This Part Is Done

Patrick withdrew his appeal. It is over. Done.

The blog will stay as is! 

This part of my story is done. I have been able to outline what our family went through at the hands of a pedophile and corrupt church leaders. I have been able to show how keeping secret sexual abuse allows the abuser to continue sexually abusing other innocent people. I have tried to show that it is not appropriate to handle such a serious issue with prayer alone and you should reach beyond the church leaders for help and guidance. I believe I was able to warn families in the Gig Harbor/Tacoma area about a sexual predator in their midst, Patrick D. Rojas. 

Eddie Rojas is still on the run with a felony warrant. There are still victims of Patrick that have NOT seen any justice. There are many individuals that were part of our our story that are still healing from all the betrayal and devastation. I will only post if there is pertinent information such as additional crimes committed by Patrick, if Eddie is arrested, or other relevant local stories that catch my eye. By no means am I done in my pursuit to bring awareness to the epidemic of childhood sexual abuse. Most likely the venue will change. Time will tell. 

Thank you for all the prayers and encouragement over the years! And please pass on the link to my blog if you believe Our Story can help someone or if you know someone that is likely to run in the same circle as the Rojas family. I will keep tabs on the blog and can be reached at daniellelynnschneider@gmail.com

PHFCC Elder's Cover Up

Patrick was able to gather well over 30 letters of support (asking the judge to be merciful) stating that Patrick had such outstanding character, He was an asset to our community, Repentant, Even statements that had the audacity to boast that Patrick had taken responsibility for his crimes.

It appeared that the elders didn't have any real concerns about Patrick being a predator.

I believe even knowing all the details of what Patrick actually did to our child, that they still believed "It was only inappropriate affection."

Early on, it became clear to Eric and I, after we had a few interactions with the elders that "Something wasn't right." We didn't have a scripture to quote, just our gut feeling (Holy Spirit) to follow. After a series of attempts, where we tried to explain to the elders our belief that what in fact happened, was bigger, and more serious than "Just inappropriate affection" we were cautioned about gossip. The elders were very concerned that we were becoming bitter, that is was wrong to listen to "worldly psychology," and that we needed to get to a place of forgiveness (Which in their interpretation meant immediate "reconciliation with Patrick" and our family.)

We knew in our spirit that we needed to break from this congregation and it's leadership.This was the start of our isolation. Some would say the isolation was self inflicted. I would argue we were collateral damage that the leadership was willing to lose in order to save their church.

To stand with our family would have meant standing against the Rojas family. (Remember the father and mother had something to hide.) The elders, idolized Eddie Rojas! The elders were "used" by Eddie Rojas BUT they had an opportunity to tell the truth to us and the authorities BUT they chose to stay silent.


THIS IS KEY:
If the elders felt they needed to stay silent out of biblical obligation, then why, within days after Patrick was sentenced (and protected from further charges in our case) did they break "privilege"and tell a room full of church members that they knew detailed information about what he did to our child and that they didn't report it?

Currently, the church, Peninsula Household of Faith Community Church, in Port Orchard, WA. is still fellow-shipping under the same authority, Jim Cameron and Dave Barrueto.

It has been said that we are the ones in sin and bitter, I reject that!

Jim and Dave shouldn't have been afraid to educate themselves on the subject of sexual abuse. They should have reported all that they knew of the crimes committed by Patrick for the benefit of the abuser receiving a proper sentence and more importantly so the victim could receive proper help as soon as possible! (not six months later)

THE ELDER'S BETRAYAL IMPEDED JUSTICE!


More from: "What The Elder's Knew"

Patrick Rojas's Sentencing Process

Back to our story.....


The day finally came when Patrick would be sentenced, July 2007.

A few days prior to Patrick's sentencing, our child expressed a desire to attend the hearing. I panicked! But so much of what had gone on was completely out of this child's control. I decided I would at least talk to Eric about it and then called our counselor. This was one opportunity in all of this for this child to control something, even if it was just whether they wanted to attend the hearing or not.

I called the counselor and we had a lengthy conversation. The counselor felt our child was strong enough emotionally to attend the hearing and that it might be a real healing experience. The counselor decided to attend as well in case anything unexpected happened. The sentencing would be the first time our child would see Patrick Rojas since we reported his crimes.

We were ushered into the courthouse by the child advocate. As we exited the elevator, the first thing I saw was Kathy Rojas praying on a bench with someone. I have always wondered what could she possibly been praying (especially since she knew her son was a guilty pedophile.) Would she actually pray for God to keep secret her son's crimes? As we proceeded down the hallway towards the courtroom I saw Patrick Rojas, Eddie Rojas, and the lawyer huddled in the corner. We went into a side room until it was closer to the start of the sentencing. The courtroom was packed. The judge even had people sitting up in the jurors area.

It was at the courthouse when the prosecutor told us there was a last minute request from Patrick's lawyer for a change of judge. Only the defendant can request a change in the judge. Instead of having a judge that regularly presided over similar types of cases, our case was now going before a judge that routinely sat over traffic violations. Unbelievable? Yes.

Judge Daniel Philips was now presiding over our case. He had literally just been handed our case files, which included a 40-page sexual-psycho evaluation that contained very relevant information. To say that Judge W. Daniel Phillips was outrageous is an understatement. I lost any confidence in the court when the judge was suggesting that he would pass sentencing on Patrick without even taking the time to read Patrick's court ordered sexual psycho evaluation. It took a lot of bantering back and forth between lawyers to hold off final sentencing for one week.  

We had been told by the prosecutor to prepare a statement to read to the judge. The prosecutor suggested we have our statement written out, because she has seen too many people freeze up in the moment when they hadn't prepared a written statement and after the fact wished they had remembered to make certain points. We were told that anyone could address the judge and make statements. I asked the prosecutor if we should ask people to make statements on our behalf. She stated it would be good to have the child's grandparents have a statement along with us. The prosecutor didn't want to have a room full of people with prepared statements because some judges don't like that. Eric and I decided to ask my parents and two family friends to have a statement prepared. I told anyone who I knew who was planning to attend the sentencing that anyone was welcomed to address the judge, but that we had specifically asked three different families to speak.

A lot of people from the church were concerned about the fact that they would need to pick a side of the courtroom to sit on. They wanted to appear neutral. They didn't want to take sides. That ended up being a moot point because the courtroom was so full people just had to sit where they could find a seat. This attitude as you probably have picked up from previous post was really upsetting to me.


Grandma and Grandpa McBee stood and made a statement. The Dew's and the LLew's also came with a prepared statement to make. We decided that Eric would be the one to make the statement on behalf of our family, but we stood with him. When we were done the judge asked if anyone else wanted to make a statement and there were two individuals that spontaneously stood to make a statement on behalf of us. One of the women I would like to highlight stood and made a very heartfelt emotional statement from the perspective of and adult survivor of childhood sexual abuse.


Now, we had to return to court to find out if the judge would go along with the plea agreement or overrule it, which ended up being, August 17, 2007.


This final sentencing day in court had a very different feel about it. First, we didn't bring our child, there were less people from the church in attendance, and only Eddie and the older boys showed up in court, no Kathy or older girls. 

It was many peoples observation in the courtroom that this judge was very arrogant in his demeanor and speech. On the day of final sentencing the judge began with a lengthy speech that was somewhat offensive at points. One example is when the judge equated a sexual predator to a shop lifter or a drunk driver. That statement bothered quite a few people that were in attendance that day. It showed a minimization of the crimes Patrick D. Rojas committed. I am convinced that Judge Phillips could not have read the evaluation in it's entirety because he just went along with the plea agreement in place.


The judge was the last hope for some kind of justice in our case. The judge did not have the authority to change the charges against Patrick but he did have the authority to over ride the plea agreement and sentence Patrick to the maximum for what he was charged. The maximum jail time for the gross-misdemeanor Patrick was charged with would have been 1 year in county jail.


If the judge would have read the evaluation he would have discovered that Patrick should have been charged with child molestation in the first degree which is a felony that held an 8 to 25 year sentence range. The evaluation held information proving that Patrick had 5 other minor victims. How could the judge just go with the original plea agreement. The original plea agreement was made with the belief that Patrick had kissed our child on the lips only. 


But the judge should have known otherwise from the information in the evaluation. This process was so upsetting. Unjust! Maddening!


*From the information I gathered Judge W. Daniel Phillips retired in March 2009. 


*This was from numerous posts:
Sentencing, Sentencing (cont.)7/26/09, Sentencing (cont.) 7/27/09 and The Judge

So Important to Get!

Evil is no faceless stranger,

Living in a distant neighborhood.

Evil has a wholesome, hometown face,

with merry eyes and an open smile.

Evil walks among us, wearing a mask

which looks like all our faces.

~From the book "Counted Sorrows"

To be an effective child molester one has to have a certain charm about them. When caught this charm along with their lie that, "It will never happen again," more often than not convinces others not to report their crimes.


However slight, if you suspect that someone has had sexual contact with your child you need to report it. Let the authorities sort out the facts. In our day and age it is very hard to have actual charges filled against you unless there is adequate evidence. We need to get the pedophiles on the radar screen.


This post was inspired by my mother.

Character Reference Letters

If you remember, I have referred to -letters of character reference- that a variety of family members, church members, and some church leaders in our community wrote on behalf of Patrick. These were written to say what a great guy Patrick was and what an asset to our community he was and that it would be a waste for him to serve real time in prison for just a moment of poor judgment. These letters boasted that Patrick was repentant. The people who wrote the letters claimed to have already seen a change for the better in Patrick.

There was an Eagle Scout who claimed to be an excellent judge of character. He eloquently stated his personal relationship with Patrick. He wrote a very persuasive letter to the judge requesting that leniency be extended to Patrick. There was also a leader from the Heritage Homeschool Organization that wrote a letter on behalf of Patrick using the organization's letterhead and signing with his official title. I could go on and on.

None of these people ever contacted us to verify information they were selectively given by the Rojas family and the leaders of PHF. Nor did they bother to contact the prosecutor or detective involved in our case. One thing that I still don't understand to this day is that, for some reason, Patrick and his lawyer requested that the contents of the letters be sealed. We were able to read each individual letter in the prosecutors office, but haven't been able to attain actual copies because they aren't in the public file.

People would argue that these individuals made a simple judgment error in writing these letters. Fine. But that doesn't take away the consequences of their errors. After the deceit of the Rojas family was revealed and after Patrick was shown to be deviant and dangerous, only one individual felt compelled to write a retraction and send it to the courts. Out of 30+ letters, only one wrote a retraction. Patrick David Rojas, a convicted level-two sex offender who admitted to having sexual interaction with animals, who admitted to peeping in on mothers and daughters in bathrooms, and who admitted to other victims including a baby.

This has always bothered me!


What I hope you will learn from this is to be very careful of you will vouch for. Especially, when pleading for leniency for a crime committed. The letters do influence the judge. Ask questions. Contact the detective involved in the case. Download the public legal documents and read exactly what the person is being charged with. You can learn a lot sometimes just by reading the charging documents. Certain crimes, in order to be committed successfully, take deceiving others around the criminal. Don't be fooled into supporting a sexual predator.   


*From "This Has Always Bothered Me" post.

Prayer Time for the Schneider's...not really!

Shortly after the Valentines dinner, I went to a friend and expressed my deep hurt in the fact that the church had hosted this dinner and that she and her husband had attended the event. I went on to express that I would expect people in the church to be literally praying with us or the Rojas family (at this point we had no idea that Eddie and Kathy Rojas were involved nor did we have any idea of how deviant Patrick was.) It was not a time for status quo.

Right after this conversation, my friend started orchestrating a prayer time for us. We were willing to show up for this, but didn't want the Rojas family there. While we didn't have specific information at this point, we sensed something wasn't right. It appeared they were in support of Patrick hiring an attorney.

Eric expressed this concern with our elder, Jim Cameron. Jim stated that Eddie and Kathy Rojas hadn't done anything wrong and made it clear they would be at the prayer time for our family. Jim also stated that if we didn't attend this prayer time, we were letting satan win and missing out on what God had for us. A couple came over and pleaded for us to attend this prayer time. They felt it was vital for the congregation to see that we were devastated and broken--not angry and bitter (as some had said.) 

We showed up at the church against our better judgment. We brought a couple that did not attend that church to help filter what was happening.

The meeting started out being more of a question-and-answer time directed by Jim Cameron and Dave Barrueto. Eddie and Kathy Rojas sat quietly in the front row. We were asked how we would like the congregation to pray for us. We took that time to remind those in attendance that we had always been willing to talk to anyone who had questions. We stayed where we were seated while the prayers began. Dave Barrueto ended the prayer time with a prayer for Patrick. I couldn't barely stand it. I was sickened by that. Pray for Patrick--fine, but don't do it in my presence! Not now. This was another moment that was written off by most as, "Oh, this was just an innocent mistake." It wasn't simply a mistake! It was rude and insensitive! It was purposeful!

This was the last time we attended that church, but it took another devastating interaction with Patrick, the Rojas family, and the elders before we had the strength to actually officially leave the church.

From "Insensitive With a Purpose" post.

Jairus Knew All Along

Evil takes hold when good men do not speak out! ~Anonymous

In my opinion, Jairus Rojas, helped to facilitate the sexual abuse of my child as did his parents. Jairus never came forward during the investigation to talk to the sheriff's' detective. Jairus stayed silent along with his father, mother, and the elders of the church. Jairus along with Eddie loaned Patrick the $10,000.00 he needed to retain his slick Seattle attorney.

In January of 2oo8, just after Christmas and the New Years our family received a Christmas card in the mail from Benjamin and Jairus Rojas. It was unbelievable! I was speechless! Inside the card there was a personal message, "May God's peace fill your hearts in this coming year and may He pour out His blessings upon you. Love in Christ, Jairus and Benjamin." 


I was so enraged at how insensitive they were to have sent us a Christmas card. Both Jairus and Benjamin were supporting their brother, Patrick, and had not even taken the time to read his evaluation or know really what Patrick was capable of or even what he had done to our child.

This was when I called Jairus and confronted him about some of the things I have already mentioned in this and other posts. In the same phone conversation even as Jairus was trying to tell me that he and Patrick had no secrets and that it was the will of God for Jairus to stand along side his brother, I made the discovery he didn't have any idea of who he was supporting. Jairus didn't even have knowledge of the incest with a consenting adult "named relative" that Patrick was involved with (this was happening under Jairus's own nose in his own home.) I also learned in that conversation that Jairus was in full support of his father's decision to go into hiding with the rest of the family. Jairus was conned into believing that Eddie had no choice and that if he didn't run that the minor girls would be taken away by the State. I can assure you unless the State found that Eddie was sexually abusing his own children all the State wanted to do was ask questions about their relationship with Patrick. 

All Jairus could say was that Patrick was repentant and that Jairus believed he was to love his brother. Again, what planet are these people from? Patrick had been successfully lying to him and living a double life for 7 years. Patrick is a conman. But Jairus foolishly believes Patrick is somehow different now. What does he base his logic on? 

Parts taken from the "Jairus" post.

Another related post "ANONYMOUS"

What If

Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.~Martin Luther King Jr.

I'd like to explore "What if we didn't call the police, question?"'

If you have read my previous posts and will assume some of the actions of the pastor, Eddie, (the predator's father) and elders stayed the same, It is logical to conclude we would have never known that our child was sexually molested beyond "a few kisses," and our family would have been counseled by the elders that true forgiveness meant fellowshipping again with Patrick (the abuser), the "relatives" that Patrick had sexually abused would still be vulnerable of being his victims again, Patrick would be able to pursue a career in any field (including working with children), Patrick would certainly add more victims to his resume, and our child would not have received the proper help and would be a continuous victim (literally and/or emotionally.)

I know some adults do not report the crime of childhood sexual abuse.  I submit to you, if you do not report a crime of sexual abuse against a child you are also abusing the child (in a different way.)

I want you to think about this: If Eddie would have educated himself on pedophilia the first time he discovered that Patrick had sexually abused one of his "nameless relatives" at age 15, (which according to Patrick's evaluation was his first victim.) IF, Eddie would have sought out the proper help for the "nameless relative" and reported Patrick and properly protected others from Patrick and sought out professional help for Patrick, then the five children that followed could have been spared the trauma and devastation of being sexually molested by Patrick! 


Instead, Eddie and Kathy Rojas chose to stay purposefully ignorant at the expense of innocent children (even their own.) I do not want to in any way be part of hiding or keeping secret any information that might possibly help protect children from being victimized by Patrick (or anyone else involved in hiding his crimes or hiding that he is a predator.)

If nothing else, I hope this brings awareness to parents and anyone that is responsible for children. Assuming the statistics are correct and 1 in 4 girls are sexually molested before the age of 18, this is an epidemic! Flushing these predators out into the light, by naming them and exposing their crimes, by demanding tougher laws with real prison sentences for sexually motivated crimes against children, and by educating ourselves on the issue of childhood sexual abuse  (www.darkness2light.org/ ) we will start to turn around this epidemic.

The change starts with you and with me! Are you willing to be an advocate for children? Are you willing to call and e-mail your State representatives? Are you willing to forward this blog to your contacts?


*Partly from "Was It Worth It Post".

Peninsula Household of Faith Fellowship's Elders Knew

Two days after Patrick's sentencing the elders called a "Heads of Household" meeting. During this meeting the elders, (still currently in leadership at, Peninsula Household of Faith Fellowship of Churches, in Port Orchard, WA.) would admit to having a private meeting with Patrick and Eddie Rojas. The elders were pressed by some in attendance and the elders would eventually reveal that during the private meeting Patrick admitted to them all that he had done to our child. They knew for six months before we knew.

THE ELDERS KNEW! And kept quiet. They never told us the additional crimes beyond the "kisses." Jim and Dave knew details of the abuse our child had endured but didn't tell anyone, not even us, the victims parents. The elders spent the day (literally) with Patrick and Eddie. They even came over to our home directly after that specific meeting.

We had asked a couple in the church to come and be a witness to the meeting (the husband was out of town) but the wife came. The elders, Dave Barrueto and Jim Cameron, basically came to see how we were and told us that they had been in contact with other pastors to get advice and that they had contacted a lawyer to find out their legal liability. I remember them explaining that because we had reported the crime, "They had no legal obligation to report it as well." That since the case was now in the "states" hands they were not going to talk about it with us. 


They did ask  how they could help us in the process of healing, forgiving, and reconciliation. 


Our friend that was with us has a background working in a sexual assault center and she directly asked the elders if there was any information that came out of their private meeting that we (the parents of the victim) should know? Any new information at all? Jim Cameron had been at the original meeting with us and knew exactly what Patrick had admitted to doing to our child in front of Eric and I. The elders looked at each other and said,"No, nothing to add." They reminded us they were going to stay out of the legal stuff.

Approximately 2 1/2weeks after our initial discovery of the abuse and the elders private meeting with Patrick , Jim Cameron, was interviewed by the sheriff detective working on our case. 


Jim Cameron ends his statement to the sheriff with, "In his opinion Patrick wanted to stay pure, but wanted to know what it felt like to kiss ....... and it was just the wrong place and wrong age."


We would not know that Jim Cameron had basically mislead the sheriff detective until after the sentencing of Patrick. When I saw (on the report) that Jim Cameron minimized the crime in his statement and in my opinion, he even lies by omission, I will have to admit my heart filled with hate. This man along with Eddie and Dave Barrueto knew everything....he knew that we, as the victims parents, didn't know what had really been done to our child. He and the others in authority allowed the church congregation to believe what happened was "only a kiss." 

Not for six more months did we know what had actually happened to our child at the hands of Patrick. Which by the way....we never minimized. From day one we considered even a kiss forced on a sleeping child in their own bedroom from a 22yr old to be sexual abuse and so does the state of Washington! Six months! 


The state had no reason to believe nor did they have proof beyond our child had been groomed and kissed by a pedophile. So, they entered a plea agreement to avoid trial. Eddie, Dave Barrueto, and Jim Cameron influenced the outcome of the charges filed by their silence and they also influenced a congregation to support a seriously dangerous pedophile. 

THE ELDER'S BETRAYAL IMPEDED JUSTICE!


*Elder's Post

Last Time Eddie Was Seen In Washington State

The evaluation revealed that Patrick at (15yrs of age) was "caught" and that he was disciplined by his father, he repented and all was forgiven. Then again at (age 17)  Patrick was caught another time. This time Patrick shared that both his parents talked with him, that he repented and all was forgiven.

Life as normal to the outside world.

As part of the evaluation, Patrick had to reveal all of his minor victims and outline the crimes in detail. What I am willing to say about the other victims: ages range from 18 months old to11yrs old. Patrick was actively victimizing someone when he was between the ages of 15-22, (then we reported him.) Out of the five additional victims four of them could qualify him for 4 charges of child molestation in the first degree and the fifth would be a lesser charge. (Patrick states that per his lawyers advise he only gives the age, sex and details of the sexual abuse of his 5 additional victims. He does however name the adult sister that he had consensual sexual contact with. Along with the details of what was done to my child.)

Eric and I were told to keep the sex/psycho evaluation information quiet. This was an ongoing investigation and we shouldn't talk about it. It would be two more months before Patrick's sentencing day and before all the information would become publicly accessible.

We didn't know at the sentencing that we would be dealt the final blow.(At least we hoped it is was final blow, but it wasn't...) The Sunday before Patrick was sentenced Eddie Rojas stepped down from his role as Pastor of the church. Eddie attended Patrick's sentencing and was approached by CPS and was asked to produce the girls for an interview. Eddie asked for some time. He told others that he was taking his family camping to get away from everything and that's the last Eddie or the minor children have been seen in Washington State. 


Evaluation Request Information:http://ourstoryhelp.blogspot.com/2010/10/evaluation-request.html

Culpable

Eddie, Kathy and an older brother, Jairus, knew of Patrick's pedophilia tendencies and kept it secret. I believe this makes them just as culpable as Patrick in the crimes against our family and his other victims. (Some of which are currently with Eddie Rojas in hiding.)

It is to this day still hard for me to believe that they knew yet still allowed and encouraged Patrick's interactions with our family.

As a condition of Patrick's plea agreement with the state, Patrick had to take a court ordered sexual psychological evaluation. These evaluations are very intense. Part of the evaluation includes a number of sessions along with a lie detector test and such.

We would not know until mid June 2007 the results of the evaluation. (Remember we reported the crime in January 2007.)

I remember the day clearly, the phone rang and it was the prosecutor, Kelly Montgomery, along with Eric on a three way call. She started by saying she had a feeling that Patrick was bad but had no idea just how bad he was. She stated that the 40+page evaluation she had in front of her was one of the worst to come across her desk in a long while.

She hated to have to tell us...... but needed to let us know that our child had been victimized to an even greater extent than we had previously known.

She read us the detailed description word for word of what Patrick had done to our child. She read direct quotes from Patrick taken during his evaluation. Part of his evaluation required him to take a polygraph examination. He had to pass the polygraph as truthful in order for the plea agreement to stay in place. This agreement protected him from further charges with any additional information pertaining to our case. The prosecutor went on to explain to us that our child was one of 6 victims. Also revealed to us, Patrick had taken part in bestiality, online pornography, and incest with a consenting adult sister.

If that wasn't horrifically, shocking enough she added that Patrick's parents, Eddie and Kathy Rojas, were aware of his pedophilia behavior which started around age 15. He was 22 at this time. Seven years of sexual deviant behavior kept hidden within the family. Numerous victims.

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." ~MLK, Jr.

*Parts from "What Eddie Knew" post. More tomorrow.

Pedophiles Job

You may wonder how we missed that our child was being groomed and had been sexually molested. A pedophile grooms the entire family and gains trust of everyone around the targeted child. It's almost ALWAYS someone the family knows and loves.

"People who are predators are really good at seducing children. This is their job. This is what they do. If they do it well, you are seduced before you know it. You don't know that it's seduction, that's the whole point..." ~from a TV special~

A church is ideal grounds to groom families. Our church was set-up to be very family oriented. Most of the families home schooled and integrating all ages is the norm. Pedophiles are typically patient and watch for vulnerabilities in the targeted family.

Our family was particularly vulnerable. Just in a years time prior to Patrick's crimes against our child, there was cancer in our immediate family, we had a new born, and moved twice.

The Rojas family was always there to help us. Patrick started tutoring one of our children and taking him on as a "little brother in Christ" type mentoring. This is every parents dream. A seemly Godly young man taking time out of his life to encourage another whom is younger. Our family welcomed the involvement. This is how Patrick gained access to the victim child.

Anything that might of normally been a "red flag" was easily explained away because of how "Godly, caring, and humble," the Rojas family was. I did have some "gut" feelings but didn't pay attention and act on them. I thought my "paranoia" was born out of my own life experiences. I will never ignore my gut again.Our children were not able to go on sleep overs (with rare exceptions) for the simple fact we didn't want them vulnerable to sexual abuse. Our kids were almost always supervised around other children for the same reason. Because of my background I am always suspicious of others.

There were a few times we knew Patrick left our child a note that read "Smile Jesus loves you" (with a smiley face) and would leave a few pieces of candy. I would tell myself, "How thoughtful, Patrick knew that this child would feel left out because they weren't going and doing x,y or z like their sibling was." Perfectly logical, he's from a family with 13 siblings who are taught to think of others. He also didn't just single out the victim, he would mix it up and sometimes give treats to all the kids. Patrick was always the "thoughtful guy."

Does too good to be true come to your mind? 

Let's not forget that he had help from his parents, Eddie and Kathy Rojas along with Jairus, all of whom had knowledge of Patrick's pedophilia behaviors long before we reported the crimes against our family.

*Parts are from the original "Questions" post.

Regret

The day after we reported the suspected crime against our child we thought the "right" thing to do would be to let Eddie Rojas and Jim Cameron know that we chose to involve the police. They were our pastor and elder. I deeply regret giving them the heads-up. We had no idea just how intertwined Eddie Rojas was with his son's deviant sexual behavior. We trusted the Rojas family. We trusted Eddie and Kathy Rojas. I believe everyone at the time actually felt sorry for Eddie and Kathy. No one in the general congregation and I mean NO ONE knew that both Eddie, Kathy along with Jairus knew that Patrick had a history of sexually abusing minor children. And it didn't help that their family just continued on with normal life and their normal activities as if nothing serious had transpired.

Our family on the other hand was devastated. Our lives would never be the same,our faith would never be the same, our ability to trust would be forever altered.

What good are we if in a moment of real need we deflect, distant ourselves, or ignore the issue?


 I don't want to ever be that person!

For the first two weeks our family was trying to figure out how to maneuver through all of what was happening. Initially, we stated that we didn't want our family named as the "victim family" when the leadership spoke of the matter. We wanted to try and control who knew it was our family for the simple reason of protecting our child's privacy. Fairly soon we decided we didn't have anything to hide and communicated to the leadership that it didn't matter to us who knew it was our family. (About a week after the discovery the leadership had a meeting and told the congregation that there had been "inappropriate affection" between Patrick Rojas and a child in the congregation. They informed the church members that the authorities were involved.)

When we started to tell our close family and friends the reactions were so diverse. I would start by saying that we called 911 to report sexual abuse by Patrick Rojas against one of our children. It was always disbelief  at first but after that some would actually start to cry and show deep concern for our child and family.  They would want to listen, ask questions, they would be real.

Some reactions were hurtful! I had a few people after the initial shock actually turn their concern towards Patrick. No kidding, one comment was, "Well he better get a good lawyer, the state will be out to get him."

Another one went right into rantings of how "The Rojas ways weren't all that great after all, now were they?"

In those moments, I was struck by the fact that the individual in front of me really hadn't heard me. I had just told them I had to call 911 because my child had been sexually molested by Patrick.

The comments I resent the most were the ones where the person would say, "At least that's all he did, it could have been worse."

I wanted to scream, WHAT IS WORSE?" (Any form of sexual abuse is devastating!)

These people just didn't get it! I think this is when I started to shut down inside, to hunker down.

Part of me died inside.

*Partly from the "Reactions" post.

911 Call

The following 24hrs after the emergency meeting were horrible, as you might imagine.

...it started to play back in my head....I kept thinking, are we making too much out of this? In the spirit of not being a "gossiper" we didn't let anyone else in our church or family know what we just discovered. (secrecy gives the sex offender power)

A name popped in my head, it was someone I could call that could help me process what we just discovered and would tell me if we were making something out of nothing. She has a masters in psychology and is a Christian. She would know what she was talking about from a biblical world view which mattered to me. I hadn't spoken to this person in many years other than running into to her at a mutual friends birthday party or something like that....but I located her number and called.

Almost immediately after outlining the note and the "emergency meeting" she stated that we needed to report sexual abuse to the police. I was very hesitant and she could tell. She went on to explain a 22yr old man does not just wake up one day and fall in love with a child under 12yrs old, that Patrick most certainly had other victims with the grooming pattern he displayed towards our child. She asked if he had any sisters and expressed concern for them. (The very girls that were taken into hiding by their father, Eddie Rojas, to protect a pedophile from further prosecution.) She told me to call a sexual abuse hot line and talk anonymously with them about our situation and see if they gave us the same advice, which was to call the police! As I'm sure my friend knew the sexual assault center did in fact say we absolutely needed to call the police!

Eric and I were still struggling and praying. When I looked at my husband and said, "if it were our neighbor that we were talking about we wouldn't hesitate calling the police." The phone rang. It was my friend who said I just want to ask you one thing "If this were your neighbor you were talking about would you even hesitate to call the police?" I was blown away. (This still gives me chills, to this day, when I recall it.) I explained that I just said that exact thing to Eric. She urged us to hang up and call 911.

That is exactly what we did!


*Retelling from the original "Discovery" post.  Our Story will continue tomorrow.

Emergency Meeting

*More from the original "Discovery" post.

I still wonder why we did it this way... I wish we would have called the police immediately. Hindsight, WE SHOULD HAVE CALLED THE POLICE IMMEDIATELY. We gave the sex offender, his father and the elders time to formulate a plan and reach out for legal counsel.

But instead, Eric and I found a friend's home where our children could go and called an emergency meeting with, our former pastor, Eddie Rojas (whom is the offenders father) his wife, Kathy, Patrick, and one of our elders, Jim Cameron.

In the meeting Patrick admitted to kissing the victim on the lips multiple times while the victim was asleep in their own bedroom. With the note alone and the victims "dream like" minimal memory, charges may not have  been filed on Patrick and we would have never known just how twisted and dangerous he is. But because there were witnesses of  his admission and specifically a "non partial" witness, Jim Cameron, the admission was taken seriously when we reported it to the police. The prosecutor, Kelly Montgomery, reviewed the case and had a "gut feeling" about this one. She took the case on personally. She normally takes on the more high profile cases.

A few other things came out of the meeting that I would like to make mention of....when we read the definition of a pedophile in front of everyone immediately Eddie Rojas reached over his wife and touched Patrick on the leg and stated "one time does not make a pedophile"....and our elder, Jim Cameron, stated that he felt the "world" is too quick to label someone. Jim Cameron felt it was more like "inappropriate affection" rather than something criminal...this was the theme the elders and the Rojas family stuck with.

Another thing that always bugged me and that stuck out was when Eddie stated that he could empathize with Patrick because when Eddie was younger, 22yrs old, he had a crush on a 12yr old girl and wrote her some notes and her parents found them and told him to stop and Eddie said he did.

In the moment I pretty much sat in a chair and cried most of the time. Mrs. Rojas didn't say a word until they were leaving she hugged me and whispered, "I am so sorry it's my son." There was talk about the Rojas's disciplining Patrick and that the elders and Eddie and Patrick would need to meet to figure out what to do. Eddie wanted us to know that he would take this seriously. No mention of calling the police and reporting that a crime had occurred because you know (and I say this sarcastically) it is only "inappropriate affection" and "just a kiss". (That was forced on an 11yr old child that was asleep in their own bed by a 22yr old man.)

Now try to imagine, we were sitting with men we respect, as our pastor and elder. We were in shock and disbelief and being fed that really this wasn't that big of a matter. Definitely one that needed more discussion between Eddie and the elders but nothing beyond that. We were told basically that they would be praying for us and to let them know if we needed anything.

.....more tomorrow.

First Piece of Evidence

*Retelling from the "Discovery" post

We were having company come over the following night so our family was tidying up our home. The family we were having over ironically enough was the Rojas family. Anyway, Eric went into one of the rooms to check it out and upon inspection he found a letter inside the pillow case on one of the beds. The reaction from the child was strange so Eric came to me and we read it together.

My heart sank...there was a small torn note around the outside of the letter and here is some of what was written, "...best to tear the letter up when done reading and responding to it." ..."other notes I gave you should also be disposed of or given back to me." "This is a risky place for a mailbox....think of another place....put it there if you know I am coming or if your whole family is leaving."

Then we opened up the letter which was written on college lined paper and was two and 1/2 full pages, written 12/06......the paragraph that made me literally sick to my stomach was;

"I know that I didn't just offend you, I realize that I hurt you very deeply by what I did. I took from you something I can't ever give back......I did it because I love you. I assumed you loved me....but I guess I thought wrong".....

"......I also want to apologize for reading your diary.....since I read yours I feel as though you should read mine......"

".......I want to encourage you to grow closer to the Lord. He is more faithful than I could ever be......He has promised to be with you and never forsake you! :) "

"....P.P.S. Sometimes I feel like giving you a little gift (like gum or candy) because I want to bless you. But recently you haven't been very receptive of my efforts...."

We talked to the our child who stated their memory was very dream like and thought that Patrick kissed them.

Patrick was 22 years old and our child was 11.

What?  A kiss?  When?  How?  Really?    NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Going Forward (Starting At The Beginning)

The appeal process is going forward. I saw it coming. Unfortunately, appealing the decision to dismiss his case is very characteristic to Patrick's behavior, thus far. But I was hopeful that the appeals court would dismiss his request to review the ruling all together....We are now waiting for Patrick to submit his briefing, at this point he is representing himself.

 I have been considering re-posting our story because there is still a wanted felon on the run, there are additional victims, of his, that have not seen justice for the crimes they endured, and a level two sex offender living freely in Port Orchard, Washington that is trying to get me to stop telling my story. To refresh your memory, I will be re-posting OUR STORY from the beginning. This is a great time to post a link to my blog and raise awareness!

 The following is from my initial post that started this blog. At the time I wrote this I had no idea I would have so much to say, that I would eventually receive tips and actually locate Eddie Rojas and family or that the actual sex offender of my child would have the audacity to sue me for telling OUR STORY.

 *I made a few minor changes to the original post: "How Can You Help?:

 We need your help in locating someone who is in hiding along with innocent minor children. There is an arrest warrant in the name of Francis Edward Rojas, AKA (Eddie Rojas) for "witness tampering." The warrant is out of Kitsap County court in Washington State, it is a nation wide warrant. Just prior to going into hiding, Eddie, was the pastor at "Peninsula Household of Faith Community Church" in Port Orchard, WA which is affiliated with the "Household of Faith Community Church's."

 In January 2007 we discovered that his adult son (whom lived under Eddie's roof) was a pedophile. I will attempt to outline the events that lead to Eddie taking his wife and 10 children into hiding, why there is a warrant for his arrest, and why you should help locate him. Our family has used all available legal channels and had hired a private detective to try and locate this man and haven't successfully found Eddie. I have reservations about using the internet but the pro's out weigh the con's....I need to know that I did not leave any reasonable possibility unexplored.

 This will be an emotional blog with a subject matter that is heinous but I can't shake the feeling that we may succeed in finding a wanted man with a felony warrant and bring healing to so many others. I have a large family and as time allows I will be posting more information, pictures, possible "hot" spots where Eddie may be in hiding along with more of our story.

 Check back to see how our REAL life story unfolds....

No, Really!

It appears that Patrick is requesting that an appellate counsel be appointed to him. No, really! Not sure if I should laugh or cry... All I know is that I am in a "wait and see" stance. Will the court accept Patrick's request for an appeal? Will the courts appoint counsel? YOUR tax dollars might be used to pay for Patrick's public appointed counsel.

Fretting over what MAY be...won't do me any good. For now, I am pushing this to the back burner and plan to enjoy this holiday with my family.

Up-To-Date Recap

*January 2007 we discovered that one of our children had been sexually violated by our pastors adult son, Patrick D. Rojas. (Patrick was 22yrs old at the time of the crime and the child was 11.)

*We reported the crime.

*August 2007, Patrick D. Rojas had his day in court. A plea agreement enabled this predator to have minimal consequences. He received 10 days in county jail, 2years probation, he will be on the sex offender registry for 10years. He is classified as a level 2 sex offender. Justice was not served!

*Eddie Rojas and his wife, Kathy and an adult son, Jairus had previous knowledge of Patrick's pedophile behavior but kept it a secret from our family and our church family. We know the parents knew from the information in the psycho sexual evaluation. Jairus himself told me in a phone conversation in 2008 that he had previous knowledge that his brother had been a sexual predator. At the time of the crimes committed Eddie Rojas was the pastor of our church.

*The elders of our former church, Jim Cameron and Dave Barrueto, knew in detail the crimes committed against our child and did not report any of the information to the sheriffs detective. Jim actually implied in his statement to the sheriff that Patrick's actions were innocent and "just the wrong age and wrong place." It was not until a plea agreement was in place and the sentencing had occurred that these two men shared that they had known all through the legal process the details of Patrick's crimes. They acknowledged their awareness of the full details of Patrick's crimes in our case at a Heads of Household meeting.

*As of August 2007, Eddie and Kathy Rojas along with 10 of their children went into hiding to avoid the state interviewing their minor daughters about the alleged sexual crimes committed against them that are talked about, in great detail, in the psycho sexual evaluation. Since they left the state they have lived in Israel and as of March 2011 are in England, with an additional child.

*Patrick D. Rojas is a convicted level 2 sex offender living in Port Orchard, Washington with his brother Jairus. Patrick has a total of 6 minor victims that we know of (age ranging from 18mo. -11yrs old), in his sexual psycho evaluation that was court ordered, Patrick, admitted to other deviant sexual behavior as well.

*In 2008, a felony warrant, was finally issued for Francis Edward Rojas, AKA Eddie Rojas.
The warrant is for witness tampering and is a nation wide warrant. I am asking for everyone that reads this to forward the information to all their contacts.

*March 2009, I decided to start a blog to tell Our Story.

*August 2009, We applied for an extended no-contact order for our minor child. PATRICK CONTESTED IT. It took us attaining a lawyer and three trips to the court house before Patrick backed down.

*June 2010, The sheriff knocked on our door and handed us our notice of the lawsuit against us by Patrick and Jairus Rojas.

*November 2010, We offered to totally remove the blog if they would walk away from the lawsuit (due to lack of finances to continue the legal battle.) We were totally shut down. To quote a part of the letter we received from their attorney, Michael Davis from Tacoma, WA, "The offer of settlement does not compensate my clients for their losses." NO JOKE!

*March 2011, Out of not knowing where else to turn, I contacted some media outlets to see if they could help us by telling our story. KING 5 News in Seattle, WA aired our story.

*Attempting mediation that was requested by Michael Davis, on behalf of Patrick and Jairus, March 23, 2011.

*May 7,2011 - Benjamin Rojas's Wedding in Virginia. It's reported that many of his siblings are in the US to attend the wedding. Conflicting reports as to whether Eddie or Kathy are in the US. Benjamin is on Patrick and Jairus's witness list.

*Our trial date is currently set for June 20,2011.

*Trial pushed to 12/12/2011.

*August 2011 confirmation that David Rojas has joined his brother's in Port Orchard, Washington
(Which means Eddie and Kathy have 9 or 10 children with them in Italy)

*November 4, 2011 The court dropped the case against us. The blog stays in tact!

*Patrick is appealing the ruling with the appellate court.

The Emperor Has No Clothes

I had no idea that by starting this blog that the information would go viral. That I would end up needing to defend my right to tell others about what happened to my family and by whom in a court of law.

There is a conviction. I have documentation and witnesses that can verify what I posted. Truth be told, I even held back some. Should I have to stay silent so a convicted pedophile can groom another family? Secrecy empowers criminals....I wish someone would have warned my family.

There is also a wanted felon that is all twisted up in our story (Eddie Rojas) shouldn't I do everything within reason to locate him? Especially because he has children with him that are most likely the victims of childhood sexual abuse.

Something is wrong. Something is REALLY wrong and I felt that I should point out that the emperor has no clothes ...(as my dear friend put it.)