WENATCHEE - Former Wenatchee police Detective Bob Perez, who led a discredited child sex ring investigation in the 1990s in central Washington, has died. He was born on October 17, 1953, in Ohio, to Ricardo and Anne (Tempe) Perez. Four Miami Detectives Recall the Unsolved Murders That Haunt Them "It's a witch hunt, pure and simple," said Bob Kinkade, self-appointed leader of the local chapter of Victims of Child Abuse Laws. 6 at 3) The reference hearing, which began on March 11, 1998, was held in front of Judge Wallis Friel and spanned the course of seven days. . Glassen's wife is Canadian, so they packed and moved to British Columbia. [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. (One soon ran away from Perez and recanted.) On March 13, 1995, Perez put Donna in his police car with two social services caseworkers and they drove through Wenatchee and East Wenatchee. Elegant new homes, perched on the brown ridges above town, attest to the community's expanding wealth. On a sticky-hot July afternoon, about three months after the Towns were arrested, Perez knocked on Laura Holt's door. The next day Devereaux was notified that his foster care license had been suspended. Donna pointed out houses and buildings where she says she and other children were repeatedly raped and molested since January 1988. was driven around town in a police car with Perez and two Child Protective Services caseworkers. It was the Holt children's aggressive sexual behavior that made authorities wonder if there hadn't been more wrong in the Holt household than father-daughter incest and motherly neglect. Perez served over 200 days in Ventura County Jail after holding his girlfriend hostage at his Oxnard home in July of 2007. The allegations started when two children under the foster care of detective Robert Perez began accusing their parents. Police Officer Nicholas R. DeMutiis 1/25/1994. [22] Parents and Sunday school teachers were charged, and many were convicted of abusing children, often including their own, or their foster children. Officially, they called them "pending cases," but Pulitzer . at the very least, I wanted an extradition process between them and Perez.". [79] Sadie Hughes (a.k.a. Rattling off names, the girl referred to the group as "The Circle." One of Denzel Washington's greatest roles is that of LAPD narcotics officer Detective Alonzo Harris in Training Day - Antoine Fuqua's 2001 crime thriller about two narcotics officers set over a 24-hour period in the gang-ridden neighbourhoods of the Rampart Division and . The adults got to know each other playing darts at a nearby tavern; the kids, on the walk to school. Even as the middle-class widens, the divide remains. Wenatchee child abuse prosecutions - Wikipedia [41][42] The judges had earlier asked for a visiting judge to investigate. A. Mae Hochstetler can pay the bills because the state pays her to care for her adult son, with a pandemic pay bump. Other siblings confirmed the story. to the police station for questioning. "We had to undress and lay down on the bed, a kid on each bed," she said. Several are illiterate. Heres whats happening at the mid-point of the 2023 session of the Washington Legislature. None of the interviews, or the adults' confessions, was taped. App. "The difficulty in such situations is teasing out the truth.". "She said she was mad, that she lied, that Perez encouraged her . The apparent circle of abuse was widening. A jury found him innocent of three charges, but could not reach a verdict on two others. Kinkade knows what it feels like to be charged with sexual abuse. That was all Perez needed to hear; he put out a bulletin on Meredith Town. By 2004, the city of Wenatchee had paid out more than $7 million in jury awards and settlements to claimants who were falsely accused. 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. Cherie and Meredith Town's former residence, 610 Mission St., is within an easy five-minute walk. 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. She was wearing a white dress. Market data provided by Factset. Rose was sentenced to 23 years. A multitude of police reports written by Wenatchee detective Robert Perez described dozens of adults lining up to take turns molesting children. Rose, then 26, maintained his innocence. Ex-Wenatchee sex crime detective Bob Perez dies [11] "[82][83][84] Grant first used the term "witch hunt" to describe these cases in March, 1995. . But by the. WENATCHEE SEX RING: Questions resurface about 'witch hunt' . Standing on the front porch, the 36-year-old mother of two was asked if she'd ever abused her boys. If I had to speculate, I believe one of the Seven Deadly Sins was at playPride. Washington Victims of the State "[50] In 2001, a jury found the city of Wenatchee and Douglas County, Washington negligent in the 1994-1995 investigations. Wenatchee Update. What steps were missed in handling this correctly? On March 13, 1995, Perez put Donna in his police car with two social services caseworkers and they drove through Wenatchee and East Wenatchee. Fax: 805-488-2633. Perez yelled at a child and called her a liar until she fabricated stories of abuse in an . She told a counselor that her husband, Meredith "Gene" Town, had for years been molesting their two young sons. 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. 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. . That did not happen. But until 1952, when Alcoa built a huge aluminum-manufacturing plant here, there wasn't much middle. That we must always remain ever vigilant. Criminal prosecutions in Washington state, U.S. hysteria over child molestation in the 1980s, Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award, "The imaginary "sex rings" in Wenatchee, WA", Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, "Other Well-Known Cases | Innocence Lost | FRONTLINE | PBS", "Pastor and Wife Are Acquitted on All Charges in Sex-Abuse Case", "Jury finds city, county negligent in child sex ring case", "Book Review - 'Witch Hunt: A True Story of Social Hysteria and Abused Justice', "Afterward: Freedom is never the same for those who've been to prison on phony charges", "Last case settled in botched sex ring case", "Children sacrificed for the case: Allegations set up a puzzle of doubtful ethics, dubious facts", "CNN - Pastor, wife acquitted in child sex trial - Dec. 12, 1995", "The ghost won't lie still: Ten years after first arrest, 'sex-ring' episode still haunts the community | Local News", "WENATCHEE SEX RING: Questions resurface about 'witch hunt', "TV Station Ordered To Turn Over Tape: Judge Says Krem-TV Violated Girl's Rights In Wenatchee Sex Ring Case | The Spokesman-Review", "Wenatchee: Sex Probe Tests Truth and Trust", "The Unraveling of a Monstrous Secret -- Sex-Abuse Scandal Has Wenatchee Reeling", "Sex Case A 'Wenatchee Witch Hunt' Some Incidents of Incest Were Uncovered but There's Been No Proof of Group Child Abuse", "Cameo Garrett: Wenatchee Mentality: Conversation with Robbi Roberson", "Who is Abusing the Children of Wenatchee? . The only break had come when his father, a convicted burglar, got drunk and started shooting up the house with a .22-caliber revolver - probation violations that landed him back in jail. She arrived shortly after noon, 34, single, with five children. A. Finally, was justice served? Ricardo Robert "Bob" Perez, Jr. | Obituaries | wenatcheeworld.com Robert Perez also known as JR. That suggestion was ultimately rejected in Olympia as "discriminatory.". . [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]. On March 13, 1995, Perez put Donna in his police car with two social services caseworkers and they drove through Wenatchee and East Wenatchee. She responded, "I only did it twice.. . Nearly all the children interviewed by police came from impoverished, troubled homes. Civil Rights: Other case filed on July 12, 2022 in the New Jersey District Court The Los Angeles Police Department is one of the largest and most innovative law enforcement agencies in the world. I want to make sure it doesn't happen again, and I believe the state could convict me at trial." Bob Perez died a disgraced former detective in 2013. On March 13, 1994, in what has become known as the "parade of homes," D.E. WENATCHEE Former Wenatchee police Detective Bob Perez, who led a discredited child sex ring investigation in the 1990s in Central Washington, has died. What would you ask Abbey, if given the opportunity to interview him? Eventually, he trained for three days under a department predecessor and. Sergeant Michael B. Wagner 4/27/2007. Traffic was backed up for 5 miles Thursday morning. Accusations: 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. Dallas, TX - The First 48 Cast | A&E . Detective in Child Sex Ring Trial Hurt Girl "There are countless suggestive forces," she said. she said during an interview at the Washington Correctional Facility for Women near Purdy, where she is to spend the next 40 years. [45], Washington Governor Mike Lowry requested a federal review,[2][44][46] but U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno declined to involve the national Justice Department in these cases. He has twice been tried on charges of molesting his stepdaughter. "[59] Lyon described the prosecutions as "a great example of a social phenomenon that we haven't seen since Salem or the McCarthy era". Van Blaricom, hired by a city insurer who looked into how the Wenatchee police ran the child abuse investigations, stated that the cases were handled properly. A conspiracy such as that alleged in Wenatchee has never been substantiated in this country, according to federal authorities. The Wenatchee Sex-Crime Case -- Evidence On Trial A. 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. Perez, 60, of Waterville died Dec. 12. [23] By 2000, the last person in custody, Michael Rose, was released, after a judge vacated his March 1995 convictions. Accompanied by two Child Protective Service workers, Perez returned to 610 Mission St. Supportive parishioners, many of them poor and dependent on the food the Robersons' gave out weekly, decry the arrests as police "payback." The state ferry system still faces crew shortages and a diminishing, aging fleet of green-and-white workhorses. [80], In 1995 journalist Tom Grant of KREM-TV won a George Polk Award for Excellence in Journalism for his coverage of these cases. Q. But at that moment she was not making a confession; she was getting back at an unfaithful husband. [60] This work formed the basis of Lyon's 1998 book, Witch Hunt: A True Story of Social Hysteria and Abused Justice. [8][9], 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. Robert Perez Obituary (1959 - 2021) - Legacy Remembers Of course, poverty is not synonymous with crime and perversion. Perez's star witnesses, Donna and Melinda Everett, returned to live with their biological parents, Harold and Idella Everett. Her confession, together with statements by Perez' foster daughter and a 13-year-old friend, bound together the various abuse cases. Miller's confession was corroborated by her ex-husband, Larry Steinborn. 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. . What would you say to him if he were alive today? Robert Arredondo has been with the Dallas Police Department for over 12 years, with just a little of a year in homicide. A cloud over Wenatchee - Tampa Bay Times 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 . Perez was in charge of interviewing the more than 40. Improper training. The idea that the same 50 children could be routinely sodomized by the same two dozen adults year after year is so horrific it gives rise to disbelief. 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. "[36] Some jurors met with the Robersons after the trial; Roberson reported they were "so angry and upset that this case was even brought to trial". 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. - Drive continuous improvement and efficiency in the accounting and master data processes for NA Hub. I know what it is like to be a victim, to be sexually molested as a child," she said, wiping away tears. . She listed 22 locations. 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. Devereaux's 15-year-old accuser was Glassen's responsibility, one of dozens of kids on his case list. [17], Prosecutors were unable to provide any physical evidence to support the charges against the Robersons. Aware of growing unease in the community - and knowing this case could be huge - Douglas County officials proceeded with caution. 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.' 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. City of Farmington settles former detective's lawsuit - Daily Times You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! They deny any of it ever happened. 336 Roberson v. Perez Aug. 2004 123 Wn. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. The second time, she climbed into bed with them. [4][16] Perez's foster daughter later recanted[17][18] and apologized to Roberson, claiming that Perez had pressured her. . As it is elsewhere, the haves and have-nots don't often mingle. "Justice" would have required critical oversight of the cases. The shed appeared to have fallen off a semi truck, according to the Snohomish County Sheriffs Office. 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. Then came a plague of grisly crimes, natural disasters and a child sex scandal", "Judges Targeted in Sex Ring Case | the Spokesman-Review", "Judges Question Need for Grand Jury Sex-Ring Investigations Could be Subject of Probe | the Spokesman-Review", "The Wenatchee Sex-Crime Case -- Evidence On Trial | The Seattle Times", "Last child-sex ring defendant released from prison after court action", "Child Abuse Charges Bitterly Divide Town: Crime: In Wenatchee, Wash., 28 adults have been accused and 15 convicted, but many doubt allegations", "Justice's watchdogs looked the other way: An angry reaction", "Justices reject sex-ring case award - | Local News", "Roberson v. Perez, 156 Wn. Perez asked for details. The Holts - Selid, Laura and their three kids - lived just a few doors down, at 512 Mission St. A.I would ask him "why?". After seeking refuge for her children in a "safe house," Miller saw to it that Steinborn went to jail. The Robersons were arrested on 22 counts of child rape and molestation. I would never subject my children to that.". Former Wenatchee police Detective Robert Perez and former Wenatchee Police Chief Ken Badgley were both dismissed as defendants before the trial. He was sentenced to 80 months. . Attempting to leave Wenatchee quietly, he stopped by the Douglas County sheriff's office to purchase a trip permit for his rig. [4][5][6] Eventually all those accused in these cases were released,[7] and the authorities paid damages to some of those originally accused. Pride takes many forms, including a thirst for power and an unabashed arrogance.Q. Their marriage on the rocks, Cherie and her husband were rarely intimate - although, on occasion they would have sex together with the boys. 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. 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. 6, No. The division between the two Wenatchees is deep. "Nothing has gone on, could have gone on. Jury gets sex abuse suit | The Olympian Whether that contributed to actions that make them guilty or simply makes it more difficult for them to establish their innocence is an unanswered question. When the Department of Social and Health Services initially granted the license in 1987, Devereaux was married. 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. 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 . He was also told that his 15-year-old accuser had recanted during a conversation with her caseworker, Paul Glassen. Some lost parental rights. Cunningham v. City of Wenatchee, 214 F. Supp. 2d 1103 (E.D. Wash. 2002) In early August 1994, Perez paid another visit to Cherie Town, who was in the Chelan County Jail awaiting sentencing. It is important to note that their marriage ended after one of Miller's daughters (by a previous husband) accused Steinborn of sexual molestation. all about me: Wenatchee child abuse prosecutions - Blogger The Holts' daughter even told officers where the videos were kept, but Bagdley said his officers did not find any tapes. And then there were the statements of the Holt children. Q. 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. A subculture of down-at-the-heels subsistence workers and unemployable welfare dependents remains. Some were born poor in Wenatchee, others arrived that way. This is a story of violence against innocents, the betrayal of trust, of ignorance and isolation - of a reportedly abusive subculture overlooked by mainstream Wenatchee for nearly a decade. WENATCHEE (AP) The former police detective who led the discredited Wenatchee child sex ring investigation has died. [56][57], Pierce County public defender Kathryn Lyon compiled "The Wenatchee Report",[58] which "purport[ed] to show civil-rights violations involving children and families in Chelan and Douglas counties. Detective Bob Perez, their foster parent, then started an investigation into these claims, resulting in the discovery of an alleged child-sex ring. . She reportedly confirmed that Michael Rose and Randall Reed, drinking buddies of her husband who bunked with the family for a time, had also sexually abused the boys. 43 adults were. 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. Many people were horrified, almost grief-stricken by the sex scandal; others were beginning to think police, and Perez in particular, were manufacturing charges. 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. [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. Those who know but do not like him say he is a "manipulative monster.". There, the pastor and three other adults allegedly raped her. It was appalling. Preacher, Wife Cleared in Child Sex-Ring Case - Los Angeles Times 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. Many of the adults arrested as a result. He was found not guilty on two charges; the jury was hung on three others. Perez knew time was short. [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. Children were interviewed in the presence of other children. [33] The jury acquitted the Robersons of all remaining charges;[34][35] one juror reported that acquitting them "was not a difficult decision for us. [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. 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.