Rutherford County, Tennessee corrupt officials accused of withholding evidence, dereliction of duties, violating civil liberties...

On December 3, 2006, our world and our life ended as we knew it. My son was falsely charged with domestic assault by his 17-year-old stepdaughter, who he had raised since she was a year old. She told her mother, who had left more than four years previous, that he slapped her and pulled her hair. She was angry because he took her computer away for having posted self-porn on the internet. The mother, once a stripper, now a prostitute and convicted drug dealer on 6-months probation, saw an opportunity to get back the two children that she had voluntarily given up and walked away from.

She called the police and asked for her friend, a detective who is not very fond of our family, to get involved. Although this detective was not on duty, he came, took my son into custody, detained him there and proceeded to search his home without a warrant. In the "search," his laptop computer and several personal items were taken. The detective admitted that he did not have a warrant under oath in court.

Then several police officers and DCS came to my home, walking in without a warrant or legal documents of any kind, and said the children had to go with them. Although the front door was open, the storm door was closed, they did not knock...just barged in.

We were all in the kitchen when they arrived. My husband, on oxygen, was very ill and did not need the added stress. We were with the children every day of their lives and seeing the now terrified children was very difficult. He grieved for them every day until he died five-months later.

No Background Check

The police and the social worker took the children back to their mother and released them to her with no foster or other preventative plan put into place, let alone to verify that she was capable of caring for her children. The children barely knew her. She had little to no interface and would only bring them a cheap toy every once in awhile. Unfortunately, that was the extent of her parenting. My son was mother, and father to all three of the children, including hers.

We had never had any experience with anything like this before. I did not know that they were supposed to have emergency removal papers. I did not know that I did not have to let them go. They have been gone for over a year and a half. We have missed Christmas for 2-years and their birthdays. Our little girl is 7 and our little boy just turned 11-last month.

No Investigation

DCS was supposed to investigate this case, and send us the findings within 90-days. We called Friday, and they don't even have a file on it. They don't even know where the children are. We have just found out that the DCS worker that came and took them, no longer works there. Our custody lawyer filed our case in court. We were forced to put it on hold, pending the outcome of the abuse case. My son was told that if he went through with the custody case that they would throw him back in jail.

After he was charged with assault, the detective and 12 police officers in body armor came 3-days later, and charged him with rape of a child - 33 counts, and he was put on 1 million dollar bond. Then after they threw him in jail, they took the daughter the next day for a rape test, and she is still a virgin. Her hymen is intact, no rips, no tears, no notches. They asked her leading questions, and with coaching from her mother, she has told terrible lies. My son sat in jail for 1-½ months before he got a bond reduction hearing lowering the bond to $250,000. We were also put on a protective order that prevented us from contact within 1000 feet of them and no contact, not even supervised visits.

We were never advised by our counsel that any of the actions on the part of the DCS and the police was illegal, until we changed attorneys recently. And, although he said that the Judge was wrong, we've still been prevented from seeing them. They would not let us get a GAL for them, saying they would put my son back in jail. They will not let us see the police report; in fact, they are hiding it from us.

They are also withholding exculpatory evidence. They have changed judges 4-times, we've been to court 29-times, and they have changed the trial date, several times. It has been set again, for next month, in front of the worst judge in this county. They hid the laptop for 8-months, and finally came up with it, and now they won't let us see it, even though 2-judges ruled that we can. This time the TBI is giving the computer expert the runaround. They have illegally taken and kept this computer for 1-½ years.

They dropped the case of domestic assault - expunged and nullified it, trying to get rid of the police report, after we went to court 5-times, demanding a hearing, and they never gave us one. This has never been done in the state of Tennessee, before. They dropped the order of protection, so that the daughter did not have to testify. When the mother took out the order of protection, under oath, she never mentioned rape. They made it all up so that she can keep the children.

Meanwhile, we are under unbearable stress. They are trying to railroad my son into prison. He has never been in any trouble. We want our children back, and we don't even know if they are ok. They loved their grandpa; the children don't even know he passed away. They really loved their daddy. And he loved them, and took better care of them than any man I have ever known. They were his life.

All of this because of a vindictive evil woman, a corrupted detective who everyone thinks is having an affair with her, and a teenage girl, who used to hate her mother, for being a prostitute, but now she is living with her. Not to mention the DCS worker, who didn't care what level of trauma she put the children under by keeping them from their dad, and a corrupt judge who should have thrown this case out.

It is a waste of taxpayer's money. This happened in Smyrna, Tennessee, and will be tried in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Rutherford County is well known for its corruption. DCS was supposed to notify us of their finding over a year ago. We haven't heard a word. Everyone should be aware of what is going on in this country, by DCS workers, corrupt police, corrupt prosecuting attorneys and arrogant judges.

I have written to the governor, the states attorney, Jesse Jackson, the ACLU, our congressmen and senators, and everyone that I could think of. I told the whole story, and sent them all certified, and notarized. I have not heard a word.

If there is any way you can help me -- maybe a website that I can post the letter from my attorney on, or anything at all to help, we would appreciate it.

Thank you and God bless,
Shirley,
Rutherford County, Tennessee

Update: The head judge of the county has, by court order, sent this case back to the 2nd judge, for trial. This judge is not nearly as bad as the head judge. The TBI have finally allowed our experts to examine the computer.

Labels: domestic violence, false allegations, investigation, judicial misconduct, parental rights, Tennessee, withholding evidence

Tennessee House vote would change abandonment law as it pertains to foster care and adoption.

In Tennessee today, House legislators passed HB0351 with a 54-31 vote. The bill would specify that a parent whose attempts to visit or support a child are "prevented by the acts of others" would not be considered to have willfully abandoned the child. The Senate Judiciary Committee will wait until next year to take up the bill.

According to Rep. Brian Kelsey, a Republican from Germantown outside Memphis, the bill is unnecessary because the Supreme Court has already ruled on the case.

This bill could impact parents whose rights are being terminated due to the time constraints placed on parents.

In a sworn statement by James W. White, Executive Director of the Fiscal Review Committee the impact both fiscal and tangible could be significant.

The sworn statement attests that:

Summary of Bill:

Includes the provisions that a person who has attempted to support or visit a child but was prevented by the acts of others or circumstances beyond such person’s control is not considered to have willfully failed to support or visit as such pertains to the definition of child abandonment within instances of adoption and foster care. A person who files a petition in a court of competent jurisdiction to gain custody of such person’s child within a four month time period has demonstrated intent not to abandon such child. A parent who is appealing a termination of parental rights is authorized to continue such appeal after the one-year deadline.

Assumptions:

• Annually, there are 1,500 Termination of Parental Rights cases through the Department of Children’s Services. It is estimated that 10%, or 150, of these cases will be impacted by the provisions of the bill.
• On average, the delay in the termination of parental rights will require an additional 120 days of state custody. For each additional day there will be an approximate increase of $100 in expenditures per child. Such will increase expenditures by $1,800,000 (150 cases X 120 days X $100 per day).
• Of the $1,800,000, seven percent ($126,000) will be Title IV-E Federal funds; 45% ($810,000) will be through TennCare; and $864,000 in state funds.
• Of the TennCare funds, $293,706 is state funds at a 36.26% match rate and $516,294 is federal funds at a 63.74% match rate.
• The total increase in expenditures for additional days of children in custody is estimated at $1,157,706 in state funds and $642,294 in federal funds.
• The Department of Children's Services will need three additional case managers and one additional team leader which is estimated to increase expenditures by $221,500 which includes $177,500 for salary and benefits and $44,000 for communication, computer, travel and other expenses.
• Of the $221,500, 7% ($15,505) will be Title IV-E Federal funds; 45% ($99,675) will be through TennCare; and $106,320 in state funds.
• Of the TennCare funds, $36,142 is state funds at a 36.26% match rate and $63,533 is federal funds at a 63.74% match rate.
• The total increase in expenditures for additional staff is estimated at $142,462 in state funds and $79,038 in federal funds.

Labels: adoption, foster care, He Case, Tennessee

For years now the He family has been splintered, forced to live a sort of half-life. Never really living, with one foot held in a suspended animation that couldn't possibly be real. The other foot going through the motions of life, working, sleeping, eating in a sort of funk that never goes away.

Struggling to create a new identity in a strange land. Mr. and Mrs. He fought to regain the right -- from the state of Tennessee, when they lost their child to a Christian couple who tried to take what didn't belong to them.

Kidjacked has supported the efforts to reunited Anna Mae with her family and I do mean "her" family. This is the family she was meant to have, one that no one can ever take away from you, even if you never speak to your sister.

Today's news just blew me away. Get this...

"It is exciting to learn China is gradually becoming Tennessee's biggest buyer in cotton and related business."

"In 2006, China bought more than $1.8 billion of Tennessee goods, making it the No. 3 customer between Canada and Mexico."

An E-mail from the He's brags:

To capitalize on the synergy, Gov. Bredesen announced Tennessee will open an economic development office in Beijing in his October visit as part of trade delegation to China. Since 2001, Chinese Embassy has been monitoring AMH custody case.

The day after the $500 million deal was signed by Chinese buyers in Tenn., Mr. and Mrs. He (Jack and Casey) sent an email of appreciation to The Chinese Embassy in Washington, expressing their best wishes for the success and cooperation between China and Tenn., a great state where justice prevails.

These statements indicate to me that there may have been some serious negotiating between the state of Tennessee and certain Chinese officials. Did the Chinese buy back a child? Did the state of Tennessee hold a child hostage for a deal to sell cotton, providing much needed job for the impoverished textile industry?

If it walks like a duck, smells like a duck, then the theory is – it's a duck.

Related Articles

• Cottoning to China
• State Will Open Economic Development Office In China
• Deal creates hundreds of jobs Harsco is on a growth track
• Bidding war erupts over Qld Cotton
• China buying $500m worth of Miss cotton

Labels: Chinese couple, He Case, Tennessee

As far as I can tell everyone is lying in this case. The parties in this article both contest the facts in this case. All comments regarding the disputed facts have been deleted, no new posts will be published on this thread.

Is Memphis selling babies to the highest bidder?

The facts of this case as they are presented in this article are in dispute by several family members. I have encouraged both sides of the family to calmly voice their opinions of the case here. Update (9/08/2007): The author of this post and the editors of Kidjacked have been threatened with a lawsuit. Parties in this case are demanding that this article be removed. The names of the parties concerned have been removed.

From beyond the city of Memphis, known—perhaps with a double meaning—as the City of Blues, I wonder what happens behind closed doors that seems to lead repeatedly to old-boy politics and a judicious amount of conspiracy among the people who are supposed to represent the law: its enforcement and its applications.

I watched the drama unfold for many years as a Chinese couple, the Hes, fought to get their biological child back from a Memphis couple who decided they would simply keep the girl, regardless of the birth parents' wishes. The Hes weren't abusive, weren't negligent, weren't in any way deficient as parents. That's a legal fact. What they were was ignorant of the ways of Memphis's dubious legal system. Worse, what they were was Chinese.

That case has finally reached the Tennessee Supreme Court. Maybe—finally, after years of battle—the Hes will receive justice. They'll be reunited with the daughter who was, in the eyes of most anyone but the family who now has her, stolen from them.

If this were an isolated case, I might consider acquiescing to the loud (white) voices that argue the Hes lied about this, or were negligent about that, or didn't understand the ramifications of their decisions about this other thing. I'm a loud white voice, too, from the lefty-liberal stomping grounds of Washington State. You know how we blue states are. We thought Iraq was a mistake when more than 50% of you thought it was a good idea.

Memphis's legal system is also a mistake. If you don't know it already, let me show you where the weapons of mass destruction really are. And then let me ask you a question that is the fundamental question for everyone in Memphis who assumes the law is on their side.

The Hes weren't the first. And they aren't the last. Do you know about DM? She used to live among you, just like the Hes. She used to think Memphis—Germantown, in particular—might be a good place to live. But if your eyes aren't round, maybe you didn't get the memo: Memphis doesn't want you and doesn't like you and will not be kind to you if you are raped or if your children are stolen. Not if your skin is yellow and you don't have the cash to manipulate the system.

Beginning in August of 2004, DM discovered that a white man—her husband, as a matter of fact—could use the Memphis system to his advantage, and the local police would extend to him all the respect, deference, and patience normally allotted to the victim of a crime, not the perpetrator.

Editor's Note: The following accusations are strongly disputed.

• DM's husband abducted the couple's ten-month-old baby. The police, by their own admission uninformed about the laws they're supposed to enforce, did nothing.
• DM's husband raped her. The accusation itself merits an investigation, but when her husband countercharged her with assault (a staged event that her husband plotted out with a divorce attorney he retained even before getting married), DM was the one arrested, based solely on his word. Her time in custody gave her husband ample opportunity to raid their shared residence for valuables and to flee the scene.
• DM's husband used the Germantown police as his own personal attack dogs, calling in false reports of theft (items proven to still be in her husband's possession), child abuse, and a variety of other criminal behaviors that never happened. However, the Germantown police—and his wife (a private investigator, LA), whom her husband hired as well—respond diligently to such reports, provided that the right amount of money is exchanging hands. And it is -- there's a paper trail to prove it.
• DM's husband harmed his own child to manipulate divorce proceedings against DM: he doused his son in gasoline and accused his estranged wife of the act. DCS and hospital staff where the boy ended up for 5 days all concluded that her husband was a threat to the children. Yet nothing was done. The police in Memphis don't arrest their friends, apparently.
• DM's husband attacked and attempted to harm both DM and his son with gasoline. Never mind what he feels for his wife—this is the child he allegedly loves and wants to care for.
• DM's husband violently raped her again less than five months ago. As of today, he remains free...and with custody of the children.

This is only a fraction of the fiasco that has taken place, again, in the legal machinations of Memphis, Tennessee. The Guardian ad Litem in the case is not only failing to keep the children in a steady relationship with their mother (which is her job, by definition), but she was conveniently requested, by the attorney of DM's husband.

This doesn't even scratch the surface of the false police reports that were treated like scripture... police commonsensical failures to gather evidence that anyone who's watched a single episode of CSI would know to do... manipulative private investigators and shady police officers working together despite official commands not to... and a host of other questionable tactics that strongly suggest politicking, racism, and good ol' boy camaraderie between the police and a thug with a history of violence. DM's husband, it seems, has left quite a trail of violence and restraining orders everywhere he goes.

All divorce proceedings are ugly—even the ones that go smoothly still proceed with heartbreak, disillusionment and hopelessness. Your life ends, in a way. But in this case, the Germantown police have allowed themselves, through close personal and financial relationships with DM's husband, to become one of the divorcing spouses.

There's a mountain of paperwork that shows what this triangular divorce has become. Who will look at it? If you can't give it to the police who are sworn to protect you, whom can you give it to? If you are destined to be a victim because your protectors see you as different—racially, socially, economically, politically—then what are you supposed to do to save yourself and your children?

You ask questions. And you ask this question: What are you going to do about this, Memphis? Who polices the police when they choose sides?

M. Ryan
Seattle, WA

Labels: Chinese couple, He Case, Memphis, Tennessee