I Reported a Child Molester

Long Read. True Story. Real Life.

I've lived in my current home for around 13 years. I've always been close with my neighbors on the left. First an elderly lady, and then a young couple. Across the street, in both directions, the same. Very friendly with most of my neighbors.

While we havn't had any bad blood, my neighbors to the right of me aren't as friendly. They're just a reclusive family. A little background before we get to the meat and potatoes.

My neighbor to the right is an older woman. 62 or so. A larger woman. She is the sole permanent resident of her home, but most times, she has company. In the past 13 years, she's been married and outlived 3 different husbands. The last of which was an elderly German man that i got to know fairly well through 'over the fence' conversation.

She has two living children. A son, 40 or so, and a daughter, 35. The son lives a few towns over and i don't see much of him coming and going. The daughter is notorious in the area for having a drug problem and is a pop in and out resident of the older woman's home. The daughter comes in tow with a daughter of her own, 8 or 9 years old, and an older son, 16.

I refer to the daughter as an in and out resident, because she is at the home 3 or 4 days out of the week, and the rest of the time elsewhere. Her reputation as a drug addict precedes her in this town, but even if it hadn't, i would know her trials and tribulations just by watching. Her business is aired on the front lawn any time she runs out of drugs or money, and the older woman gets upset. I've heard these arguments several times a year for the past 13 years.

The daughter is usually accompanied by a 'man' of some sort. The scraggled sort that you would see hanging around outside of a liquor store on the wrong side of town. Several times the older woman has had the daughters 'boyfriends' arrested for numerous offenses, and ALWAYS, its a different man. A few times, i've recognized the man from around town.

The daughter bringing strange men home could be a hereditary trait. The older woman is also known to bring home weird looking guys that live with her for a few weeks. They'll cut the grass and clean the gutters and whatnot, and then they're gone. If they're not clean enough to stay inside, they live in her shed out back for a few weeks, a fact that leaves me very unsettled until they're gone.

(I'm getting there)

Halloween in our neighborhood is a pretty big deal. We have a few haunted houses go up on the block, and the hordes come out to play. My street gets particularly crowded, with people mingling and laughing and screaming and all. The neighbors come outside and get in on the action. Its fun.

This year, at some point, the daughter of the daughter, (the older woman's grand daughter 8 or 9 years old) would up walking and talking with the grand daughter of the woman ACROSS the street from me. This grand daughter is around 22 years old, and i guess she walked with the younger girl just because she recognized her as her neighbor, and so the younger girl dosn't walk by herself.

Somewhere in the discussion, just making small talk, the topic of her older brother comes up, and the little girl confesses that her older brother has been touching her privates, and showing her his own. She even describes to the older girl how 'big it is'. The grand daughter (22 years old) comes home after the haunted house walk and tells the older woman across the street from me (her grandmother in-law) what the younger girl had told her.

While i've never spoke to the 22 year old, the grandmother in-law waves me down and talks with me at the end of my drive almost every chance she gets. I know all of her business, and not because i want to. She's told me her entire life story at the end of my drive, and the day after Halloween, she told me what her grand daughter in-law had told her the night before.

A little history about my neighbors across the street:

They're what i like to call crazy hillbillies. They shoot fireworks all day and night, ride motorcycles and go carts up and down the street, and 'hoot and holler' at all times of the day and night. They're a rowdy bunch, but not afraid of being themselves, and not ashamed of their (sometimes abrasive) honesty. For all of their faults, they're good people. They're animal lovers, and even humanitarians to a degree.

When she told me what she did, about what her grand daughter in-law had told her the night before, i had no reason at all not to believe her. The truth falls from her mouth without a filter, which is one of her most admirable qualities.

A little history about the 16 year old brother:

I've seen this boy come and go for the past 13 years and have basically watched him grow up. For a short while, when he was a much younger boy, he would skateboard in my driveway with my own boys. My boys are 2 years younger, and while the boy cannot be held accountable for his mother's actions, i knew that there was no telling what the boy had seen in his young life, and decided not to leave my own children unsupervised around the boy even if it was just skateboarding out in the drive.

I remember one day, when the boy was about 10, my own boys 8, and the little girl was 4 or five years old. The boys were skating, and the little girl and a little friend of hers were sitting over on the curb watching the boys. I was positioned with a lawn chair not far away. The older boy gets thirsty, and run's next door to his grand mothers house to get a drink, when the little girl says "He's evil". I said "He's what?". She says, "He's evil".

I laughed, and i said, "He's not evil. He just wants everyone to think he's cool." and it ended there. There were only a few more skate sessions with the kid next door, and he and his sister kind of faded, me seeing them once or twice a week coming or going with their troubled mother.

Return to present day:

Once the woman across the street spilled the beans, i came in straight away and made a phone call. While the Department of Family and Children services could have been my first call, it wasn't. A cousin of mine is a social worker at the Board of Education, and knowing that the school would be the route through which the authorities made contact with the little girl, i decided to go straight to the source. She tells me that she is going to get some ball rolling in the morning, but warns me that it's a touchy process, and that yes, i should call the DFACS first thing in the morning. She also tells me that it is State Law, and Mandatory to report such cases to the authorities.

The next morning, i call DFACS.

(cont. below)

DFACS first tells me that they need MULTIPLE reports to open an investigation. They tell me to urge the original listner, the 22 year old across the street, to come forward.

Now, like i told you before, i'm not particularly close with the 'crazy hillbillies' across the street, though i am on first name basis with the grandmother of them all and often lend an ear to her story time. I knew right away that this may be a problem. Getting this kind of person to contact or cooperate with any sort of authority is a bit of a stretch.

But i do it anyway. The next time i meet up with the grandmother of them all (the crazy hillbillies) i tell her that i went to the authorities with what she had told me and she is grateful. I got the feeling that she told me KNOWING i would do the right thing. For her, it was a weight off of her shoulders. I tell her that the DFACS has requested that her grand daughter in-law call in and make a report, and she says she'll tell her, and that's the end of that.

How can i force these people to contact the authorities? After all, they sort of did. They told me, knowing full on well that i would attack the situation full force, which i did. Now i sit and wait.

The first of November comes and goes, and Thanksgiving rolls around here in the States. Family shows up to eat, drink and be merry, and this even goes for the reclusive family next door. The daughter shows up with her daughter and a strange man. The Son of the daughter (the 16 year old) shows up with a few cousins or buddies.

I think automatically, "If there were an OPEN case, weather there has been anyone convicted or not, they certainly wouldn't allow contact between the 16 year old and the 9 year old. This isn't the case.

This was my first inclination that NOTHING had been done. Not even an initial investigation. All holiday long, all i can think about is that little girl spending another holiday with what she referred to years ago as 'evil'. Thanksgiving comes and goes.

Christmas rolls around, and the reclusive family next door celebrates it the same way the rest of us do. With family. Again, the daughter shows up with her daughter, a day or two later the son shows up (this time with a strange man), and all i can think about AGAIN, is that little girl spending the season of peace with what to her might be the devil himself. Several times over the holiday, the older family members leave, and i notice that the 16 year old is left in charge of the children left at home.

Now Christmas has come and gone, and i'm a wreck over the whole thing.

What do you do when the authorities won't intervene? What do you do when you've done everything that's expected of you, both legally and morally, and the buck stops RIGHT THERE. I have no plans on moving, so am i to sit here for the NEXT 13 years watching that little girl grow up with whatever kind of influence? Am i to watch the 16 year old boy come and go with that #ty grin on his face, with no fear of being caught or punished for what he's done to the little girl?

I think one of the worst things about the whole situation is the strange men that come and go with the little girl's mother and the strange hobo types that come and go from the Grandmother's house. While it may only be a suspicion, i suspect that the little girl has been molested by alot more than just her older brother. Like wolves to a bloody sheep, the right kind of 'evil' will find an unguarded innocence every time.

The grandmother of the little girl also owns the home located directly across the street from her. She acquired this property last year, and as we speak, you guessed it, she has one of her 'do boys' living in the house temporarily. She sends the little girl back and forth with sugar and whatnot, and i hate seeing the little girl go into the other house with the strange man. A few times, i've had to fight myself from marching over there when she's been in there 'a little too long'.

So...what now?

If there are any law enforcement, social worker, educators, psychiatrists or counselors out there, i'd love to get your opinion here.

Topics for discussion would be ( I Guess):

Are the laws for reporting child abuse and are the actions taken afterwards the same in your State or Country?
What would you do?
What has the world come to when an honest man's word isn't enough to at least warrant a questioning?
What sort of 'service' does the Department of Family And Children Services provide? (aside from Food Stamps)
How many reports are needed?
How many times being molested is one too many?

Its really killing me inside.

this story is heartbreaking. i have had similar experience and child services screwed up the whole thing then dropped the case! i think about it every single day. i have told so many people. there's a lot to my story which i won't get into here but i hope you find someone who will listen. keep calling and make sure the case is being looked into. they get so many calls and get over loaded. don't let it go and i think they will listen. as long as the girl is willing to come forward they have a case!

If I were you, I would either let the Dad know about what has happened, and if he isn't around, I am sure someone cares about this little girl enough to dole out some hillbilly justice. Fracking perverts shouldn't be allowed to live.

Originally posted by pasiphae
this story is heartbreaking. i have had similar experience and child services screwed up the whole thing then dropped the case! i think about it every single day. i have told so many people. there's a lot to my story which i won't get into here but i hope you find someone who will listen. keep calling and make sure the case is being looked into. they get so many calls and get over loaded. don't let it go and i think they will listen. as long as the girl is willing to come forward they have a case!

and what if this was the ONE TIME she comes forward? And what sort of message does it send to HER when nobody cares?

Thanks for the response. I was hoping to find someone who would listen too, or even professional opinions, but my thread has been moved from its original location over in Social Issues. I feel it will not get the attention it deserves here.

back to add that the only way they can do anything is if the little girl talks to the authorities. they won't take just your word for it. that will start the investigation but they need her testimony along with the woman she told this info to.

It takes a lot to get anything done around here, especially when the mother has custody of the kids. I know a guy who can't get custody even though his ex has been to rehab 3 or 4 times.

The 16 year old boy probably was/is sexually abused. With a drug-addict mom, he may even think that what he's doing is normal.

But, yeah, it does take a long time to do anything here. CPS is always either missing the ball or arresting people for stupid crap it seems like.

Originally posted by superman2012
If I were you, I would either let the Dad know about what has happened, and if he isn't around, I am sure someone cares about this little girl enough to dole out some hillbilly justice. Fracking perverts shouldn't be allowed to live.

There isn't a dad. And as sure as you are that someone cares about this little girl, i know better. NOONE cares about this little girl.

Well, i do, but have been rendered powerless by a justice system that we are supposed to have faith in.

Hillbilly Justice is just as illegal as Child Molestation, and i'd be willing to bet that the authorities would have no problem at all investigating THAT.

thanks.

Originally posted by pasiphae
back to add that the only way they can do anything is if the little girl talks to the authorities. they won't take just your word for it. that will start the investigation but they need her testimony along with the woman she told this info to.

And is she supposed to call a cab and set an appointment with them?

Maybe she would tell her side of the story, but she hasn't even been approached. There is no investigation. There is a report, filed under another report that was filed under a million other reports. She hasn't even been asked about the incident.

As i said in my original post, a family member of mine is a social worker, and has outright told me (against the rules governing her job) that there is no investigation. The most she could do is report. The same as me.

Just horrible.....

i feel your pain. i know how hard it is to know something like this is happening. it IS a terrible message to send if no one listens to her. in my case the one little girl i suspected was being harmed was only 3. basically unless someone SAW him do something to her the case is closed. not only do i think he molested her but i KNOW he gave her a black eye. i didn't see him do it but i know he did it in my home and then told everyone she got hurt on my trampoline. flat out lie but since i didn't WITNESS it there's nothing i can do. she's three and 3 yr olds tell too many stories.

fight for that little girl.

reading this post kinda made me sick, crackheads do that stuff all the time. i come from a well so to say a "ghetto" area and stuff like this happens all the time. except people probably NEVER call the cops cause that will get you beaten or stabbed around here. but these things DO happen and on a regular basis, a friend of mine whos mother fits the same exact profile as the old ladys daughter used to be molested and theyd pay her mother, she was so desperate for cash that she also went as far as to sell her daugthers (my friend) Social Security card for $200 worth of rock.
All i can say is there isnt much you can do without causing drama for yourself. so if you ever encounter the little girl while she is alone you should encourage her to go to the authorities and ensure her that she has your full support and you will testify. thats the only way these things can be taken care of. best of luck to you and to that poor little soul :/

you have to keep calling and the other woman the girl told this to needs to call. you can call the police too.

Is there any way someone can get the little girl to tell someone at school? Would the 22 year old at least be willing to encourage her to do that? Can you talk to the 8 year old - casually?

Just posting to subscribe and give it a boost. You might send a u2u to wildtimes as her profession was social worker type thing. She might be able to help.

What about the person you alled initially. Have you tried them again? Maybe they think something is happening and they don't need to do anything. If nothing else, maybe they could you give you advise about what to do next.

This is a horrible situation and I applaud you for taking action. Maybe some circumstance will come up that the little girl will talk to you again and you can direct her.

Tough situation and I'm so happy you've done the right thing and are still trying to get this little girl help.

Have you ever seen the girl with any girl friends? Maybe if she does and they've been around her brother, he may have also exposed himself to them as well and may have even tried going further. This isn't uncommon once his ego has been built up and he's not worried about being caught, he's more than likely comfortable trying for more victims.

Originally posted by AnIntellectualRedneck
But, yeah, it does take a long time to do anything here. CPS is always either missing the ball or arresting people for stupid crap it seems like.

^ This....I have seen it go both ways for sure. I've seen a little boy lose his life when there were many reports from neighbors and I've also seen a baby get taken away for missing a DR appointment. The latter incident was completely bogus. This person had their grandchild (mother passed in labor) well the mother had a genetic condition they were checking for in the child. The car broke down the day of the appt. She had every intention of making a new one that same week when she had a ride. In the meantime CPS came and took the child. She got the kid back but not without a fight. It just goes to show you when they spend their time on these things, real cases like the OP's go unnoticed.
When injustice goes both ways everyone suffers....both those not getting the attention they deserve and those catching flack for something that never really put the kid in danger.

reply to post by OneEleven


I've known this one couple for several years... They are filthy on all levels.

They once lived next door to me... Long story short: when they moved out, the wall to their bathroom had to be removed to properly clean. They locked a family of cats in their for months (more than a year). Feces (2-3 inches deep) everywhere. The couple were using the nearby wooded area for their own bathroom. That means, they never showered.

Now, get this... They had a 5 YEAR OLD daughter!

Everyone was calling Child Protective services on this family... And it was later discovered they actually had another older daughter taken away from them a few years earlier.

Not for filth, though... For suspected molestation.

One time, me and another neighbor knocked on their door... The guy answered, wrapped in a towel... And then... His 5 year old daughter was seen in the livingroom NaKED!!!

We were outraged! After yelling at him, we called CPS and reported what we saw, and even though he had one kid taken away already, nothing ever came of it.

I seen them two years later and they had BOTH kids back in their care.

It is so sad.

My point is... These things can be very frustrating. And molestation is a very difficult thing to prove.

You may, have to live with it... But never give up. Never!

Such a sad story..

If I were you I would be calling DFACS or whatever it's called in your state (DOHS here) EVERY day to report this. I wouldn't stop until someone told me they were going to investigate. I would make my intentions clear with the first call.

The really sad part is, if and when the authorities intervene, she will most likely be removed from the home which is traumatizing in itself. She has a rough life, and the small comforts she does know will be taken away from her. Hopefully she can recover and begin to heal quickly when this happens.

I don't need to tell you this, but you're doing the right thing. We'd all be lucky to have neighbors like you.

Originally posted by OneEleven

There isn't a dad. And as sure as you are that someone cares about this little girl, i know better. NOONE cares about this little girl.

If no one aside from you cares about her, maybe find out what it would take to try and adopt her? I have a friend who was physically abused by her step dad. Growing up one of her friends dads talked to a lawyer and the lawyer talked to the family who actually signed their rights over.

Something like that anyway. Another thought, you can also consider calling or emailing a report anonymously. If you have good friends that are willing to do the same anonymously,that may get the investigators off their butt.

Just thinking out loud.