out the truth about his younger brother’s biological father. As he put it, “I feel that as though it is my obligation or my duty to [him] to do this and find out who his biological father really is.”
This difficult decision was not one Logan made lightly. It was first suggested by his therapist, who raised the possibility that Logan might be the father. The revelation hit Logan hard. “I was 17 at the time. That threw me for a loop,” he recalled, still grappling with the gravity of what it might mean for both him and his brother.
A Complicated Path Forward
Logan’s younger brother, who receives a disability check, now lives with Logan after he was granted temporary guardianship. The teenager had been living with Logan’s father, Theodore, until January of this year, when he moved in with Logan.
The legal battle, however, is far from simple. If it’s determined that Logan is the biological father, the case will shift from guardianship to a custody issue. But if the paternity test proves otherwise, it will remain a guardianship case. The process of determining paternity is further complicated by the fact that both brothers share Theodore’s DNA, making it difficult to reach a definitive result.
A Survivor’s Struggle with Unthinkable Truths
For Logan, the emotional weight of this situation is unbearable at times. As a survivor of sexual assault, he has had to confront the painful possibility that his brother might be the product of that trauma. “To sit here and say that my brother may be the product of my sexual assault is a very visceral thing to think about as a male survivor,” he admitted, the deep conflict evident in his words. “But he’s here now. There’s no going back and undoing anything. And he deserves to have a quality of life where he’s comfortable, where he can be a kid.”
Despite the unimaginable complexity of it all, Logan is determined to ensure his brother’s well-being — no matter the outcome of the paternity test.
A Mother’s Continued Struggles
As for their mother, Doreene Gifford, her story has not yet ended. After being released on parole last July, she was arrested again in January for violating parole by having contact with a victim. She is currently facing a parole violation hearing in April and remains incarcerated at the Florence McClure Women’s Correctional Center, awaiting the next chapter of her legal battles.
