Posted on 08/23/2002 9:35:01 PM PDT by IamHD
I don't know when Utahn children start school, but Elizabeth should/would be starting the 9th grade, soon. :(
my six year old son has been sleeping on the floor of his
9 yr. old sister for the last week, because she
has a 160 lb. rottie who sleeps on the foot of her bed.
i have convinced my son that if he leaves his door open, then the rottie
can protect him too. he's gone back to sleeping in his own room.
i think we underestimate how much kids pick up on nervousness (insecurity?) of parents, or
the community at large...
sigh.
Rotties are great protectors for children, aren't they? Mine passed away after 14 years of age, and I opted for small dogs after that. Not so good for protection, but they make a lot of noise. We feel like prisoners in our own home, here..what with an alarm system, dogs, and best of all, *boom,* and after someone tried to come into our girls' room, through the window, at 2:00 am in the morning, wouldn't hesitate to use it, at all. :)
My 14 year old grandaughter was lured out and raped by someone she met on the internet. There are a number of programs available to these victims. The ones here in Texas have really been helpful to my daughter and her family. Thankfully it was not like this child's experience but my grandaughter is coming to terms with the mistake she made and is doing very well considering. We pray a lot too.
It would be good if the details of her attack are blotted out in her mind as sometimes happens with great trauma. She can get counseling and go on having a reasonably normal life. This is my prayer for her. The pervert that attacked my grandaughter is in jail now. He went after over 300 young girls.
I will post the article, it was on FR when he was arrested. My grandaughter was totally innocent and had never even dated, she just thought she was meeting someone who had become her friend. He told her he was 18 and just needed someone to talk to. He is 35. She wasn't emotionally equipped to deal with someone like this guy, even though she had been told about all the dangers of the internet. She didn't believe it would happen to her. This naiveness is what guys like this one prey on.
"It would be good if the details of her attack are blotted out in her mind as sometimes happens with great trauma."
I truly hope so.
I'll check back later to see whether or not you posted your article. I'm glad that something worse did not happen to your granddaughter.
Suspect may have targeted 300 girls - Internet predator-rapist
The Dallas Morning News ^ | July 19, 2002 | By JASON TRAHAN / The Dallas Morning News
Suspect may have targeted 300 girls
07/19/2002 By JASON TRAHAN / The Dallas Morning News
CLEBURNE - More than 300 teenage girls could be victims or potential targets of a man accused of sexually assaulting underage victims after meeting them over the Internet, police said.
Johnson County detectives said Thursday that they found names, Internet addresses and contact information for girls from Fort Worth, Rowlett, Ovilla, Coppell, Plano, Pleasant Grove and other cities at the Fort Worth home of Alfred Wayne Velasquez, 35.
So far, Johnson County authorities, working with the U.S. Secret Service and district attorney's offices in Johnson and Tarrant counties, have confirmed two victims 14-year-old girls in Arlington and Johnson County. Mr. Velasquez is accused of having sex with the Arlington girl in her home while her parents were away, police said.
"It's possible that he contacted more than 300 individuals," said Johnson County Detective Jason Buchanan. He said the contacts could have occurred as long as three years ago.
Mr. Velasquez is being held in Johnson County on a charge of sexual assault of a child under 17. Bail is set at $75,000. He declined a request for an interview Thursday.
"We're pleading not guilty," said Wes Ball, Mr. Velasquez's court-appointed attorney. He offered no further comment.
"He was soliciting victims via the Internet," Johnson County Sheriff Bob Alford said at a news conference Thursday aimed at letting parents and potential victims know about the investigation in hopes that more victims will come forward with information.
Alfred Wayne Velasquez
"This man is adept in bragging on his victims, telling them how they've matured giving them attention," Sheriff Alford said. "He later talks them into a sexual relationship."
Johnson County deputies arrested Mr. Velasquez on July 12 on a warrant stemming from a five-month investigation. It began when a patrol officer spotted Mr. Velasquez with a 14-year-old girl in a parked car at a ballpark near Alvarado.
The girl told police the two had sex after meeting on the Internet, and police arrested Mr. Velasquez on a charge of sexual assault of a child. He was later released on bond, officials said.
When police searched the home of Mr. Velasquez, who police said was an unemployed student at Tarrant County College, they found index cards containing girls' Internet contact information and physical descriptions and other identifying information. One address was in Chicago, officials said.
Police said Mr. Velasquez sometimes posed as a teenager to lure the girls into Internet contact, mostly through instant messaging software and e-mail. He may also have used teenage Web sites to find victims, detectives said.
Investigators also found what they suspect is child pornography on his computer, said Johnson County Detective Jason Buchanan.
The parents of the Arlington and Johnson County victims are upset, Detective Buchanan said.
"The young ladies are regretful of the decisions they made," he said.
Police cautioned parents to be vigilant when dealing with their Internet-surfing kids.
"If your children have access to the Internet, parents need to find out who their children are talking to," he said. "You need to make sure your child isn't playing with a loaded gun."
Authorities urge anyone who may have come in contact with Mr. Velasquez to contact the Johnson County Sheriff's Department at 817-556-6000.
E-mail jtrahan@dallasnews.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/latestnews/stories/071902dnmetjohnsonnet.a3ee8.html --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lord, I pray that you will give strength, and wisdom to TXlady, her daughter and grandaughter, and heal them. Give them, Lord Your arms, Your strength, Your love at this time. Let them feel the Everlasting arms around them.
We pray Lord, that the tears of sadness, be turned into bright smiles one day, and Lord that You would use them in a mighty way. Let them become Your arms extended. Let them be Your feet to go to help the wounded, and Your mouth to whisper words of comfort to the hurting.
We give you this day, all the praise and glory,for You and You alone, are the giver of life, and our help in every danger. We thank You for this child, and thank You that you have allowed some of us to hear this story, and have the honor of lifting them up to you this day. In Jesus precious name, we pray. Amen
They're the greatest! As we've discussed this before, my 2 Rotties are fantastic with my grandson & grand-daughter..When they're here, they play with them constantly, and when they're sleeping, the Rotties are along side their bed watching over the grandkids sleep. They just love them! Wish I knew how to scan the pix to put them on this board for you all to see! :-) Will talk with you all when I get back..
The investigation centered Friday on a tan golf cap that law enforcement officials have removed from Ricci's father-in-law's house.
They've ruled out as a possible clue a machete agents took from Ricci's father-in-law's shed after the state crime lab determined there was nothing to tie it to the investigation.
Ricci's father-in-law, 68-year-old Dave Morse Sr., said Thursday that the FBI took the large knife from his house and a hat similar to the one the girl's sister said the abductor was wearing - one of two Scottish-style golf hats he has. He said both hats had remained in his home and were never loaned to his son-in-law.
Morse said he uses the knife that was taken to knock limbs off trees. He said it was always locked in the shed, and Ricci didn't have a key.
Ricci's lawyer, David K. Smith, who told The Associated Press that comments by police suggested they are trying to focus on Ricci as their primary suspect, was skeptical about the hat report.
"A lot of people have golf caps here in Salt Lake, as elsewhere," Smith said Friday on NBC's Today show.
There was an area that was apparently under the home where cats were getting in and out of, and he was trying to cover that up," Smith said. "Apparently the police also have investigated that, they've gone out, they've dug up the area, they took off the porch. To my knowledge, they haven't found anything."
That was the last Moul saw of Ricci, who never came back to pick up the Jeep. The FBI contacted him, and soon two or three FBI agents and detectives from Salt Lake City arrived to take the car. Moul, whose story was scheduled to be part of ABC's Primetime Thursday program, said he wasn't sure when authorities took the car, but thought it was about a week ago.
Police on Tuesday handed out fliers with pictures of three cars Ricci has driven, including the white Cherokee. Ed Smart, Elizabeth's father, gave Ricci the car in exchange for some handyman work last year.
Also subpoenaed to appear before the grand jury was Andy Thurber, Ricci's neighbor. He had been set to appear before the jury Wednesday, but told reporters he hadn't taken the stand.
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