Hello everyone....I joined this group last year. Honestly, I am unsure if I ever posted a topic when I joined. I was in a fog at the time ( and very pregnant). But, I would like to share part of my story.
My brother and I are 15 years apart, him being older. He helped raise me and he is my only sibling. We lived together for five years, from the time I was 16 until I was 21 and he helped me to raise my son. He then met his wife and her two children. I was so happy for him. Life was good, I met my hubbie at the same time. That was 12 years ago. We were all very close and my bro became very successful. He had a beautiful home in an upscale neighborhood in Florida, where we grew up. I had a second child and my two kids got along well with his two stepchildren, whom he had adopted.
On January 28, 2008, my world collapsed. My brother was arrested in his home. When he called me from the police station 48 hours later, he was dazed and confused. By that time, I saw his charges online. 15 counts of sexual molestation, totaling a possible 260 years in prison. For a split second I wondered if it was true. I mean, my thought process was, if cops arrest you, they have all of the evidence they need....right?
His bond was set too high. He was stuck. Immediately I hired an attorney. We had never dealt with the system. I knew nothing of what was to come.
Over the course of 4 years of waiting for trial, we spent $75,000, hired attornies, forensic experts, psychologists, registered nurses.....I was a little Aly Mcbeal. I was on a mission to free my brother.
On record, in depositions and court documents, we have RECORDED, 286 inconsistencies by my brothers stepdaughter (whom accused him of molesting her), she was a virgin according to sexual reports, the lead detective that charged my brother with 15 counts ADMITTED she was wrong on deposiiton and the "had she known the lies told by the victim, she would not have placed him under arrest", the alleged victim admitting her motive...when asked why she went to the police her answer was "my dad would never give me freedom, I mean I am a growing girl, I want to go to prom and have boyfriends, I want a myspace page", she actually started this myspace page with half naked pictures of herself the VERY night my brother was arrested.....
This and countless other material was presented to the states attornies office. Florida refused to drop charges, just take it to trial was always the answer.
During the 4 years we went through 3 prosecutors. The 3rd one made a mistake. She accidentally lowered my brothers bond after his 4th year. The attorney called me to go bail him out before the mistake was noticed. And I did. He walked out after 4 years and just 6 weeks before trial.
Without boring you any more....the end result was that, at trial the judge blocked the myspace evidence from being heard and would not postpone trial any further to wait for the sex report nurse to be available to testify that the alleged victim had "no signs of sexual trauma". My brother caved and gave up.
He took the only deal they would offer....15 years in prison followed by 20 years of sex offender probation. He lost everything.
I have lost faith, as I see many of you have, in the legal system. I suffer from PSTD. We are now struggling financially.
I appreciate you listening to me vent, I am just coming out of the fog I walked around in for years. During the week of trial, coincidentally, I found out I was pregnant with my third child. He is now 10 months old. What a blessing my family needed.