She told a counselor that her husband, Meredith "Gene" Town, had for years been molesting their two young sons. She told him she had been angry with her foster father for spying on her, for putting her on restriction after catching her having sex with a boyfriend. was driven around town in a police car with Perez and two Child Protective Services caseworkers. Police later accused him of failing to report abuse and obstructing justice, prompting an internal Department of Social and Health Services investigation. Pride takes many forms, including a thirst for power and an unabashed arrogance.Q. Again, prosecutors never brought charges, but Glassen was fired from his job for failure to report child abuse and neglect. Carol and Mark Doggett (whose daughter had been taken to a mental facility in Idaho to recover memories against them,[29][63] and then ran away while denying having been abused[64]) were freed,[65][66] but then still required legal assistance to get their children returned to their custody. Kinkade knows what it feels like to be charged with sexual abuse. The last civil lawsuit against the city was settled in 2011 for $120,000, the paper reported. THE REAL STORY BEHIND THE FAKE SEX RING THAT CHANGED WENATCHEE FOREVERQ. "It's a witch hunt, pure and simple," said Bob Kinkade, self-appointed leader of the local chapter of Victims of Child Abuse Laws. After months of patient care, Luci Perez felt she was finally gaining the girl's trust. In the Wenatchee investigation, lies were originally generated by a particular detective and those around him who blindly accepted his premise and not only enabled it, but allowed it to mushroom into the debacle it became. In court documents, psychiatrists and social workers describe Idella Everett as having an IQ of 68; as sexually abused, first by her stepfather, and then by her husband, Harold; as "incapable of protecting herself, much less her children.". The Holts - Selid, Laura and their three kids - lived just a few doors down, at 512 Mission St. Glassen was arrested for witness tampering, police suspecting he had pressured the girl to change her statement on behalf of Devereaux. [15] In 1995, after Pastor Robert Roberson criticized the investigation, he was arrested and charged with eleven counts of the sexual abuse of a child. The Wenatchee disaster has created great distrust for law enforcement in general. So began the painful unraveling of a monstrous secret. That suggestion was ultimately rejected in Olympia as "discriminatory.". On March 13, 1995, Perez put Donna in his police car with two social services caseworkers and they drove through Wenatchee and East Wenatchee. [6][61][62], Courts have freed all those once imprisoned in these prosecutions. Somebody would have told.". The settlement brings to an end the three-year-old lawsuit, first filed in district court in 2011 and later moved to federal court. In 1982, the Miami-Dade Police Department formed a small unit of three detectives to look into unsolved murder cases. The state ferry system still faces crew shortages and a diminishing, aging fleet of green-and-white workhorses. A. . . "[82][83][84] Grant first used the term "witch hunt" to describe these cases in March, 1995. Still, the foundation of the increasingly complicated and bizarre case was the children's testimony. But never once, Cherie Town said, did she "keep the boys home from school to have sex. If I had to speculate, I believe one of the Seven Deadly Sins was at playPride. None of the interviews, or the adults' confessions, was taped. [79] Sadie Hughes (a.k.a. Market data provided by Factset. Improper training. . Perez was named the department's chief sex crimes investigator in January 1994, even though he had no formal training. Nicolas Ferrel-Ibarra. The town was divided into two classes: those who owned the apple orchards and those who worked in them. That suspicion was heightened by medical evidence suggesting that at least one and possibly both of the boys had been abused. Perez said he wouldn't, couldn't, discuss it over the phone. With her statement, police and prosecutors were able to convince Harold that he, too, should enter a plea of guilty. At 37, unemployed, with a felony record, Meredith Town didn't have a lot - just enough to fill a trailer. Bob Perez died a disgraced former detective in 2013. "To start with, Randy and Mike kind of pressured me to let them do those things with the boys since they found out I was doing it for a long time," she reportedly said. To watchIn the Valley of Sin' and 'Crime Stories with Nancy Grace,'sign up onFox Nationtoday. Some were born poor in Wenatchee, others arrived that way. Perez didn't believe Devereaux and told him so. As I have long argued, Evil does not require a motiveit simply is. The detective responsible for the witch hunt, Robert "Bob" Perez, having incarcerated 43 adults with almost 30,000 counts of child rape and molestation, had become the lead detective of the. Authorities alleged that Miller and her former husband, Larry Steinborn, were members of "The Circle.". The next day Devereaux was notified that his foster care license had been suspended. "[86] Grant later concluded that these cases involved "good intentions, driven to hysteria, and then funneled through some people, particularly Perez, who did not use the correct techniques in investigating these cases". Bagdley said the tapes were probably taken by a suspect, Leo Catcheway, who fled Wenatchee and remains at large. It took years of mental health treatment for the case to proceed against Alan Dean in the killing of Melissa Lee. . A 35-year-old mother of four, Linda Miller, was picked up by police in March on suspicion of child abuse as she tried to cross into Canada. "But I was not willing to have my wife and 5-year-old son picked up, interrogated and God knows what . Robert Perez's passing has been publicly announced by Valley Of The Temples Memorial Pk & Funeral Homes in Kaneohe, HI.Legacy invites you to offer condolences and share memories of Robert in the G The shed appeared to have fallen off a semi truck, according to the Snohomish County Sheriffs Office. WENATCHEE - There is right, and there is wrong. The trouble did not end there. Police Officer Andrew Robert MacDonald Walter Stathers. The only break had come when his father, a convicted burglar, got drunk and started shooting up the house with a .22-caliber revolver - probation violations that landed him back in jail. Detective Controls and CIP Supervisor. But by the time Detective Robert Perez completed his investigation, 24 people in Wenatchee had been accused in a child sex-abuse scandal. A friend of Perez's foster daughter claimed that on one occasion, "Pastor Roby" asked the girl into his shag-carpeted office off the sanctuary. Justice would have required someone within the system having the backbone to stand up and declare "This is wrong." [11][27] Four months later they were each released on a reduced $12,500 bail to await trial. Four hours later, she was changing into coveralls with the words "Property of Chelan County Jail" stenciled on the back, and social workers met her children at the school bus. Seattle Times staff reporter Dee Norton contributed to this report. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. DI Jimmy Perez and his team investigate crimes within the close knit island community of Shetland. Q. Former Wenatchee police Detective Robert Perez and former Wenatchee Police Chief Ken Badgley were both dismissed as defendants before the trial. They awarded $3 million to a couple who had been wrongly accused in the inquiry,[5] but the state supreme court later upheld an appeals court ruling reducing this award to the Sims. Distraught, Devereaux responded, "My life is ruined, okay, I did it. Bob Perez Led by Detective Perez, police and Washington State social workers began a vigorous investigation. In Cherie Town's book, it was wrong for her husband to be messing around with other women. . The adults got to know each other playing darts at a nearby tavern; the kids, on the walk to school. "Fake news" sounds so benign. Every person alleged to have been part of "The Circle" is poor, some desperately so. Q. I know what it is like to be a victim, to be sexually molested as a child," she said, wiping away tears. On March 13, 1994, in what has become known as the "parade of homes," D.E. [70][71] While on trial for child abuse, Douglas County also prosecuted the Robersons for welfare fraud, a case the Robersons described as "harassment". The court also vacated orders dismissing Detective Robert Perez and Wenatchee Police Chief Kenneth Badgley, on the ground substantial justice required it. But not everyone is prospering. The room's only memorable feature is an oversized Pink Panther that lounges at the desk of Detective Robert Perez, sex-crimes investigator. Three teenage girls were returned to Devereaux's care. Other siblings confirmed the story. He rose quickly, becoming a detective trainee only three years after being sworn in. "The fabric of so many lives was torn so violently.". The case was sparked by a claim made by a foster child in the home of Wenatchee police Detective Robert Perez, who said she and other children were sexually abused at the church. App. She reportedly began to have sex with her younger son when he was 9. + Subscribe for $1 for the first month She settled with the city this month. [11] In 1994 a child sexual abuse investigation was launched in the rural western Washington apple-growing city of Wenatchee.By the time it was over, forty-three adults were charged with twenty-nine thousand counts of rape and molestation of sixty children. Donna pointed out houses and buildings where she says she and other children were repeatedly raped and molested since January 1988. Perez said it was too late, that he was under arrest for suspicion of child rape. [25], On March 23, 1995, Robert Roberson, pastor of some of the accused, criticized the authorities at a public meeting. Q. Ifat trial, a prosecutoris never requiredtoascertain or to prove a motive. . (Court's Memorandum Decision on Reference Hearing, Ct. Rec. Police Officer Sean A. McDonald 3/15/1994. The children had said there were pornographic photographs and videotapes, including some "home movies" of the alleged orgies. Harold Everett had raped her and at least one sister and brother. That secret allegedly was shared by at least two dozen adults and some 50 children said to be members of "The Circle." Elizabeth Loftus, a University of Washington professor and nationally noted authority on memory, argues strongly that children, and even some adults, are "highly suggestible" and therefore unreliable. "She said she was mad, that she lied, that Perez encouraged her . Auxiliary Police Officer Milton S. Clarke A jury found him innocent of three charges, but could not reach a verdict on two others. "Nothing has gone on, could have gone on. 10", "IPT Journal - "Investigations and Interviews in Cases of Alleged Child Sexual Abuse: A Look at the Scientific Evidence", "Roberson Trial Considered Text (sic) Of Sex-Ring Investigation | The Seattle Times", "DETECTIVE IN CHILD SEX RING TRIAL HURT GIRL", "Jury Acquits Pastor And Wife 'There Is No Sex Ring In Wenatchee,' Says Roberson After Verdict | The Spokesman-Review", "Wenatchee World - Guest Commentary by Karl Ohler", "COLUMN ONE: Wenatchee: Little Town of Horrors: This bucolic Northwest city seemed to epitomize the innocence of rural America. Individually and as a group, the accused were isolated from society's mainstream. - Drive continuous improvement and efficiency in the accounting and master data processes for NA Hub. . Wenatchee is generally regarded as a pleasant town with a solid, upright middle class. The detective responsible for the witch hunt, Robert "Bob" Perez, having incarcerated 43 adults with almost 30,000 counts of child rape and molestation, had become the lead detective of the Sex Crimes Unit in Wenatchee after attending a 3-day, 40-hour course on child abuse. . They had moved from Oklahoma to Wenatchee in 1985, settling into a squat, rust-colored rental house with a narrow porch overlooking a tidy patch of grass, four lanes of traffic and a sprawling junk store with a 10-foot bull's-eye painted on an outside wall and the boast "2,000 GUNS.". Robert Devereaux Roberson Family The Everett Family Possible reasons for unethical work. Attempting to leave Wenatchee quietly, he stopped by the Douglas County sheriff's office to purchase a trip permit for his rig. When the child was placed in the foster care of Luci and Bob Perez, she was withdrawn and frightened. She was convicted by a jury and sentenced to 23 years in prison. Eventually, both Cherie and Meredith Town bowed to punishment. Cited in numerous civil suits still pending against the city of Wenatchee, Detective Robert Perez retired on disability. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. The Los Angeles Police Department is one of the largest and most innovative law enforcement agencies in the world. As in life, if you stand by and let injustice take place, blame is on you as well. Stopping by juvenile hall to talk with her about a new placement, assuming she was released, Glassen found the teen agitated. To date, more than $7 million in civil settlements have . In 1994, Perez (who had undergone a few hours of specialized training in child abuse investigations) took his foster daughters on a ride through the streets of Wenatchee, asking them to identify places where they had been abused . During Plaintiff's discussion with Defendant Detective Perez on June 3, 1994, Plaintiff made a detailed statement wherein he admitted to sexually abusing his daughter Jessica in Moses Lake and in Wenatchee, as well as sexually abusing his three other daughters, Sarah, Jennifer, and Carrie in Wenatchee and elsewhere. The school board on Tuesday adopted a blueprint for potential layoffs and deep program cuts to make ends meet. Perez kept asking if I hadn't seen this person and that person abuse the children. A half-hour after she was arrested, Laura Holt stopped arguing her innocence and began to confess. In September, police, prosecutors and child-protection workers believed they were just about to wrap up two very ugly cases of child sexual abuse - the Town-Holt and Devereaux cases. ", Perez went back to the kids, accompanied by a Child Protective Services investigator. This is a story of violence against innocents, the betrayal of trust, of ignorance and isolation - of a reportedly abusive subculture overlooked by mainstream Wenatchee for nearly a decade. He wasn't halfway through the forms when a sheriff's deputy announced he was under arrest. Detective Armando Perez has worked for the police force in many different units. The court also vacated orders dismissing Detective Robert Perez and Wenatchee Police Chief Kenneth Badgley, on the ground substantial justice required it. There is medical evidence to support some charges of sexual molestation. The 15-year-old said Devereaux had forced her and a 12-year-old foster sister to have sex with him. [45], Washington Governor Mike Lowry requested a federal review,[2][44][46] but U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno declined to involve the national Justice Department in these cases. ", "FMSF Newsletter - November/December, 1995 - Vol. I doubt anyone is really investigating me, but I do believe they are trying to discredit my work. . He was found not guilty on two charges; the jury was hung on three others. Interviewed in jail where she is awaiting trial, Donna Hidalgo claimed innocence. WENATCHEE - Former Wenatchee police Detective Bob Perez, who led a discredited child sex ring investigation in the 1990s in central Washington, has died. A former East Wenatchee cop, Kinkade does not shy from a brawl. Now,Fox Nationsearches for such answers, as former prosecutor and 'Crime Stories' host Nancy Graceprovides insight intothe story that changed a town forever. Standing on the front porch, the 36-year-old mother of two was asked if she'd ever abused her boys. A few days later, Child Protective Services concluded that the allegations of sexual abuse were "unsubstantiated," adding that police investigators had found "nothing prosecutable." Others argue children do not lie about something as physically and emotionally painful as sexual abuse. Perez asked for details. 320 "willfully." That is, the City knew what was being requested but decided not to comply with the discovery request.5 [11, 12]PREJUDICE.Burnet also requires that the discovery violation be one that "substantially prejudiced the opponent's ability to prepare for trial."Burnet, 131 Wn.2d at 494.The word "substantial" is key, and its meaning is . All rights reserved. (According to court documents, Cherie Town has an IQ of 77; 90 to 110 is considered normal.). Directions Physical Address: View Map 250 N Ventura Road Port Hueneme, CA 93041. . . Link: Police Department Page Perez served over 200 days in Ventura County Jail after holding his girlfriend hostage at his Oxnard home in July of 2007. . What kind of perception do you think a story like this leavesthe American people? [56][57], Pierce County public defender Kathryn Lyon compiled "The Wenatchee Report",[58] which "purport[ed] to show civil-rights violations involving children and families in Chelan and Douglas counties. Her statement implicated a slate of other adults, some of whom she now says she does not know. He was determined to ferret out the rest of the abusers, to save the kids. Would she please stop by the station? "[59] Lyon described the prosecutions as "a great example of a social phenomenon that we haven't seen since Salem or the McCarthy era". On March 13, 1995, Perez put Donna in his police car with two social services caseworkers and they drove through Wenatchee and East Wenatchee. . Text. One of Devereaux's foster daughters said he raped her. Two key victims were in Perezs foster care at the time. Sheriff Allan Joseph Weber; Grafton County Sheriff's Department, New Hampshire. But until 1952, when Alcoa built a huge aluminum-manufacturing plant here, there wasn't much middle. Tim Abbey, former Wenatchee-area administrator for the state Department of Social and Health Services' Division of Children and Family Services, said he and former police detective Robert Perez . Ever since this page published details of the spree of child abuse prosecutions in the town of Wenatchee, Washington, readers have been calling . Justice isnt a task that ends, it is ongoing and those seeking it can never rest. A few had histories of telling terrible lies. The investigation found that Perez coerced suspects, many poor and developmentally disabled, into making false confessions, and coached testimony from witnesses. He has twice been tried on charges of molesting his stepdaughter. -----------------------------------------------------------------. [4] The Roberson's 5-year-old daughter testified that her parents never abused her,[27] so Judge T. W. Small dismissed two charges that they had. But at that moment she was not making a confession; she was getting back at an unfaithful husband. On March 13, 1995, Perez put Donna in his police car with two social services caseworkers and they drove through Wenatchee and East Wenatchee. Perez, 60, of Waterville died on Dec. 12 at Central Washington Hospital of stroke-related complications, The Wenatchee World reported Wednesday. The official version of what happened in Wenatchee is found at the Chelan County Clerk's Office, on the fifth floor of the Chelan County Courthouse Law and Justice Center. On the application form, he and his wife, Maxine, said they would happily share their home with up to six school-age children, preferably girls ages 6 to 12. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. At least one caseworker said change was needed in the Devereaux household - perhaps only boys should be placed there. Sadie Knowles), described as "low IQ",[77] and "who described herself as developmentally disabled", said "I pleaded guilty to something I didn't understand," and must continue to register as a sex offender. PEREZ Feb. 2000 99 Wn. Emerson Linarez, 38, was shot and killed in a confrontation with a homeowner. "It is extremely easy for a child, especially when traumatized, to create false memories . They sat down together and, as Luci Perez listened, the child described unconscionable acts of sexual abuse by her parents. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. She arrived shortly after noon, 34, single, with five children. [4][5][6] Eventually all those accused in these cases were released,[7] and the authorities paid damages to some of those originally accused. Criminal prosecutions in Washington state, U.S. hysteria over child molestation in the 1980s, Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award, "The imaginary "sex rings" in Wenatchee, WA", Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, "Other Well-Known Cases | Innocence Lost | FRONTLINE | PBS", "Pastor and Wife Are Acquitted on All Charges in Sex-Abuse Case", "Jury finds city, county negligent in child sex ring case", "Book Review - 'Witch Hunt: A True Story of Social Hysteria and Abused Justice', "Afterward: Freedom is never the same for those who've been to prison on phony charges", "Last case settled in botched sex ring case", "Children sacrificed for the case: Allegations set up a puzzle of doubtful ethics, dubious facts", "CNN - Pastor, wife acquitted in child sex trial - Dec. 12, 1995", "The ghost won't lie still: Ten years after first arrest, 'sex-ring' episode still haunts the community | Local News", "WENATCHEE SEX RING: Questions resurface about 'witch hunt', "TV Station Ordered To Turn Over Tape: Judge Says Krem-TV Violated Girl's Rights In Wenatchee Sex Ring Case | The Spokesman-Review", "Wenatchee: Sex Probe Tests Truth and Trust", "The Unraveling of a Monstrous Secret -- Sex-Abuse Scandal Has Wenatchee Reeling", "Sex Case A 'Wenatchee Witch Hunt' Some Incidents of Incest Were Uncovered but There's Been No Proof of Group Child Abuse", "Cameo Garrett: Wenatchee Mentality: Conversation with Robbi Roberson", "Who is Abusing the Children of Wenatchee? "Let me tell you, I was abused by two uncles and a cousin, and I know the dirt you feel. One of Denzel Washington's greatest roles is that of LAPD narcotics officer Detective Alonzo Harris in Training Day - Antoine Fuqua's 2001 crime thriller about two narcotics officers set over a 24-hour period in the gang-ridden neighbourhoods of the Rampart Division and . Police records say the youngster was forthcoming, confirming that his father raped him and forced him to perform oral sex. Accompanied by two Child Protective Service workers, Perez returned to 610 Mission St. - Provide support to Hub members regarding detective controls processes (B2R, B2C, P2P, MDM). He first joined the NOPD in October 2004 as a 7th District Patrolman, then moved to the 6th District Task Force and 6th District Investigations. [44] Some higher courts agreed, so those who were convicted were freed and had their convictions overturned or pleaded guilty on lesser charges. Defense attorneys questioned the foundation of the charges, citing physician diagnoses that revealed "the alleged victims suffered from various forms of psychological problems including attention-deficit disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, psychotic disorders and other impairments.". App. The youngster's teacher said he told her the same story, according to the police report. Cherie and Meredith Town's former residence, 610 Mission St., is within an easy five-minute walk. Initially placed together, state caseworkers separated the children to prevent them from "sexually acting out amongst themselves.". Phone: 805-986-6530. No child deserves to feel that, there's no way I would do those things," she said. Detectives believe a man fatally shot his neighbor at the Erwin Estates Apartment Complex. . (One soon ran away from Perez and recanted.) S Federal & W Florida . "There are countless suggestive forces," she said. Reed, 43 at the time, pleaded guilty to two counts of child molestation. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Asked if she had had sex with the Holt children, Green shifted uncomfortably on the hard chair before answering, "Only once.". They began a separate investigation into alleged abuse at the church run by Pastor Roberson, a 50-year-old former mechanic who found Jesus 12 years ago, and his wife. 928, 83 P.3d 1026 (2004). After speaking one-on-one to many of the then-children who were coerced into accusing their mothers and fathers of molesting them, I have one word for Mr. Perez: "SHAME!" Perez, looks a lot like Annette Funicello and exudes wholesome determination. The Unraveling Of A Monstrous Secret -- Sex-Abuse Scandal Has Wenatchee Reeling Jun 8, 1995 Marla Williams, Dee Norton IT BEGAN AS a case involving one man raping his two young boys. The case resulted in changes in state law regarding foster care, sex-abuse investigation and mental-health institutionalization involving children, but Perez had no regrets. In newspapers and on television, he accused Perez of being on a power trip, of leading child witnesses into making false accusations, of trampling on suspects' constitutional rights and bullying adults into signing confessions. No! 2", Wenatchee Witch Hunt: Child Sex Abuse Trials In Douglas and Chelan Counties, Concerned Citizens for Legal Accountability, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wenatchee_child_abuse_prosecutions&oldid=1140842856, Day care sexual abuse allegations in the United States, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 22 February 2023, at 01:34. Such events were by this point no longer new in this small city where, it was reported, Wenatchee's Child Protective Services workers and police Detective Robert Perez had jointly succeeded in . It was the Holt children's aggressive sexual behavior that made authorities wonder if there hadn't been more wrong in the Holt household than father-daughter incest and motherly neglect. The City's investigation began after a foster child in the home of Wenatchee Police Detective Robert Perez claimed that she and other children had been sexually abused while attending the family's East Wenatchee church. Along with drinking, sex was the family's primary diversion. App. But Wenatchee police Detective Robert Perez, the foster father . 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Overnight lane reductions are scheduled Monday through Thursday, with more disruptions ahead this month. Roberson had been looking into whether Perez was railroading poor, uneducated people into jail and had publicly spoken against the arrest of people like Harold and Idella Everett, who sometimes attended the church. She responded, "I only did it twice.. . Rattling off names, the girl referred to the group as "The Circle." "But I believe there is a possibility that people who share such common, aberrant needs could be drawn together because the mainstream of their existence centers on the frequent need to be sexual. Seeking out and punishing sexual abusers of children has become a national obsession, sometimes with tragic results. Q. The front walk is overgrown; there's litter where there should be lawn. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. . At the end of Dead to Me season 1, Jen killed Judy's ex Steve (James Marsden) in part because she was scared of him and in part . I thought to myself, `Oh God, what a mess,' and went straight to my supervisor," Glassen said. According to police records, Cherie Town was advised of her rights but chose to "cooperate.". Children, not knowing whether their memories are real, grow up unsure and unhappy - damaged no matter what happened. [47][19] The FBI did not question anyone; instead they shipped Reno documents which she found "do not present evidence of prosecutable violations of federal civil rights law. They had no idea, of course, of the difficulties that lay ahead; no hint of conspiracy; no clue that an incestuous ring of pedophiles, the likes of which has never been proved in this country, might be operating in Wenatchee. Sheriff Robert C. Ynclan; Gordon County Sheriff's Office, Georgia. If true, "The Circle" would have likely gone down as one of the most egregious cases of crimes in American history; instead, whats egregious is that it had been entirely made up at the hands of law enforcement. Some will never believe it. If I were an investigator charged with investigating the cases today, Id do it exactly the same way, Perez said in 2004. Late one afternoon that September, Luci Perez sat down with her foster daughter. Police Officer Nicholas R. DeMutiis 1/25/1994. ", Defense attorneys for Cherie Town asked the court to quash the confession, arguing that she is of "substantially low IQ" and "believed that if she told Perez what he wanted to hear, she would not get in serious trouble." [37], A jury also acquitted Honnah Sims; one juror criticized the lack of evidence and described the case as "a witch hunt",[25] and the jury foreman criticized the case as a waste of money given the weakness of the evidence. A few are of below normal intelligence. The caseworker advised him to be patient. [29][30][31], In 1999, the Washington state legislature passed the "Perez Bill" which required child abuse investigators to keep accurate records of their interviews and forbade them from investigating cases involving their own children.