Kriti Mehrotra
As a documentary film following photojournalist Amanda Mustard as she investigates her own grandfather’s past heinous offenses, HBO’s ‘Great Photo, Lovely Life’ truly breaks all bounds. That’s because it comprises not just archival documents as well as footage but also exclusive interviews to really underscore the allegations that William “Bill” Flickinger was a serial pedophile. Amongst those to this feature in this original to help navigate the same was one of his purported victims, Bonnie Dillard — so now, if you simply wish to learn more about her, here’s what we know.
Who is Bonnie Dillard?
It was back in the early 1980s when 4-year-old Bonnie first came across Bill as her doctor at Herd Chiropractic Clinic in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, only for him to soon evolve into her boogyman. After all, he would see her either at the center or at his office — where he ended up employing her mother to ensure she came in more often — and then molest her in the worst ways conceivable. “He got so comfortable doing what he was doing… that he would do it in front of my young siblings,” she candidly conceded in the production before actually also detailing a whole experience.
Bonnie said, “I remember the one time he tried to make it seem like it was a normal exam where I had to take my pants down or pull my dress up. I was crying. I was like, ‘Please, can I pull my pants up? Please.’ I was begging, just bawling. I was so embarrassed. So all I remember is looking over, and Matthew [my brother] had come over and started beating on his leg. ‘Leave my sister alone. Leave my sister alone.’ You know? And he [Bill] grabbed him by his throat, picked him up, put him back in the chair, and told him not to move. Nobody knew. I’m thinking, ‘My mom is in the next room… How can they not bust through that door and help me?'”
Bonnie didn’t necessarily hold a grudge against Bill’s wife, but she did wonder for a long time how even she never knew, only to now learn she probably did, yet just defended her husband in fear. Thankfully, the assaults on her stopped in 1982 after the chiropractor was allegedly caught forcing himself on the clinic’s owners’ tween daughter, resulting in his license being revoked for good too. But alas, the damage was already done — the way she’d been used had traumatized her in such a manner she moved out of the area as soon as she could and then didn’t have the courage to return to those exact spots of hurt for four decades.
Where is Bonnie Dillard Now?
From what we can tell, even though it took decades, thanks to being open about her past plus active work toward healing, Bonnie has now been able to move on to the best of her abilities. The fact she was able to make her feelings clear to Bill before he passed via a voice note also brings her a sense of closure, which is why she has since proudly announced she now goes by Grace Dillard Wilson. It obviously holds a lot of significance to her since it marks a new chapter of her life as a happily married woman; plus, part of it is the name of her non-profit organization, Tribes of Grace, which works to help survivors like her.
Read More: Where is Amanda Mustard Now?
