As a former prosecutor, how do you think the government and law enforcement could have better handled this catastrophe? Before being chosen to work in the Robbery-Homicide division in 1996, he spent over nine years as a homicide investigator at the South Bureau and Wilshire Division. That suggestion was ultimately rejected in Olympia as "discriminatory.". A conspiracy such as that alleged in Wenatchee has never been substantiated in this country, according to federal authorities. You voted, we tallied, here are the results. In early August 1994, Perez paid another visit to Cherie Town, who was in the Chelan County Jail awaiting sentencing. Directions Physical Address: View Map 250 N Ventura Road Port Hueneme, CA 93041. Police Officer Sean A. McDonald 3/15/1994. Perez was in charge of interviewing the more than 40. She was wearing a white dress. A few days later, Child Protective Services concluded that the allegations of sexual abuse were "unsubstantiated," adding that police investigators had found "nothing prosecutable." Terry Pippin, present when Perez questioned Green, recalled in court that "she cried occasionally, real softly." But until 1952, when Alcoa built a huge aluminum-manufacturing plant here, there wasn't much middle. The Wenatchee cases were anything but [fake news];they destroyed lives, destroyed children and parents, and left many of the children with lifelong angst.Q. They awarded $3 million to a couple who had been wrongly accused in the inquiry,[5] but the state supreme court later upheld an appeals court ruling reducing this award to the Sims. National statistics suggest a fairly even incidence of child sexual abuse across social and economic classes. And then there were the statements of the Holt children. . Legal Statement. Physically assaultive behavior in the role of foster parent by Detective Robert Perez. A former East Wenatchee cop, Kinkade does not shy from a brawl. Elegant new homes, perched on the brown ridges above town, attest to the community's expanding wealth. But by the. All rights reserved. Perez asked for details. She described gatherings on weekends (and those evenings when the children had no homework) where the group would eat pizza, watch "Star Trek" movies and indulge in a frenzy of perversion. More than 40 adults have been charged, and 28 are in prison, as a result of an investigation led by Wenatchee Police detective Robert Perez, who has been criticized for his methods, including a . Defense attorneys questioned the foundation of the charges, citing physician diagnoses that revealed "the alleged victims suffered from various forms of psychological problems including attention-deficit disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, psychotic disorders and other impairments.". Some things she said made Perez suspect there was a conspiracy, that kids were being passed among neighbors. The Wenatchee child abuse prosecutions in Wenatchee, Washington, US, of 1994 and 1995, were the last "large scale Multi-Victim / Multi-Offender case"[1] during the hysteria over child molestation in the 1980s and early 1990s. WENATCHEE - There is right, and there is wrong. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. On the application form, he and his wife, Maxine, said they would happily share their home with up to six school-age children, preferably girls ages 6 to 12. She arrived shortly after noon, 34, single, with five children. Ralph Gausvik brought suit against Detective Robert Perez, alleging Perez violated his civil rights during a sex abuse investigation. Market data provided by Factset. [6] Sixteen adults entered Alford pleas; most of these were poor or "functionally retarded". The driving force behind the investigations was a police detective, Robert Perez, who never taped a single interview, routinely destroyed any notes he made and relied primarily on the testimony of . (One soon ran away from Perez and recanted.) The state ferry system still faces crew shortages and a diminishing, aging fleet of green-and-white workhorses. They don't want to believe it. Sergeant Robert "Rob" Barrere is from Metairie, Louisiana just a few miles outside of Orleans Parish. Police Officer Jose A. Perez 4/27/1994. A child may misattribute a specific abusive act . The youngster's teacher said he told her the same story, according to the police report. Det. They were families, police say, in which adults treated children as commodities, "trading them like party favors" - not for financial gain, but for sexual gratification and illusions of power and control. Their marriage on the rocks, Cherie and her husband were rarely intimate - although, on occasion they would have sex together with the boys. Bob Perez, driving force in discredited sex abuse cases, dies Jefferson Robbins Dec 18, 2013 Sections Local News Northwest News Sports Arts & Entertainment Education Housing Crisis Webcams Buy Now Former Wenatchee police detective Bob Perez in 1998. Wenatchee is generally regarded as a pleasant town with a solid, upright middle class. Auxiliary Police Officer Milton S. Clarke Victim Rikki Olds, 25, was a "strong, independent" young woman who worked at the grocery store, her uncle, Robert Olds, told ABC News. Perez said it was too late, that he was under arrest for suspicion of child rape. Walter Stathers. Glassen was arrested for witness tampering, police suspecting he had pressured the girl to change her statement on behalf of Devereaux. 336 Roberson v. Perez Aug. 2004 123 Wn. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. . Laura can be contacted at laura.carrione@fox.com for any ideas or story tips. Then a tip came from the Holts' former landlady. Several are illiterate. But the cases against Town and Green and 15 others were overturned on appeal after evidence emerged that suspects, children and other defendants were coercively questioned by Wenatchee Police Detective Bob Perez, and bullied into signing statements the detective typed for them. [7], Those once accused filed lawsuits against the authorities who once prosecuted them. . In 1994 a child sexual abuse investigation was launched in the rural western Washington apple-growing city of Wenatchee.By the time it was over, forty-three adults were charged with twenty-nine thousand counts of rape and molestation of sixty children. What would you ask Abbey, if given the opportunity to interview him? It is responsible for providing police service to an area encompassing 468 square miles and 21 community areas, representing approximately over 4 million residents as of 2022. [68] The city of Wenatchee paid the Robersons a settlement of $700,000. There is medical evidence to support some charges of sexual molestation. Perez even let Jen go on Dead to Me after Jen confessed to murder. [38][39], Concerned Citizens for Legal Accountability, formed to ask for an outside investigation,[40] filed a complaint with the state Commission on Judicial Conduct criticizing judges T.W. Then a 15-year-old girl, in juvenile detention for allegedly trying to poison Devereaux and a foster sister, accused him of rape. They began a separate investigation into alleged abuse at the church run by Pastor Roberson, a 50-year-old former mechanic who found Jesus 12 years ago, and his wife. He claims that Perez is on a power trip, leading child witnesses into making false accusations and berating adults into confessions. See Roberson v. Perez, 119 Wn. Would you consider that training to be appropriately extensive? During Plaintiff's discussion with Defendant Detective Perez on June 3, 1994, Plaintiff made a detailed statement wherein he admitted to sexually abusing his daughter Jessica in Moses Lake and in Wenatchee, as well as sexually abusing his three other daughters, Sarah, Jennifer, and Carrie in Wenatchee and elsewhere. The Unraveling Of A Monstrous Secret -- Sex-Abuse Scandal Has Wenatchee Reeling Jun 8, 1995 Marla Williams, Dee Norton IT BEGAN AS a case involving one man raping his two young boys. Ifat trial, a prosecutoris never requiredtoascertain or to prove a motive. [79] Sadie Hughes (a.k.a. The family lived from welfare check to welfare check. that the police officer was `out to get her dad.' But there was one problem: none of it actually happened. Green began by saying she had "only caught Becky Holt having sex with (the youngest boy) once." A.I generally consider "fake news" to be sensationalized accounts generated by the media. Of course, poverty is not synonymous with crime and perversion. Criticism of the probe centered on Wenatchee police detective Robert Perez, who some say became obsessed with ridding the area of pedophiles and used testimony from his two foster daughters, ages . Sheriff Allan Joseph Weber; Grafton County Sheriff's Department, New Hampshire. So when he started bragging, she picked up the phone and called the Rape Crisis Center. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. The division between the two Wenatchees is deep. He was also told that his 15-year-old accuser had recanted during a conversation with her caseworker, Paul Glassen. A multitude of police reports written by Wenatchee detective Robert Perez described dozens of adults lining up to take turns molesting children. 09/22/2004. She listed 22 locations. she said during an interview at the Washington Correctional Facility for Women near Purdy, where she is to spend the next 40 years. Her husband, Manuel Hidalgo, was also charged. . Sheriff Robert C. Ynclan; Gordon County Sheriff's Office, Georgia. Late one afternoon that September, Luci Perez sat down with her foster daughter. On March 13, 1995, Perez put Donna in his police car with two social services caseworkers and they drove through Wenatchee and East Wenatchee. 2d 33 | Casetext Search + Citator", "Wenatchee Witchhunt on Dateline, November 1995", "Part I, b - Detective a man who charmed, harmed", "Robert Perez Police Department Evaluation", "Ex-Wenatchee sex crime detective Bob Perez dies", "Bob Perez, driving force in discredited sex abuse cases, dies | Local News", "Author Fights Sex-Ring Case Subpoena | the Spokesman-Review", "Writer Need Not Reveal Sources in Wenatchee Sex-Ring Cases | the Spokesman-Review", "Child sex ring book gets mixed reviews | Northwest", "One Brave Soul's Crusade for Truth About Wenatchee | the Seattle Times", "Wenatchee Witch Hunt and the Doggett Family", "Wenatchee Couple's Rape Conviction is Overturned | the Seattle Times", "State v. Carol M.D, 89 Wn. The appellants allege that Detective Robert Perez conducted the interviews using tactics such as threatening the interviewees with prison terms, criminal charges, and permanent family separation. Others argue children do not lie about something as physically and emotionally painful as sexual abuse. But prosecutors and Perez's police superiors deny any. VOCAL, as the group is more commonly known, is a national organization established to "protect the falsely accused.". The interviews took place at the children's schools or foster homes. . A second trial on those. As it is elsewhere, the haves and have-nots don't often mingle. Elizabeth Loftus, a University of Washington professor and nationally noted authority on memory, argues strongly that children, and even some adults, are "highly suggestible" and therefore unreliable. His dreams came true and he became a K9 officer. Donna pointed out houses and buildings where she says she and other children were repeatedly raped and molested since January 1988. Still, the foundation of the increasingly complicated and bizarre case was the children's testimony. Perez claimed in the lawsuit that he was retaliated against by City Manager Rob Mayes and former police chiefs James Runnels and Kyle Westall after he provided a deposition in a former sergeants'. Children, not knowing whether their memories are real, grow up unsure and unhappy - damaged no matter what happened. The 12-year-old backed up the charge. at the very least, I wanted an extradition process between them and Perez.". I doubt anyone is really investigating me, but I do believe they are trying to discredit my work. Others compared the investigation to the Spanish Inquisition. As the matter dragged on, Devereaux became frantic, according to one caseworker's notes, in part because his only income was the state payments he received for care of his foster daughters. I want to make sure it doesn't happen again, and I believe the state could convict me at trial." [11][27] Four months later they were each released on a reduced $12,500 bail to await trial. A subculture of down-at-the-heels subsistence workers and unemployable welfare dependents remains. Gomez, 267 F.3d 895, 907 (9th Cir.2001) (internal quotations omitted). Selid Holt, 35, was already in the Washington State Penitentiary at Walla Walla for raping his daughter - turned in by his wife a year earlier. Bundling the girl up, Perez and two Child Protective Services caseworkers drove the child, now 10, around town so she could point out where these orgies were supposed to have taken place. Perez, looks a lot like Annette Funicello and exudes wholesome determination. They had moved from Oklahoma to Wenatchee in 1985, settling into a squat, rust-colored rental house with a narrow porch overlooking a tidy patch of grass, four lanes of traffic and a sprawling junk store with a 10-foot bull's-eye painted on an outside wall and the boast "2,000 GUNS.". They talked for a while, and then, Glassen said, the girl "blurted out that she had told a whole bunch of lies about having sex" with Devereaux. Supported by interviews with other children, it appeared a hellish pact had been made among neighbors. Miller's confession was corroborated by her ex-husband, Larry Steinborn. After seeking refuge for her children in a "safe house," Miller saw to it that Steinborn went to jail. Pride takes many forms, including a thirst for power and an unabashed arrogance.Q. My god, I could never do those things. At 37, unemployed, with a felony record, Meredith Town didn't have a lot - just enough to fill a trailer. Her confession, together with statements by Perez' foster daughter and a 13-year-old friend, bound together the various abuse cases. Advertisement. Before he arrested Meredith Town, he wanted corroborating statements from the boys, then ages 14 and 12. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. All rights reserved. But it wasn't until the couple divorced and Maxine left the house that allegations surfaced. [44] Some higher courts agreed, so those who were convicted were freed and had their convictions overturned or pleaded guilty on lesser charges. He was accused of sexual abuse of his teen-age stepdaughter in 1993 and 1994. 928, 83 P.3d 1026 (2004). Robert Perez also known as JR. [15] In 1995, after Pastor Robert Roberson criticized the investigation, he was arrested and charged with eleven counts of the sexual abuse of a child. Dwaine Hooten . ". The case was sparked by a claim made by a foster child in the home of Wenatchee police Detective Robert Perez, who said she and other children were sexually abused at the church. Overnight lane reductions are scheduled Monday through Thursday, with more disruptions ahead this month. Believe me, I know, its hard in the trenches and Perez hasnt made it any easier. There was, it seemed, horrific new allegations being made every day. Again, prosecutors never brought charges, but Glassen was fired from his job for failure to report child abuse and neglect. Eventually, both Cherie and Meredith Town bowed to punishment. Laura Carrione is an Editor with Fox News Digital, spearheading editorial coverage for Fox Nation features and premieres. Traffic was backed up for 5 miles Thursday morning. Detective Wayne H. Fortier; Grand Prairie Police Department, Texas. Wenatchee Police Detective Robert Perez tenaciously pursued his investigation into stories of sexual predators who victimized children - sometimes their own children. Local authorities alleged that dozens of children were raped in the bedrooms of their parents, in the homes of their neighbors, and at ritualized orgies on the altar of a church. The younger boy, located at school, gave a similar account. Two key victims were in Perezs foster care at the time. Initially placed together, state caseworkers separated the children to prevent them from "sexually acting out amongst themselves.". A.I do not consider a 40-hour training course on child abuse "extensive" at all. . Perez served over 200 days in Ventura County Jail after holding his girlfriend hostage at his Oxnard home in July of 2007. After he informed her of her rights, she confessed to ongoing sexual contacts with all three children individually and in. A 35-year-old mother of four, Linda Miller, was picked up by police in March on suspicion of child abuse as she tried to cross into Canada. ", "FMSF Newsletter - November/December, 1995 - Vol. Such events were by this point no longer new in this small city where, it was reported, Wenatchee's Child Protective Services workers and police Detective Robert Perez had jointly succeeded in . ", Perez went back to the kids, accompanied by a Child Protective Services investigator. Rose, then 26, maintained his innocence. Some lost parental rights. Along with drinking, sex was the family's primary diversion. Heres whats happening at the mid-point of the 2023 session of the Washington Legislature. Individually and as a group, the accused were isolated from society's mainstream. Some children were abused in Wenatchee, that much is certain. The court also vacated orders dismissing Detective Robert Perez and Wenatchee Police Chief Kenneth Badgley, on the ground substantial justice required it. "I couldn't very well say no. The Wenatchee disaster has created great distrust for law enforcement in general. In 1994, Perez (who had undergone a few hours of specialized training in child abuse investigations) took his foster daughters on a ride through the streets of Wenatchee, asking them to identify places where they had been abused . [70][71] While on trial for child abuse, Douglas County also prosecuted the Robersons for welfare fraud, a case the Robersons described as "harassment". [85][11] In September 1995, Grant wrote, "Now I know what it's like to be falsely accused. SEX RINGS LAWSUIT: Detective testifies as foster father. Offering lurid recollections of the abuse, she described how, at one home, grown-ups would take children, six at a time, to a room with six single beds. None of the interviews, or the adults' confessions, was taped. Bob Perez Led by Detective Perez, police and Washington State social workers began a vigorous investigation. Unable to afford the $1,000,000 bail for each, they were held in jail where Robert was beaten. No! Q. The older daughters, Melinda and Donna, were sent to live as foster children in the home of detective Robert Perez. "Fact is, people find this kind of thing very difficult to believe. There were neighborly exchanges between families. One of Devereaux's foster daughters said he raped her. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, I thought to myself, `Oh God, what a mess,' and went straight to my supervisor," Glassen said. The room's only memorable feature is an oversized Pink Panther that lounges at the desk of Detective Robert Perez, sex-crimes investigator. Q. This should concern every American that knows the facts of the Wenatchee case. Q. Experts say children who have been sexually abused for years accept it as "normal," and often will repeat the behavior in situations other than the home. [29][30][31], In 1999, the Washington state legislature passed the "Perez Bill" which required child abuse investigators to keep accurate records of their interviews and forbade them from investigating cases involving their own children. Between tears, Green explained the abuse happened one Easter weekend when Laura and Selid Holt dropped their three kids - a 12-year-old boy, a 7-year-old girl and a 4-year-old boy - off for a two-week stay at her home. I was with the District Attorneys Office in inner-city Atlanta for over a solid year, handling felonies in various capacities every single day, before I prosecuted a child molestation case ---much less allegations of this magnitude. [2] Perez died in 2013 at age 60. She was convicted by a jury and sentenced to 23 years in prison. . Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. The shed appeared to have fallen off a semi truck, according to the Snohomish County Sheriffs Office. There, the pastor and three other adults allegedly raped her. . The distinction blurred with the availability of family-wage, factory jobs. Some were born poor in Wenatchee, others arrived that way. A. "[48] Other legal watchdogs such as the state Commission on Judicial Conduct and the ACLU declined to criticize these prosecutions. The verdict came after 3 1/2 hours of deliberations. I didn't know he'd have such a sick mind.". [12], In 1997, Pastor Roby and Connie Roberson attended the "Day of Contrition" conference in Salem, Massachusetts, along with other victims and experts of the day-care sex-abuse hysteria.[6][87][88]. Only after reassurances and coaxing did the teenager reveal he had repeatedly been sodomized by his father. Link: Police Department Page . Top-floor windows are busted out, the rest covered with plywood. "Finally, I just told him to write whatever . "Chip" Small (judge in the Roberson case) and Carol Wardell (judge in earlier cases) with professional misconduct. On March 13, 1995, Perez put Donna in his police car with two social services caseworkers and they drove through Wenatchee and East Wenatchee. The day after Cherie Town called the Rape Crisis Center, Perez stopped by briefly. Many people were horrified, almost grief-stricken by the sex scandal; others were beginning to think police, and Perez in particular, were manufacturing charges. Bob Perez died last Thursday at Central Washington Hospital, according to. . A loosely organized circle of friends consisted of two extended families and a pastor, his wife and a church bus driver - their lives intersecting by chance on the walk to school, at the welfare office, at church and in local taverns. Perez's star witnesses, Donna and Melinda Everett, returned to live with their biological parents, Harold and Idella Everett. In your expert opinion, what do you believe were the motives behind Perez and Abbeys witch hunt?A. "Let me tell you, I was abused by two uncles and a cousin, and I know the dirt you feel. A jury found him innocent of three charges, but could not reach a verdict on two others. He has twice been tried on charges of molesting his stepdaughter. Kinkade knows what it feels like to be charged with sexual abuse. Every person alleged to have been part of "The Circle" is poor, some desperately so. [81] In 1997, KREM and Grant won an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award "for Investigative Reporting on the Wenatchee Child Sex Ring. Bob Perez died a disgraced former detective in 2013. Perez, 60, of Waterville died on Dec.. 10/21/2004. In September, police, prosecutors and child-protection workers believed they were just about to wrap up two very ugly cases of child sexual abuse - the Town-Holt and Devereaux cases. The house - a hulking, beige two stories crouched near the curb - is a wreck. Police records say the youngster was forthcoming, confirming that his father raped him and forced him to perform oral sex. 43 adults were. Asked if she had had sex with the Holt children, Green shifted uncomfortably on the hard chair before answering, "Only once.". Of the cases that ended in convictions or guilty pleas, 18 were thrown out or overturned on appeal after Perezs tactics were investigated by a specially appointed appellate judge.