From: T. Johnson

Subject: Another Story

Date: Wednesday, July 07, 1999

Dear Mr. & Mrs. Gilman,

My name is Tammy Johnson, and I'm writing to you from Bend, Oregon. I am 32 years old, married, the mother of three beautiful children, and a local business owner. I have read your story, and the experience your family had with the State and local authorities, sounds quite horrible. I too, ...have a story to tell. Though, unfortunately, mine has no ending at this time. My ordeal with the State of Oregon stems from a different set of circumstances than yours, and the results are potentially quite extreme. But I believe the situation has caused my family to face issues that are quite similar to what I've read on your website.

I have been doing quite a bit of research on the web, looking for similar cases, and I am appalled to find a nationwide epidemic of families fighting for their rights, and trying to ward off unnecessary government intrusion into their lives. I've found people from all over, with case histories and stories identical to both yours and mine. In almost every situation...we have been fighting for the same thing...struggling through the same ordeal...and wanting someone to stand up and notice the injustice!

My family's nightmare began February 2nd of this year. Our situation is a little complicated, but I will try to explain it the best I can.  My three children, a 13 yr old daughter, 10 yr old son, and a daughter who is 4, are all from a previous marriage. They do not have much contact with their biological father....which has been his choice, but they have stayed in contact with his family, and occasionally get to see him through them. I have been with my current husband Mark, for nearly 4 years. He is my best friend, and has been a loving and supportive step-dad to my kids from day one. All 3 kids call him "Dad," -- my son would just as soon have it that way, and he's been the only "Daddy" my youngest has ever known.

Except for my oldest child, who at one time had a relationship with her father, there has not been any desire, on my kids' part, to maintain a relationship or get to know their real dad. Nor has there been any serious attempts made on his part.  In spite of the way he is, I've never once denied him phone calls or visits, even though, they have been inconsistant and infrequent.  My kids have, however, maintained their relationship with his family. And up until a year ago, when we moved to Central Oregon, we all lived very close by, over in the valley, near Salem.  My ex-in-laws do not like my husband Mark. There have been some minor strains because of this, but nothing that has consumed our lives, or thoughts, or even kept us from encouraging and continuing the relationship between them and the kids. Since our move to Bend, the kids have visited and called their grandparents, and other members of their father's family. What we didn't know, ... was that the members of his family had been influencing my kids with their thoughts of Mark, and their dislike of him. Especially to my oldest daughter.

On February 2nd, after being grounded for breaking a house rules, and becoming very angry about the punishment, my oldest daughter accused Mark of sexually abusing her. She stuck to her story for two weeks before coming forward with the truth. She told a paternal family member, and they got the ball rolling.  The School Counselor was called, then SCF and the police. My daughter was interviewed at one of the family member's homes, without my presence, even after my daughter had requested for me to be there.  They told her she had to talk to them. She was scared, didn't know what to do, and felt she couldn't turn back now. 

Mark was arrested. He spent 2 days and 1 night in jail, until he was released on O.R. with conditions of having no contact with both of my daughters. The accusations and his arrest, were printed in the local paper, as well as being shown on the local T.V. station's news programs --with his mug shot. We got calls from friends, employees, etc. who all saw this. Mark moved out immediately, and during the two weeks that my daughter had stuck to her story, I didn't know what to think. My other two children became distraught.

My daughter was acting strangely, and her story was not consistant. There were things that did not add up, but I could not believe she would just make this up. We were both interviewed, video-taped, and put in front of a Grand Jury. I told the truth.... that I did not know what the truth was. But I was supporting my daughter, and doing whatever we had to do. We tried to get counseling, but after making many calls, we came to a dead end.

We were told to go to a place called the "Kid's Center" which is what I now call "one-stop shopping" for investigators and abuse cases. They push children thru that place like cattle, with Nurse Practioners doing medical exams (and telling me Doctors were not qualified to do so) with special microscopic photo lenses (which my daughter refused...Thank God!), and, along with the Nurse, a "Child Interviewer" does video-taped interviews, coercing unsuspecting people to divulge personal and private information, giving their utmost sympathy while egging the person on for more. It wasn't until quite a while after these interviews, that I found out their true nature.  They had written a brief summary --- after 5-6 hours of interviewing --- and disclosed in their report only the things that they wanted.  They put these things in the order that fit them best.... and then included a lot of their OWN opinion. They did include a brief statement, that they were unable to determine abuse... but hid that among many comments of how uncomfortable they were ruling it out.

While I was there, they had me fill out the State's Victim Assistance Form, so that they could be billed for their services. I found out later, that my health insurance had also been billed.... $1100.00 .... they were paid over $800.00 of that..... and it had been filed as an "accident" claim. Just last week, I got a letter in the mail from the Victim's Assistance Program, stating that they had received my claim for assistance and were reviewing the case for payment.

The school became involved, after I had specifically told them to stay out of the situation, because the police and SCF were already doing an investigation. I had also told them, under no terms, were any of my ex-in-laws to have contact with my daughter at the school. The principal sent out a memo, but the school counselor disregarded this and decided she would do her own investigating. The school counselor pulled my daughter from class and detained her for over two and a half hours, not letting my daughter leave after she had asked three times. She interrogated my daughter, questioning her, and practically begged her for details. She also tried to make my daughter call the very people I had put a no-contact out on. My daughter was upset, did not want to be there, and refused to give in to this woman. She was tired of where this had all led, and did not want to keep it going. But still, she was too scared to come forward with the truth. I had to remove my daughter from school, and threaten them for their intrusion. They covered themselves well, even lied about the true events of that afternoon.

The SCF worker assigned to the case, I found to be very nice. I did not have a problem with her, nor she with me. She knew my stance, that I was confused, didn't know what to believe, but that I love my daughter very much, and was doing all that I could for her. I took her to all of the interviews and such, and told her that I was doing it for her, that I loved her, and I just wanted her to tell the truth... as she knew it... whatever it may be.  The so-called family members, were continuously calling the SCF worker. They wanted to know what she was doing, why the kids were still in my care, etc. She finally told them to back off, that I was doing everything possible, and had even gone above and beyond what she had ever expected of me. She told me this, and also that the DA had also heard shady things about me. She knew what was going on with them, and said she would clear some things up. She was also upset about the school counselor, and said she feared potential witness-tampering. She was going to see about investigating the matter.

When my daughter finally did come forward... I think she was more relieved than I was. I was grateful that she had never been hurt, that nothing had ever happened, and that finally our lives may get back on track. My daughter was just glad to have the truth out, she was so sorry things had happened the way they did, she never had any idea of what would, or could have happened, and she too, wanted her life back.

I did not jump quickly --- when she first came forward. I was still apprehensive, still not sure what to believe. It was a couple of days before I truly believed her, and could feel comfortable about it. But her actions, behavior, and whole demeanor told me what the truth was. She was no longer acting strangely, she told all of her friends the truth...on her own... and was genuinely relieved. I let the SCF worker know. After a couple of days, I called back to see what was happening and found out she no longer worked there. I have not spoken with her since... nor have I spoken with anyone from that agency.

Mark was still under the Court's Conditional Release, and was still facing an upcoming hearing. I started to fear, not only his situation, but that when the State found out the truth, they would come after my daughter --- for filing a false police report, or something to that nature. I decided to take her down to the DA's office and let her tell them the truth before they found out themselves... hoping they might go easy on her if she did. The DA talked to her alone for a while, about why she did it, and had even told her how much trouble she would be in if charges were pressed. The DA asked if it would be worth getting into all of that trouble if Mark was really the one who deserved to be punished. My daughter said she could not let him be punished for something he did not do. Afterwards, the DA told me that she would not drop charges against Mark until she had the Kid's Center Report and a detective talk to my daughter. I told her I did not have a problem with this, I just wanted to get counseling, for my family, and try to patch things up. It had been tough on all of us, including my two younger children.  They were having nightmares, and couldn't understand why Dad had disappeared, or why he no longer came home at night. 

I wish I could say that this all ends right here... but it doesn't. It's just the end of Chapter One...now... Chapter Two, begins. Mark's attorney... a public defender appointed through the court, turned out to be a real winner. If it weren't for him, I don't think this situation would have ever gotten this far. It would have been dropped long ago. He had absolutely no interest in Mark, his case, or his innocence. He was setting Mark up to take a plea... even after Mark had adamantly refused to admit false guilt. Here in Oregon, as you know, we have mandatory prison sentences when it comes to certain crimes. The charges against Mark are all Measure-11 crimes... 10 of them to be exact. I think one attorney quoted the worst case scenario to be something like... over 40 years. Mark said he would rather do the 40 years than plea bargain for crimes he did not commit. He would rather fight and take the chance of going to prison, then to give in under pressure, and admit false guilt. I stand behind him.

His first attorney got him continuance after continuance...just for the arraignment... because he had been negoitiating with the DA ...without Mark's knowledge. After six appearances in court, Mark was indicted on April 29th, on all ten charges. And, until he received the Discovery two days later, he still did not know what the details were, of what he had allegedly did. He was indicted, but not before... his attorney was fired, (three days before the final hearing), from the Firm he worked for (an associate told us it was for incompetence)..... and not before my daughter stood up at one of the hearings and told the Judge that she made the whole thing up.... and not only did the DA know this from talking personally to her, but the Detective was told the same, and my daughter told the Kid's Center this, on video.

My daughter had threats and angry phone calls from her family members, as well as emails from them... We were totally shocked.  Devastated. We could just not believe this was happening!

I ---suddenly got a gut feeling to get my daughter out of the State. I picked her up, packed her things into my truck, and on that same day... I sent her to my Dad's by plane. I gave him power of attorney, and had him enroll her in school. Everyone thought I was going a little nuts. But lo and behold.... if I wasn't slapped with "Failure to Protect" charges, a week and a half later. I was served papers, dated the day after the indictment, that say I've been unwilling and unable to protect my daughter from harm and abuse. They say she is in need of the services of the State, and they want custody and placement for her. Their evidence is the same stuff they are using against Mark.

Statements given by two ex-wives that say they are afraid of him. ( ? ) These women do not know me or my daughter, and have never been to my home. There are, of course, statements made by my ex-in-laws, and those can all be disputed. But the kicker is the mentioning of ...my witnessing and having knowledge of the abuse against my daughter!!   Three different documents, three different people... have accused me of this. The Kid's Center, a police officer, and the DA.

I am in disbelief!!  How could they? How could they say those things, make me -- and my husband, into these ugly evil people?  How could they just rip my family apart, and knowing what they are doing... just not care?  I found out the petition filed against me --- was filed by SCF. Where's the file the original worker had on this case?  She knew the truth, there had to be some kind of documentation. Do they just ignore that?  Just decide to come after me because their case against Mark is weak?   Attack from all sides? 

I've never spoken to any other SCF worker since the other gal has been gone. The first I heard of a new worker assigned, was at my first court appearance.  She attended "via" phone.  They just up and filed a petition, without an interview, investigation, or any basis what so ever.  My first hearing was June 2nd, and they did not have a clue that my daughter was and has been out of the State since April 29th. My attorney, who has been there for me since the beginning knows what is going on.   But he has not been able to do anything until this came about.  He asked for a stipulated jurisdictional hearing, wanting the State to prove jurisdiction.  A new hearing was set for July 2nd, and until that day, they still didn't know my daughter was not at home.  SCF did not even show up. 

They do know now.... but they want to fight.... and I go back to court on the 23rd. Mark's entry of plea is July 8th.  He will plead not guilty, and we will go on from there. My total bill so far is in the thousands, and growing rapidly. We are having a hard time making his payments, and have put things up for sale. We fear we are going to lose everything before this is all over. But the worst is that I'm losing my family.  My daughter is unable to come home and unable to speak to Mark, which is really hurting her.   I miss her . Her brother and sister miss her.  Mark misses her. We can not live like, nor be the family we once were.  The new case worker for SCF has hounded me, wanting to discuss "planning for my child"...(so she can actually show up in court with something to say, no doubt). 

Nobody sees the injustice that is happening to us. Everyone is oblivious to it, and that really scares me.  It scares me to think of what could happen.  I may never get to have my daughter at home here again.  Mark may go to prison. We may lose everything we have worked hard for, saved for, and made for ourselves and family.   Are my other two children next?  How could I be such a terrible mom, (according to the State), to one child...but not the others?  Do they come after the kids one at a time? 

I am so sorry about the length of this letter to you. I really hope you read it, understand, and believe me when I say there is more. I am a firm believer in the rights of the American people, but I never really thought twice about them until now.  But this situation has opened my eyes.  I have realized what few rights I do have, do not mean a thing to the people working as the "State".  One phone call, one child's mistake... and everything is ripped away.  The rights of parents.  The rights of the accused.  The rights of a family.

The system is corrupt, and working for their own agenda. They do not care about the people that come their way. They care if you comply or not. They care about the monies generated by these situations. There are many, many kids that really need their help... but they slip through because someone jumped through the hoops on their behalf.   Those of us who don't, live the nightmare.

I, as I have said, have done a lot of research on this. I ran across a multitude of information pertaining to Parent's Rights, case law, even some of the legislation Oregon wants to put through.... and some they don't.  I've seen some of the work you have tried to do... and I believe if those of us... with our own stories to tell, all got together, networking, and fighting the system together.... we would fare much better than one voice alone.

Please consider this. After you have given it some thought, contact me, and let me know what you think. I know others. You can contact me by email -- thumper@bendnet.com By telephone --- 1-541-385-9147 and collect is okay. But please contact me... so that we may talk.

Thank You so much for your time.

Sincerely,

Tammy Johnson