We had been told that both criminal cases, the one against the parents & the one against the other children, had been sent to the DA.  When I called the juvenile DA a couple days ago, she did not have the children's case in her files.  Then, a couple hours after that call, I received a call from the sergeant and our detective.  They shared that they'd left a message with the juvenile DA but were unable to get a hold of her.  They repeated that the children's case file had been sent to her office and they were still waiting to hear back from her if she wanted to go to trial but that they were pretty sure the case would be closed.  I spent 40 minutes on the phone alternating speaking with the detective and the sergeant, which honestly I didn't even know they had switched people on the line, and it was the most discouraging conversation to date that we'd had with the police dept.  Throughout the conversation there were numerous inferences to the fact that our children might have "dreamed" or "made up" a lot of what they've disclosed.  It was also inferred that because our children had shared so many of their stories with Troy & I throughout the past 1 1/2 years, that we might have corrupted their memories and manipulated their content, thus the reason we had not been offered another forensic interview.  I was apologized to for "being lead to believe" that the parent's case had been sent to the DA; it turns out they had dismissed it as soon as it had come to our detective.  Towards the end of this conversation, even though literally a few minutes before this phone call another crime had been disclosed by one of my children which I did share, I was told to not report anything more to the police in the future; that they had conducted all investigations and found no reason to move forward against the perpetrator family.  Our case has been "suspended" i.e. closed...according to the police.  Now, there's still a tiny possibility that the jr. DA decides to go ahead with the case against the input of our detective, but based on that conversation, we highly doubt it.  *Side note: I just spoke with the victim's advocate and she said there is NOT a case on file listing the perpetrator children!  She agreed that the police must have lied about sending it; they stated this "fact" 2 days ago.

 

Now, I want to be clear, the closure of the case is not the shock.  We expected that especially since this is not the first conversation where disrespectful content of disbelief has been thrown our way.  It was the tone of the conversation, the despair of not having the police dept as a resource for these horrific crimes that have been committed against our children, the lack of compassion & belief in our family's testimonies...that was the bad taste left in our mouth.  We understand not having enough evidence or confessions to prove guilt.  We didn't expect the other family to simple share all their dirty secrets, obviously.

 

We currently have two more reports of abuse by this family on our children being reported to CPS by the kid's therapists.  This is a cycle that will continue throughout their treatment in therapy.  Every time something new is disclosed, by law, their therapist has to report it to CPS.  So we will continue living with the "what ifs" of a new CPS case being opened with our family with the knowledge that it will go no further, i.e. the police. (*The victim's advocate just shared with me that we have every right to report new crimes to the police in the future and that the police were wrong for saying otherwise.) A stranger could show up at our house any day and put our parenting on trial.  We've already gone through this process a couple times this past 1 1/2 years, so we're learning.  We have years of therapy ahead of us so we must use much wisdom in how we rear our kids right now.

 

We have not shared this news with the kids so please don't let the cat out of the bag early.  We're waiting to be 100% sure that we're not going to court.

 

The positive about all this reporting is that it is in the system so the family can not do anything else without being held accountable if anyone has the courage to come forward!  

 

- There are a few other probable children victims, one of which is in therapy and could disclose witnessing acts against my children.  Please pray that these other kids have the courage to come forward and tell the truth about the perpetrator family.  For strength and acceptance of these kid's stories by their parents.

-That God would provide a practical way for us to have a winter vacation away from all this stress.  

-my oldest has his cancer scans tomorrow, so pray for no new cancer!

 

Thank-you for your support.  We continue to take one day at a time resting in God's promises!  The truth will set us free.  He will deliver vengeance on the evil done.

 

Living for Christ,"

On another stunning note, I finally decided to accept the reimbursement of money for the books that I had loaned MOMster.   My pastor emailed her and 1 day later she responded asking where to send the check!  This is shocking to me...numbing...stunning...causes me to conjecture so many ulterior motives since the last time my pastor tried to contact her it took weeks for a response.  I am torn that she's still in town, probably gloating about their "victory" of being "innocent" to many who we knew/know...with a tad bit of hope for prosecution and yet they're not gone to their new country so that we can move freely in our geographical location!  So one year later, almost exactly from the date that I loaned the books to her along with my last correspondence with her (a personal note expressing the difficulty of dealing with our victimized children and the pain and endurance needed to survive...at least this communication helps me to know that she knows a taste of the agony we've endured), 1 1/2 years after the 1st disclosure, I will be receiving a $35 check.  That is what we will be compensated for 3 children's innocence lost, 2 raped, virginity destroyed, years of sleepless nights due to night terrors, PTSD triggers for life, years of loads of laundry in the form of soiled bed linens & accidents, bodily scars, emotional damage, confidence torn down, about 8 hours a week stolen by therapy sessions, our good name muddied by their lies, CPS and the police interactions (remember, with our son everything has been closed since last October), the loss of most of our social circles, lost "best friends" that have to be remade, so much stress...the list goes on...and we get $35 for all this.  I have every intention of taking a picture of that check, cashing it for the $, framing the picture and labeling it "the price of truth" hanging it somewhere so I never forget that this is the worth that monster family placed on hurting our family.  Maybe that's crazy...I don't know.  Just a reminder to never let anyone else deceive us again!

 

Anyways, now you have a taste of the pain I am feeling lately.  There is so much more...but for another day.