[81] In 1997, KREM and Grant won an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award "for Investigative Reporting on the Wenatchee Child Sex Ring. S Federal & W Florida . Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. The 9-year-old had asked if they could talk. Melinda Everett, now 28, a plaintiff in the sex-abuse case, lived for a brief time in the home of detective, Robert Perez, while he investigated the case. Initially placed together, state caseworkers separated the children to prevent them from "sexually acting out amongst themselves.". But prosecutors and Perez's police superiors deny any. His daughter, Michelle Valdez, confirmed his death to The Associated Press. ", "FMSF Newsletter - November/December, 1995 - Vol. A second trial on those. Sergeant Robert "Rob" Barrere is from Metairie, Louisiana just a few miles outside of Orleans Parish. 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. Early Life Personal The official version of what happened in Wenatchee is found at the Chelan County Clerk's Office, on the fifth floor of the Chelan County Courthouse Law and Justice Center. The investigation began in January 1995 when Detective Robert Perez was told by his 13-year-old foster daughter, Donna Perez, that she had been sexually molested. she said during an interview at the Washington Correctional Facility for Women near Purdy, where she is to spend the next 40 years. Only after reassurances and coaxing did the teenager reveal he had repeatedly been sodomized by his father. There was, it seemed, horrific new allegations being made every day. The front walk is overgrown; there's litter where there should be lawn. Believe me, I know, its hard in the trenches and Perez hasnt made it any easier. They sat down together and, as Luci Perez listened, the child described unconscionable acts of sexual abuse by her parents. In 1998, Phillip Esplin, a forensic psychologist for the National Institutes of Health's Child Witness Project said that "Wenatchee may be the worst example ever of mental health services being abused by a state to control and manage children who have been frightened and coerced into falsely accusing their parents and neighbors of the most heinous of crimes. There, the pastor and three other adults allegedly raped her. Word was out that Meredith Town was preparing to skip Wenatchee and take his boys to El Dorado, Kan. Over the years, Attorney Perez has taken many cases to trial and has won unpredictable . Kenneth Lanning, the FBI's child-abuse specialist, has advised against taping, saying it creates a "highly subjective piece of evidence.". . "My own father sexually abused me, the humiliation, the hell. In police custody, Devereaux repeatedly denied abusing the girls, saying they would often come on to him but he always ignored the behavior or took steps to stop it. [8] Manuel Hidalgo Rodriguez, convicted in 1995,[53][75] was awarded $2.9 million from his defense attorney Ed Stevensen,[76] who took a job with the prosecutor 3 weeks after losing his case,[77] but in the end received $689,000. He was born on October 17, 1953, in Ohio, to Ricardo and Anne (Tempe) Perez. The children had said there were pornographic photographs and videotapes, including some "home movies" of the alleged orgies. [4][5][6] Eventually all those accused in these cases were released,[7] and the authorities paid damages to some of those originally accused. The house - a hulking, beige two stories crouched near the curb - is a wreck. But until 1952, when Alcoa built a huge aluminum-manufacturing plant here, there wasn't much middle. The case resulted in changes in state law regarding foster care, sex-abuse investigation and mental-health institutionalization involving children, but Perez had no regrets. The City's investigation began after a foster child in the home of Wenatchee Police Detective Robert Perez claimed that she and other children had been sexually abused while attending the family's East Wenatchee church. Melinda Everett's civil lawsuit says the Department of Social and Health Services should not have placed her in the home of former Wenatchee police detective Robert Perez. Detectives believe a man fatally shot his neighbor at the Erwin Estates Apartment Complex. "I have never been so terrified in my life. 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. Late one afternoon that September, Luci Perez sat down with her foster daughter. [4] In his testimony, Perez admitted physically hurting his foster daughter that was accusing others. According to police records, Cherie Town was advised of her rights but chose to "cooperate.". At least one caseworker said change was needed in the Devereaux household - perhaps only boys should be placed there. Information from: The Wenatchee World, http://www.wenatcheeworld.com. Perez placed her under arrest. [41][42] The judges had earlier asked for a visiting judge to investigate. If true, "The Circle" would have likely gone down as one of the most egregious cases of crimes in American history; instead, whats egregious is that it had been entirely made up at the hands of law enforcement. That month, in what seemed at first a wholly unrelated incident, Robert Devereaux lost his license to operate a foster home after he became the subject of sexual-abuse allegations. Sex, she said, was the kids' idea. [25][28], Grant said that three defendants were arrested shortly after sharing their criticism of these cases with him. Seeking out and punishing sexual abusers of children has become a national obsession, sometimes with tragic results. Fox Nation'sIn the Valley of Sinexamines the mid-90s witch hunt that pitted neighbor against neighbor in Wenatchee, Washington the self-appointed 'Apple Capital of The World' when police uncovered a monstrous child sex ring known among its membership as 'The Circle.' Glassen was arrested for witness tampering, police suspecting he had pressured the girl to change her statement on behalf of Devereaux. View memorials for all fallen law enforcement officers from the New York City Police Department, New York. Glassen's supervisor reportedly passed the information on to her husband, a deputy prosecuting attorney, who passed it on to Perez. Debate rages in Wenatchee and across the country over whether children are reliable witnesses. With her statement, police and prosecutors were able to convince Harold that he, too, should enter a plea of guilty. 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. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Aware of growing unease in the community - and knowing this case could be huge - Douglas County officials proceeded with caution. "There are countless suggestive forces," she said. Defense attorneys put Wenatchee police detective Bob Perez on the stand as a hostile witness and tried to undermine his credibility. Viewers will see the story of Wenatchee sex crimes detective Bob Perez, whose 9-year-old foster daughter, Donna Everett, becomes the impetus for the wild accusations that unfold. That was all Perez needed to hear; he put out a bulletin on Meredith Town. . I understand. I didn't know what I was saying, what I was signing. Still, the foundation of the increasingly complicated and bizarre case was the children's testimony. Stopping by juvenile hall to talk with her about a new placement, assuming she was released, Glassen found the teen agitated. Unable to afford the $1,000,000 bail for each, they were held in jail where Robert was beaten. WENATCHEE Former Wenatchee police Detective Bob Perez, who led a discredited child sex ring investigation in the 1990s in Central Washington, has died. During the ride she. 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. At 37, unemployed, with a felony record, Meredith Town didn't have a lot - just enough to fill a trailer. . On March 13, 1995, Perez put Donna in his police car with two social services caseworkers and they drove through Wenatchee and East Wenatchee. [1] The woman owned a second rental house and believed the tenant, Dorris Green, had left her children with the Holts, knowing there was abuse going on. By the time he stopped talking, police were pretty sure Cherie Town knew more than she had let on. [22] Parents and Sunday school teachers were charged, and many were convicted of abusing children, often including their own, or their foster 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. Donna pointed out houses and buildings where she says she and other children were repeatedly raped and molested since January 1988. A. Down at the station, seated alongside the detective's desk, Cherie Town answered questions for a long time. Detective Second Grade Kevin G. Hawkins 5/7/2007. [4] The Roberson's 5-year-old daughter testified that her parents never abused her,[27] so Judge T. W. Small dismissed two charges that they had. [17], Prosecutors were unable to provide any physical evidence to support the charges against the Robersons. Sgt. Q. 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. Many defendants were coerced into confessing by the same detective. The Wenatchee disaster has created great distrust for law enforcement in general. A.I do not consider a 40-hour training course on child abuse "extensive" at all. Devereaux asked, "What do I have to do to stay out of jail?" She listed 22 locations. "We had to undress and lay down on the bed, a kid on each bed," she said. Perez spent about an hour talking with Cherie Town. In 1982, the Miami-Dade Police Department formed a small unit of three detectives to look into unsolved murder cases. Elegant new homes, perched on the brown ridges above town, attest to the community's expanding wealth. People who know and like Perez say he is a dedicated officer, that he is often stern but can be a "teddy bear" of a man. "[86] Grant later concluded that these cases involved "good intentions, driven to hysteria, and then funneled through some people, particularly Perez, who did not use the correct techniques in investigating these cases". [11][27] Four months later they were each released on a reduced $12,500 bail to await trial. ." Perez, 60, of Waterville died on Dec. 12 at Central Washington Hospital of stroke-related complications, The Wenatchee World reported Wednesday. Detective Wayne H. Fortier; Grand Prairie Police Department, Texas. in an attempt to cope with or explain the experience.". Overnight lane reductions are scheduled Monday through Thursday, with more disruptions ahead this month. [78], Kerri Ann Knowles Hill, whose trial was postponed due to the "raging hysteria" of her accuser,[63] gave up her rights to sue for damages and speak publicly about her case, in exchange for having her case dropped. 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' age discrimination lawsuit. 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.
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