On March 13, 1994, in what has become known as the "parade of homes," D.E. Police Officer Sean A. McDonald 3/15/1994. 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.". [47][19] The FBI did not question anyone; instead they shipped Reno documents which she found "do not present evidence of prosecutable violations of federal civil rights law. [79] Sadie Hughes (a.k.a. Most of the girls sent to the Devereauxs were victims of sexual abuse - some were withdrawn and frightened, others aggressive and angry. 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. She told him she had been angry with her foster father for spying on her, for putting her on restriction after catching her having sex with a boyfriend. New York City Police Department - The Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP) A kid-swapping, adult-led sex ring such as that alleged in Wenatchee would be "rare indeed," said Dr. Fred Berlin, founder of the Johns Hopkins Sexual Disorders Clinic in Baltimore. Police Officer Jose A. Perez 4/27/1994. Hernandez, 52, faced life in. . Aware of growing unease in the community - and knowing this case could be huge - Douglas County officials proceeded with caution. "Children's disclosures may be confusing and inconsistent. 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.". "Nothing has gone on, could have gone on. But then, asked to describe the incidents, Devereaux shook his head and said, "I can't tell you. The wake it leaves behind is never-ending. [17], Prosecutors were unable to provide any physical evidence to support the charges against the Robersons. Meredith Town was sentenced to 18 years and 4 months in prison; Cherie was ordered to serve 10 years. ." Bob Perez, driving force in discredited sex abuse cases, dies Stopping by juvenile hall to talk with her about a new placement, assuming she was released, Glassen found the teen agitated. Kenneth Lanning, the FBI's child-abuse specialist, has advised against taping, saying it creates a "highly subjective piece of evidence.". "It's a witch hunt, pure and simple," said Bob Kinkade, self-appointed leader of the local chapter of Victims of Child Abuse Laws. How fabricated claims of a child-sex ring rocked a Washington state App. Asked if she had had sex with the Holt children, Green shifted uncomfortably on the hard chair before answering, "Only once.". He was determined to ferret out the rest of the abusers, to save the kids. 10/21/2004. [25], On March 23, 1995, Robert Roberson, pastor of some of the accused, criticized the authorities at a public meeting. [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]. Sgt. [2] Perez died in 2013 at age 60. Perez, who was called to the stand by the defense, has testified that barely a month after he was promoted from uniformed patrolman to Wenatchee's only child sex crimes investigator in January. It took years of mental health treatment for the case to proceed against Alan Dean in the killing of Melissa Lee. [26] Five days later, the Roberstons were arrested. Her confession, together with statements by Perez' foster daughter and a 13-year-old friend, bound together the various abuse cases. 10 killed in Boulder shooting: Victims identified, suspect - ABC News [13] Perez attempted to subpoena Lyon's sources,[59] but was unsuccessful, except for a tape that Lyon had already shared with others. "Finally, I just told him to write whatever . to the police station for questioning. Of the 13 women and 11 men charged with sexually exploiting children - one remains at large - one saw his case dismissed, nine have pleaded or been pronounced guilty and 13 have pleaded not guilty - their cases to be tried separately beginning next month. WENATCHEE Former Wenatchee police Detective Bob Perez, who led a discredited child sex ring investigation in the 1990s in central Washington, has died. They entered Alford pleas, the process by which defendants maintain innocence but acknowledge they would be found guilty at trial. He alleged Perez was arrested for petty larceny in 1975, and cited for receiving unemployment benefits while enrolled in the Police Academy in 1983. Perez even let Jen go on Dead to Me after Jen confessed to murder. Cunningham v. City of Wenatchee, 214 F. Supp. 2d 1103 (E.D. Wash. 2002) Legal Statement. I don't want to believe it either, but based on the evidence, I must.". 'This has ruined the lives of these children': Nancy Grace on the Wenatchee witch hunt, THE REAL STORY BEHIND THE FAKE SEX RING THAT CHANGED WENATCHEE FOREVER. With her statement, police and prosecutors were able to convince Harold that he, too, should enter a plea of guilty. Perez was rushed to Ventura County Medical Center where he died while undergoing surgery. Robert Perez also known as JR. So when he started bragging, she picked up the phone and called the Rape Crisis Center. 2", Wenatchee Witch Hunt: Child Sex Abuse Trials In Douglas and Chelan Counties, Concerned Citizens for Legal Accountability, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wenatchee_child_abuse_prosecutions&oldid=1140842856, Day care sexual abuse allegations in the United States, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 22 February 2023, at 01:34. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. On March 13, 1995, Perez put Donna in his police car with two social services caseworkers and they drove through Wenatchee and East Wenatchee. 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. [12] After case worker Paul Glassen criticized the way that Perez interviewed the foster daughter of Robert Devereaux, he was arrested for "tampering with a witness", and later fled to Canada with his family. "Evil does not require a motiveit simply is.". Ever since this page published details of the spree of child abuse prosecutions in the town of Wenatchee, Washington, readers have been calling . Auxiliary Police Officer Milton S. Clarke Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Wenatchee child abuse prosecutions - Wikipedia Detective Armando Perez has worked for the police force in many different units. Forty hours sitting in a classroomspread over three days? The youngster's teacher said he told her the same story, according to the police report. No child deserves to feel that, there's no way I would do those things," she said. Cherie and Meredith Town's former residence, 610 Mission St., is within an easy five-minute walk. Eventually, he trained for three days under a department predecessor and. 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. Tim Abbey, former Wenatchee-area administrator for the state Department of Social and Health Services' Division of Children and Family Services, said he and former police detective Robert Perez . Gomez, 267 F.3d 895, 907 (9th Cir.2001) (internal quotations omitted). Finally, was justice served? Market data provided by Factset. 320 "willfully." That is, the City knew what was being requested but decided not to comply with the discovery request.5 [11, 12]PREJUDICE.Burnet also requires that the discovery violation be one that "substantially prejudiced the opponent's ability to prepare for trial."Burnet, 131 Wn.2d at 494.The word "substantial" is key, and its meaning is . 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. 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. [72][73] The last lawsuit against the authorities in these cases was settled in 2009, with the children of Harold and Idella Everett, who initially made an Alford plea (pled no contest),[74] receiving $120,000. Det. Every person alleged to have been part of "The Circle" is poor, some desperately so. One of Devereaux's foster daughters said he raped her. Before he arrested Meredith Town, he wanted corroborating statements from the boys, then ages 14 and 12. The detective had completed 64 hours of special training in sex-crimes investigation; both he and his superiors were confident of his ability to handle just about any case. Police later accused him of failing to report abuse and obstructing justice, prompting an internal Department of Social and Health Services investigation. A. Green began by saying she had "only caught Becky Holt having sex with (the youngest boy) once." [20][21], Forty-three adults were arrested on 29,726 charges of child sex abuse, involving 60 children in 1995. Interviewed in jail, where she is being held in lieu of $50,000 cash-only bail, Miller now claims her confession was coerced. [41][42] The judges had earlier asked for a visiting judge to investigate. Perez yelled at a child and called her a liar until she fabricated stories of abuse in an . National statistics suggest a fairly even incidence of child sexual abuse across social and economic classes. was driven around town in a police car with Perez and two Child Protective Services caseworkers. Her husband, Manuel Hidalgo, was also charged. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! What would you ask Abbey, if given the opportunity to interview him? The allegations strained credulity but not then, nor later, did Perez or his superiors consider the children might be embroidering the truth. The court also vacated orders dismissing Detective Robert Perez and Wenatchee Police Chief Kenneth Badgley, on the ground substantial justice required it. The allegations started when two children under the foster care of detective Robert Perez began accusing their parents. Carol and Mark Doggett (whose daughter had been taken to a mental facility in Idaho to recover memories against them,[29][63] and then ran away while denying having been abused[64]) were freed,[65][66] but then still required legal assistance to get their children returned to their custody. There is medical evidence to support some charges of sexual molestation. A second set of files is kept by Chelan County Prosecutor Gary Riesen, whose office is down the hall, just past the Superior Court chambers where the fates of the accused are to be decided. he wanted to. That did not happen. Q. Bob Perez died a disgraced former detective in 2013. (According to court documents, Cherie Town has an IQ of 77; 90 to 110 is considered normal.). Talking with the children made Perez believe Laura Holt - also known as Becky - had molested not only her children but countless others. Adults, wrongly accused, have lost their jobs, homes, families and all hope of ever leading normal lives. . 4, No. [3][19] Reporter Tom Grant broadcast part of her recantation on KREM-TV. Justice isnt a task that ends, it is ongoing and those seeking it can never rest. She settled with the city this month. Trials And Troubles In Happy Valley - Newsweek Couple Acquitted - Sfgate WENATCHEE Former Wenatchee police Detective Bob Perez, who led a discredited child sex ring investigation in the 1990s in Central Washington, has died. Whether his clients are charged with sex crimes, domestic violence, or homicide, Attorney Perez is ready to defend their rights in both state and federal courts. 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. 22, Ex. As the citys chief sex crimes investigator, Perez arrested dozens of Wenatchee Valley adults between 1994 and 1995 on suspicion of sexually abusing children, sometimes in bizarre, ritualistic fashion. Shetland (TV Series 2013- ) - IMDb Q. I'm lying.". 10", "IPT Journal - "Investigations and Interviews in Cases of Alleged Child Sexual Abuse: A Look at the Scientific Evidence", "Roberson Trial Considered Text (sic) Of Sex-Ring Investigation | The Seattle Times", "DETECTIVE IN CHILD SEX RING TRIAL HURT GIRL", "Jury Acquits Pastor And Wife 'There Is No Sex Ring In Wenatchee,' Says Roberson After Verdict | The Spokesman-Review", "Wenatchee World - Guest Commentary by Karl Ohler", "COLUMN ONE: Wenatchee: Little Town of Horrors: This bucolic Northwest city seemed to epitomize the innocence of rural America. Children, not knowing whether their memories are real, grow up unsure and unhappy - damaged no matter what happened. Still, the foundation of the increasingly complicated and bizarre case was the children's testimony. Detective Bob Perez, their foster parent, then started an investigation into these claims, resulting in the discovery of an alleged child-sex ring. When Ventura Police arrived to the 1500 block of Daffodil Avenue, they found 37-year-old Robert Perez had been stabbed once in the chest. + Subscribe for $1 for the first month Emergency Phone: 911. Others compared the investigation to the Spanish Inquisition. Rose was sentenced to 23 years. "But I believe there is a possibility that people who share such common, aberrant needs could be drawn together because the mainstream of their existence centers on the frequent need to be sexual. Jury in Olympia awards $600,000 in DSHS civil suit | The Olympian City of Farmington settles former detective's lawsuit - Daily Times Dwaine Hooten . Improper training. Of course, poverty is not synonymous with crime and perversion. As a former prosecutor, how do you think the government and law enforcement could have better handled this catastrophe? There was no point risking getting pulled over on a traffic violation. To watchIn the Valley of Sin' and 'Crime Stories with Nancy Grace,'sign up onFox Nationtoday. See Roberson v. Perez, 119 Wn. But never once, Cherie Town said, did she "keep the boys home from school to have sex. Perez kept asking if I hadn't seen this person and that person abuse the children. [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. . She identified 19 locations: Some were familiar, such as Devereaux's house and the former rental homes of the Holts and Towns; but others, such as the Pentecostal Church of God House of Prayer in East Wenatchee, presented shocking new leads. From there it's three blocks to the Wenatchee police station, a cramped stone building constructed in the early 1930s. Robert Perez's passing has been publicly announced by Valley Of The Temples Memorial Pk & Funeral Homes in Kaneohe, HI.Legacy invites you to offer condolences and share memories of Robert in the G Defense attorneys put Wenatchee police detective Bob Perez on the stand as a hostile witness and tried to undermine his credibility. Wenatchee is generally regarded as a pleasant town with a solid, upright middle class. I want to make sure it doesn't happen again, and I believe the state could convict me at trial." No. WENATCHEE - There is right, and there is wrong. Wenatchee's former sex crime detective Bob Perez dies at 60 The day after Cherie Town called the Rape Crisis Center, Perez stopped by briefly. - Drive continuous improvement and efficiency in the accounting and master data processes for NA Hub. Then 54 and divorced, Devereaux had five adolescent girls in his care. Jesus Cruz-Vasquez . CHILD SEX RING OR WITCH HUNT? - The Washington Post This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. By this time, some children had recanted their accusations. FOX's 'In the Valley of Sin' reveals truth behind Wenatchee witch hunt Accompanied by two Child Protective Service workers, Perez returned to 610 Mission St. 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. Following this, he was "accused, indirectly, of committing some of the same crimes". Information from: The Wenatchee World, http://www.wenatcheeworld.com. WENATCHEE - Former Wenatchee police Detective Bob Perez, who led a discredited child sex ring investigation in the 1990s in central Washington, has died. The settlement brings to an end the three-year-old lawsuit, first filed in district court in 2011 and later moved to federal court. [25][55] But the Seattle Post-Intelligencer argued that while Perez got a lot of the criticism, "he was just the point man for an investigation either directed by or undertaken with the active involvement of CPS officials",[10] and the Wall Street Journal blamed "the entire law enforcement establishment [including] the prosecutors". Perez, 60, of Waterville died on Dec.. 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 . Shetland: With Alison O'Donnell, Steven Robertson, Douglas Henshall, Lewis Howden. . . "The fact is terrible things, unimaginable things, happen to children.". 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. It is about police and prosecutors and the public debate over proof beyond a shadow of a doubt. Eventually, both Cherie and Meredith Town bowed to punishment. She listed 22 locations. In your expert opinion, what do you believe were the motives behind Perez and Abbeys witch hunt?A. And then there were the statements of the Holt children. Mae Hochstetler can pay the bills because the state pays her to care for her adult son, with a pandemic pay bump. Russell Poole - Wikipedia Four Miami Detectives Recall the Unsolved Murders That Haunt Them Perez, 60, of Waterville died on Dec. 12 at Central Washington Hospital of stroke-related complications, The Wenatchee World reported Wednesday. Harold Everett had raped her and at least one sister and brother. The Robersons were arrested on 22 counts of child rape and molestation. The caseworker advised him to be patient. . Ralph Gausvik brought suit against Detective Robert Perez, alleging Perez violated his civil rights during a sex abuse investigation. Former defendants in Wenatchee 'sex ring - NCWLIFE News Four stories below Riesen's office is the Chelan County Jail where the accused - stripped of their shoes, street clothes and freedom - wait for a chance to tell their stories. SEX RINGS LAWSUIT: Detective testifies as foster father. I doubt anyone is really investigating me, but I do believe they are trying to discredit my work. . 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. 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. 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. [9][23][67] The Robersons and Sims settled with the state of Washington for $850,000 in a case that was split off from a suit against the police due to a clerical error. A jury found him innocent of three charges, but could not reach a verdict on two others. Others argue children do not lie about something as physically and emotionally painful as sexual abuse. Detective Controls and CIP Supervisor. 10/25/2004. Reckoning in Wenatchee - WSJ Court of Appeals of Washington,Division 3, - Findlaw 77 | Casetext Search + Citator", "3 Settle Suit Resulting From Child Sex Case", "City's sex-case settlement with Roberson: $700,000 | Local News", "City ordered to pay after withholding records in child sex lawsuit", "Roberson Says He's Due Credit Pastor Wants Talks with Media Counted as Community Service | the Spokesman-Review", "Sex-Ring Defendant Can't Just do Pr Work, State Says Roberson Must Come up with Better Plan for Community Service Work | the Spokesman-Review", "Man jailed in Wenatchee child-sex case is set free | Northwest", "Wenatchee-Current Status: Arrests, Convictions, Dismissals", "Lesser settlement stands in sex-abuse civil case | Local News", "Woman must continue to register as sex offender: 'Sex ring' subject vows to fight on", "TV Reporter's Stories on Alleged Sex Ring Cited | the Spokesman-Review", "Silver Batons: Medium Market Television", "Grant Wins 'Pulitzer of Broadcasting' | the Spokesman-Review", "KREM-TV, Investigative Reporting on the Wenatchee Child Sex Ring | 1997 duPont-Columbia Award Winner in 1997 duPont Winners on Vimeo", "Reporters at Odds in Sex Ring Case Some May Have Saved Innocent, Others May Have Fed Flames | the Spokesman-Review", "FMSF Newsletter - February 1, 1997 - Vol. The detective responsible for the witch hunt, Robert "Bob" Perez, having incarcerated 43 adults with almost 30,000 counts of child rape and molestation, had become the lead detective of the. Neither Perez nor his superiors will comment on the specific charges. 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. That suspicion was heightened by medical evidence suggesting that at least one and possibly both of the boys had been abused. The 1994 . all about me: Wenatchee child abuse prosecutions - Blogger [4][16] Perez's foster daughter later recanted[17][18] and apologized to Roberson, claiming that Perez had pressured her. Ricardo Robert "Bob" Perez, Jr. passed away peacefully at Central Washington Hospital on Thursday, December 12, 2013, surrounded by family and friends. 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. There were other arrests, including that, in March, of Donna Hidalgo, adult step-sister of Perez's foster child. "[50] In 2001, a jury found the city of Wenatchee and Douglas County, Washington negligent in the 1994-1995 investigations. [51][52], Following a "brief training course",[14] Robert Perez was rotated into sex-crimes investigation in 1994[53] despite having been arrested, involvement in a child custody dispute,[54] and a 1989 performance evaluation that said he "likes confrontation and likes having power over people". The Wenatchee Sex-Crime Case -- Evidence On Trial Reams of legal papers are bound in bright red files, dog-eared and smudged now, from handling by members of the news media. . [68] The city of Wenatchee paid the Robersons a settlement of $700,000. Police records say the youngster was forthcoming, confirming that his father raped him and forced him to perform oral sex. I didn't know what I was saying, what I was signing. Overnight lane reductions are scheduled Monday through Thursday, with more disruptions ahead this month. The interviews took place at the children's schools or foster homes. In 1982, the Miami-Dade Police Department formed a small unit of three detectives to look into unsolved murder cases. Four hours later, she was changing into coveralls with the words "Property of Chelan County Jail" stenciled on the back, and social workers met her children at the school bus. "But I was not willing to have my wife and 5-year-old son picked up, interrogated and God knows what . At least one caseworker said change was needed in the Devereaux household - perhaps only boys should be placed there. 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.
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