Men Who Lead Two Lives....Another Look At the Corruption

Submitted by Lynne Moss-Sharman:
Los Angeles Times, Gayle Pollard Terry
April 18, 2004

Secrets in Bakersfield - Rumors of a powerful cabal were whispered for years. Then the local newspaper investigated. By Gayle Pollard-Terry, Times Staff Writer 1/27/03

" "For more than a generation," the story said, "Bakersfield was run by a cadre of men who led double lives. To the public, these men were members of the community's most visible institutions, its justice system and the media. "But in truth ... these men -- a sprinkling of county executives, judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, even the newspaper's publisher -- were part of a loose-knit, secretive network. "Some were homosexuals who preyed upon young men and boys, then used their positions of power and influence to protect one another from possible ramifications.

Occasionally, however, the preyed-upon lashed out, leading to a string of murders involving young gay men and their prominent older male suitors." In the late 1970s and '80s, the victims included two millionaires, one of whom was on a county crime commission; the Kern County personnel director; the owner of a fashionable hair salon; and a 14-year-old girl who attended parties thrown by Bakersfield's one-time police commissioner, who committed suicide after being charged with providing marijuana to minors. With the exception of the girl, whose case was never solved, the murders were committed by teenage or young adult men who said they had had sexual relationships with the victims."

http://www.calendarlive.com/cl-et-gayle27jan27.story
latimes.com

AND ANOTHER ARTICLE:

Judge won't let convicted Bakersfield child molester post bail
by Brian Skoloff, AP Writer 3/15/04

"In Bakersfield alone, 46 people were arrested in eight alleged child molestation rings. Thirty were convicted, eight had their charges dropped and eight struck plea deals that kept them from prison. Twenty two of the 30 convictions were later reversed for reasons including legal technicalities, prosecutorial misconduct or faulty jury instructions."

Link (copy and paste):
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/
2004/03/15/state1714EST0111.DTL

AND MORE:

two fwds from L Moss Sharman - Child Porn Hearing Opens - South County husband and wife are accused of 90 felony counts each, including videotaping and molesting a 5-year-old girl. By Mai Tran 4/9/04 "The videotape gave authorities a roadmap that led to a locked chest stored in a bedroom closet of the couple's home containing 216 videotapes and CDs, many of them depicting the couple having sex with children, investigators said. Investigators said they did not know who sent them the tape or who had the access or time to record snippets from so many movies. Thursday's testimony offered a first glimpse into the case against David Hwang, 31, and his wife, Sheila Sikat, 23. The hearing, which was continued until April 20, will determine whether the couple should stand trial. Orange County sheriff's investigators contend the tapes and CDs reveal six children being molested."

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-molest9apr09,1,3749389.story?c oll=la-headlines-california

Man accused of killing family members had mass suicide plan Brian Skoloff, 4/8/04 AP "Marcus Wesson devised a plan nearly a decade ago for his children to kill themselves if authorities came to retrieve the clan, according to a police detective testifying at a preliminary hearing on charges Wesson murdered nine of his kids. Wesson maintained strict control over his many children and would inflict "weeklong spankings" if they broke his rules, which included *NOT* talking to men outside of the family, Fresno homicide detective Carlos Leal testified that one of Wesson's adult daughters told him. The 20-year-old girl said the family was forced to study the King James Bible twice a day and listen to Wesson preach, Leal said, adding that she claimed Wesson began molesting her and her sisters when they were as young as 5."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2004/04/0 8/state1703EDT0122.DTL

>From American Journal of Public Health - The Economic Burden of Hospitalization Associated With Child Abuse and Neglect Posted 04/02/2004 Sue Rovi, PhD; Ping-Hsin Chen, PhD; Mark S. Johnson, MD, MPH Abstract and Introduction Abstract Objectives: This study assessed the economic burden of child abuse-related hospitalizations. Methods: We compared inpatient stays coded with a diagnosis of child abuse or neglect with stays of other hospitalized children using the 1999 National Inpatient Sample of the Healthcare Costs and Utilization Project. Results: Children whose hospital stays were coded with a diagnosis of abuse or neglect were significantly more likely to have died during hospitalization (4.0% vs 0.5%), have longer stays (8.2 vs 4.0 days), twice the number of diagnoses (6.3 vs 2.8), and double the total charges ($19266 vs $9513) than were other hospitalized children. Furthermore, the primary payer was typically Medicaid (66.5% vs 37.0%)." http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/472527

ABUSERS KEEP CUSTODY OF THEIR VICTIMS 70% OF THE TIME:

When Children Tell And No One Listens - October 1997 - By Sherry A. Quirk, Esq. "...some of the worst cases are those where authorities were notified of abuse and had determined that the child was at risk, but nevertheless left the child in the care of the abuser....Studies show that batterers have been able to convince authorities that the victim is unfit or undeserving of sole custody in approximately 70% of challenged cases." http://www.yesican.org/articles/childrentell.html