My friend, in a word, "YES." I beg you to read some of the voluminous literature from psychologists and counselors on this matter. Many, if not most, victims hide their trauma, stuff it down deep inside, for fear that they will be diminished beyond their already humiliating situation. I have done some counseling. I have a family member who was abused as a child, and did not come forward till over 10 years later. This family member has actually found some personal therapy in doing informal counseling with several friends who have "come out" to reveal their own experiences of disturbing sexual violations, typically years in the past. So, the "delay" is not just typical, it is practically universal.
People need to understand that victims go through incredible fear--fear of it happening again, fear of retribution by the perpetrator, fear of scorn from those entrusted with their stories, fear of not being taken seriously, and even a fear that somehow they "brought this on themselves." That's heavy stuff. I just don't get why our society is not more sophisticated about this. We are way overdue for this "me too" movement. Red state and blue state folks are both going to have to face the music. Justice respects no political party.