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

Kathy Knew....breathe, just breathe

I remember throughout everything that was happening in our family I would have to tell myself..... breathe....just breathe. One day while I was out doing errands I heard this song playing overhead, it caught my attention. Breathe by Anna Nalick

I have mentioned that Kathy Rojas knew of her son, Patrick's, pedophilia behavior. It has been very upsetting over time as I have reflected on some of the interactions between myself and Kathy.... The original "non emotions" at the meeting at our home, with only a whisper of, "I'm sorry it was my son." Followed by a phone call a few nights later after I didn't show up at a women's book study letting me know that she missed me and wanted to know how I was doing. This was within hours of us just receiving a call from a man stating he was Patrick's lawyer who wanted to know the name of the Sheriff's detective who we spoke with.

Breathe....just breathe
We discovered something had happened to our child on January 04, 2007. January 10, I started to receive cards from Kathy. One thing that struck me at the time,  there was never any reference to what happened. They all contained personal messages that had the same theme: she loved me, they all loved us, God is faithful, God is in control, to trust in Jesus, that our family was continually in their prayers, these specific bible references: Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. and 1 Peter 5:7 - casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.


She sent me the words printed out to, 'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus and a lengthy poem written by Renee Rojas. "...will you trust in Me though the journey is hard? Will you trust in me; Will you give Me your heart?"....the basic theme of the poem.

breathe....just breathe.
Kathy never bothers to mention the fact that she knows her son is a pedophile or maybe I'm sorry I didn't protect your family and I allowed my son, who is a sexual predator, to stay the night at your home. Or maybe, my heart is broken for you, I know the agony you are feeling right now. Nor does she mention the victim in all of this.

She just felt it urgent to tell me to "trust God." Meaning what exactly? Kind of like how they "trusted God" by hiding the truth and by going into hiding?

Kathy Rojas

breathe....just breathe.
Another very long letter I received in April from a woman in the church ended with, "It's not about this trial that your facing, it's about God. He wants you to trust Him in it. I will continue to pray for you and your family to grow in Jesus...." This woman and her husband wrote a letter to the judge on behalf of Patrick.

breathe....just breathe.
There were other situations where an elder's wife wanted me to attend an annual homeschool planning meeting with Kathy Rojas. Becky Barrueto just could not wrap her mind around the fact that I was unable to be in the same room and act like there wasn't an elephant in the room.

breathe....just breathe.
There were other gatherings that various families hosted, such as a musical recital, they would invite the Rojas family (including Patrick) and our family. The Rojas family would show in force as if all was fine and we would be considered angry and bitter for not attending.

breathe....just breathe.
Because we reported a crime, because we were in mourning, because we set boundaries, because we wanted justice, we were not "trusting God." was how we were being portrayed.

How about this, We "trusted God" to bring to light all that was hidden in darkness! And He did! 


Now we are trusting God to take care of this lawsuit!
breathe....just breathe.

Questions Considered Gossip

From my view, our church was in crisis. The pastor's adult son had victimized our child and the police were involved, shouldn't people be asking questions?

Instead questions were considered "gossip" and the congregation bought that hook, line, and sinker.

One of the events that really bothered me was when the leadership decided to have a "Valentines Dinner" for the married couples.(about 1 month into everything) Of course, we were invited.....WHAT??....What planet were these people from? I just could not act as if nothing happened. My child was being interviewed by a sexual assault specialist, we were being interviewed by the sheriff investigating the case, we were being contacted by Patrick's lawyer, we were finding out more and more information about pedophiles and how they operate, we were being told that Patrick was refusing to cooperate with the state, and we were realizing that our leaders were in fact minimizing the sexual abuse of a child--our child.

Somehow during this I had the presence of mind to realize the best thing we could do for our child was acknowledge that a crime did in fact occur. That was the start of my conviction to really live this out. We were not going to pretend that everything was as if it was before the victimization of our child. We were going to deal with this now...in hopes of saving our child from a life time of "stuffing their emotions" and hopefully minimize the long term damage and hold that sexual molestation can have on an individual.

*From "Pretending Status Quo"

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.

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.

Connect The Dots

It seems there are many individuals that know about sexual deviant acts committed by one or more Rojas family memebers over the years but no one has put it all together. For some reason I was the first to report a crime committed by Patrick, even though he had seven years of previous sexual deviant behavior and lying. I was the first to shine a spotlight publically on this family. It's hard for me to imagine so many others have kept quiet.

Why? Why are you keeping quiet?

It's NOT un-godly to expose sin of this magnitude publically! Especially since the Rojas family have a history of moving around so much. And let's not forget that Eddie Rojas is a wanted felon in the state of Washington!

It's time to connect the dots!

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.)

Patrick and Jairus you chose this path.

"The offer of settlement does not compensate my clients for their losses."

The more I consider this quote from Micheal Davis on behalf of Patrick and Jairus, the more indignant I feel. I believe this is another perfect example of an occasion where it would be appropriate to swear. WTF?

This makes me so angry on behalf of my daughter. This makes me angry on behalf of all survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

The sexual predator, Patrick David Rojas, who abused my child is claiming we have caused him losses. Proof that he is incapable of comprehending the long term consequences of his heinous crimes against my children. The child he abused, the child he used to gain access, the other children that lost their community and parents as they once were. What about compensation for what our family has lost? Not just what we can legal claim as loss but EVERYTHING Patrick, Jairus, Eddie and others took from our family. Patrick chose to victimize. Our mistake was choosing to trust him.

Patrick and Jairus you chose this path.

Jairus, When you chose to stay silent you caused your own destruction.

Please Explain

Knowing that Eddie Rojas needs to be supported by outside parties I often wonder who would give finances to aid and abed a wanted felon. I am not talking about someone who is homeschooling in a state that is against homeschoolers and trying to take his children. Nor am I talking about someone who is being persecuted for spreading the gospel or passing out bibles. But I am talking about a man who abused his authority as a spiritual leader.

Eddie Rojas knew his son, Patrick Rojas, was a sexual predator. Eddie had "caught" him twice at age 15-17 years old sexually abusing (from the evaluation, I assume his own sisters.)Yet Eddie lead others to believe his son, Patrick, was trust worthy and in particular around adolescents. Eddie allowed mentoring relationships between Patrick and children. Mind you, at this time Patrick was an adult but still completely under his fathers roof and control. Patrick was not able to do or go anywhere without Eddie's permission. Eddie knew that Patrick was very much involved with our family and interacting with our children. Eddie, my spiritual authority at the time not only encouraged our family but our church congregation to trust Patrick.

Then when the light invaded the darkness of what was happening within the walls of the Rojas family home, Eddie ran. I know that Eddie and Kathy claim to be martyrs. It is just not true. I have explained in previous posts that the state was not interested in breaking up the Rojas family. But they were very much interested in exposing just how dangerous Patrick was and holding him legally accountable and the state would have suggested some kind of support be given to the girls in the family that were his victims.

I know that when you meet Eddie he appears to be so humble and such a God fearing man. It could be easy to fall prey to his manipulation of the truth. His involvement in the crimes and betrayal committed against our child and family should not be supported by anyone, least of all, brothers and sisters in Christ. Withdrawal your support and force Eddie to return to the states to face his actions.

Otherwise, can you please explain to me why you would continue in financially supporting such a man.

Shake! Shake! Shake!

Shake! Shake! Shake! This is me shaking you! If you know where Eddie and Kathy are hiding and keeping it secret, please stop right now and consider what you are doing. You are protecting a known felon. You may be breaking the law, simply by helping protect a criminal. And you may be continuing to put innocent girls at further risk of sexual abuse. Is this what you want for your legacy? Is this what you want on your conscience?

I wish all I had to do was ask that question and the veil would be removed from your eyes. I'm not quite sure what formulation of thought or specific scripture God will use to open your eyes, so that is one reason I keep communicating basically the same thing from different angles. I like very much that Brian from Brian's Bits (as of 3/11/10 Brian has removed his articles.) He has such a different approach than I do in his writing style and content, but again the message is the same:

Eddie Rojas must step into the light and face the charges before him.

The Rojas girls need to be professionally helped by someone the family trusts.

Patrick Rojas needs to spare his sisters and his other victims by contacting the prosecutor on his case, Kelly Montgomery, and by naming his additional victims. He needs to accept his due consequences.

The adult Rojas children need to stop helping their father in his sin. I particularly hold the two adult sons, Jairus and Benjamin, responsible for this. They are adults. They are old enough to know better. They are no longer under Eddie's thumb.

The Rojas family needs to put their trust in Gods' hands. They need to allow true justice to happen.

Open Letter From The Grandmother

My mother (Grandma) believes that Eddie Rojas himself reads my blog and has asked me to post a letter to him from her.

Readers,

First to clear the air: unless you have been a victim or like me, have had a daughter and granddaughter sexually molested, you can not know the depth and breadth of the emotions I have experienced.

For the first six months after the 911 call was made by the Schneiders' to report Patrick, I was angry. That anger slowly built into a deep-seated, burning hatred. Hatred toward Eddie, Kathy, Jairus and Patrick Rojas. Hatred also towards Jim and Claudia Cameron and Dave and Becky Barrueto. Some of them had early knowledge that could have saved our family from this horrific experience. All withheld information which inhibited the counseling process for the Schneiders. All withheld information preventing the proper prosecution of Patrick Rojas for his crimes against our granddaughter. Because of their leadership role, the Cameron's and Barrueto's were able to get members of our church to assist them in hiding the Rojas girls from C.P.S. This prevented Patrick's other victims from getting professional Christian based counseling outside the influence of his family. This also has prevented Patrick from being prosecuted for numerous instances of sexual molestation committed against five additional victims.

The last few weeks I've felt my hatred lifting but feel it can only be purged by addressing Eddie directly.

Judy McBee



To: Eddie Rojas,

How dare you use our three granddaughters as bait to test your son; that's exactly what you did.

One small act on your part (stopping Patrick from spending those nights at the Schneider's home) would have prevented the violations of our granddaughter. You knew Patrick had previously sexually molested at least two of his sisters. Months before your sons assaults of our granddaughter, Eric spoke to you about Patrick's regular e-mails to her. He told you it made him uncomfortable for your son to be e-mailing his eleven year old daughter. You knew Patrick was a pedophile and that he "had his eyes" on our granddaughter but you did nothing to intervene. You set our family up! PURE EVIL are the best words to describe YOU!

You, Kathy, Jairus and Patrick are equally and morally responsible for the harm done our family. Let's not forget that your actions also broke up our church congregation.

It is said, "bad kids can come from good families." After reading the copy of Patrick's psycho sexual evaluation my husband requested and received from the prosecutor's office, I know yours is not a "good family."

What kind of parents allow a known pedophile to continue to reside in their home where there are six minor girls? What kind of parents could allow that pedophile to babysit? What kind of father administers corporal punishment to his adult children? How many other monsters have you created?

The elders stated that you fled because C.P.S. would remove your minor children from your home and place them in abusive foster homes? Bull! Some say you fled to prevent Patrick, "a lovely, godly young man" from incarceration in prison. Bull, again! Kathy is still lying to people about the reason her family fled. Kathy states that their family is being persecuted for their religious beliefs. Bull! Bull! Bull! Your motives were much more selfish. I believe you left to prevent exposure of what else really goes on inside your household. Eddie, have you or any of your other sons sexually molested your daughters or your friends children?

Your family has left a trail of deceit and devastation.

With Contempt,
Judy McBee

P.S. My hope is that someone close to you will finally wake up one day and say to themselves "enough is enough," then they pick up a phone and call 911.

Missouri

This post is specifically a shout out to the people in Missouri.

In the last few weeks this blog has received a lot of hits (views) from different parts of Missouri, including Rolla, Missouri. Rolla is where Kathy Rojas has quite a few family members. Rolla is also an area where although it wouldn't be the wisest place to hide the Rojas' would have family to help support them.

If you are viewing this blog from Missouri and have information about Eddie Rojas and his whereabouts please contact your local police and let them know you have information about a wanted felon.

If you have questions and want to clarify information I have posted please e-mail me @ totallycracker@nventure.com

If you are in fellowship with any of Kathy Rojas's family living in Missouri please make sure and send them the link to this blog. The family name of the relatives in Missouri is Perona.

For the truth and light to shine, there only needs to be one tiny crack in the Rojas' facade.

Anonymous

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Patrick's Profile":

About ten years ago, the Rojas' were appointed pastors of our church. It was a strange fit, so we left, but my good friend stayed along with her family. They became close, and when Jairus [Rojas] was 19, he kissed my friends' daughter, not quite 12. Eddie told the parents that [Jairus] was just curious and was then disciplined, and also stated that their daughter was flirtatious. Didn't think too much of the whole thing, until reading your story. That family... I knew something was not quite "right". I am sorry for all that has happened to you and hope you can heal.

The time period would match up with ~1998-2000,Senior Pastor @ Vineyard church in Lompoc/Santa Maria, California from Eddie's resume.

Dear Anonymous:

I understand the desire for anonymity, but I really wish I knew who you were. I would love more details/information. I assume you have given your "friend" the link to this blog. If your friend or yourself would be willing to contact me via private email, I would greatly appreciate it.

Assuming that what you have stated about Jairus is true, it makes so many things clear to me. The Rojas family has lived in over 25 locations in Patrick's lifetime. How many others have been victims of a sexual nature from one of the Rojas family members. If you are reading this and have information, I appeal to you to contact me via e-mail or as the above anonymous person has.

Knowing this information and putting it all together in one place quite possibly might break down the facade that the Rojas family has, which might lead to someone turning Eddie in. Revealing a pattern and past history of victims and cover-up might also, once and for all, open the eyes of the people that are supporting Patrick in his denial. The timing couldn't be more crucial. With August fast approaching, knowing Patrick will be free of all legal accountability, it is vital that those around him are aware of the danger he poses to children. Now add to the mix that his brother Jairus is possibly a pedophile as well.

It has in no way been scientifically proven, but there is much speculation amongst the authorities that deal with sexual deviants/pedophiles that they often see this type of behavior run in families. Is the behavior learned? Were these men abused as children and then continued the behavior?

That aside, Eddie Rojas needs to be located.

Where's Waldo

You all remember "Where's Waldo?" I want to know Where in the World is Eddie!

You might also remember Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon which is a trivia game based on the concept of the small world phenomenon.

With that in mind, I want to suggest that one of you reading this blog is linked to the Rojas family by six degrees of separation. The only way to find out is if you are willing to send the link to this blog or e-mail a post to all your contacts. I would suggest sending the "Recap" post so the person who is the recipient can get an overview and at least see Eddie's photograph. I still really have hope that Eddie and Kathy Rojas will be located by someone reading this blog. I also hope that anyone who knows where Eddie is will call the police. I cannot do this alone. It takes a few clicks of the keys on your computer and the willingness of you to share this blog with everyone you know.

I have had some people that occasionally post the link on their facebook page. I also have had some people tell me they have sent e-mails with the link and a brief description of the blog to their contacts. If you haven't already or have been thinking about sending the link out, now is the time to do it.

Your friend or relative might have a friend that has a friend that knows a friend that is neighbors of Eddie and Kathy Rojas. This is so possible. Please do not assume you are not somehow linked to the whereabouts of Fransis Edward Rojas AKA Eddie Rojas.

Recap

CLICK ON THIS LINK FOR THE UP-TO-DATE RECAP


I believe this would be a good time for a review:

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

*We reported the crime

*August 2007 Patrick D. Rojas had his day in court. A plea agreement enabled this predator to have minimal consequences. Justice was not served!

*The pastor of the church we were attending, Peninsula Household of Faith Community Church in Port Orchard,WA., Eddie Rojas and his wife, Kathy and an adult son, Jairus had previous knowledge of Patrick's pedophile behavior but kept it a secret.

*The elders of the 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.

*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 against them by their brother Patrick D. Rojas.

*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), he has admitted to sexual acts with dogs, peeping in on women and children in bathrooms, pornography, consensual incest with another adult sibling. He is a danger to all adolescent children and a sexual predator of convenience.

*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 in hope of Eddie being located.

*If you see Eddie or know where he is you are to call your local police and inform them of his whereabouts and that there is a warrant for him in Washington State. The local police will handle it from there.

*The Rojas's have family in Rolla, Missouri and have solid contacts in Israel.

RECIDIVISM:
Pedophiles have a high rate of recidivism (the frequency of additional sexual crimes committed after being caught. .) Some treatments are effective in lowering recidivism. The typical child sex offender molests an average of 117 children, most of who do not report the offense. [Source: National Institute of Mental Health, 1988]*Source: I HALL, MD, RYAN C. W.; AND RICHARD C. W. HALL, MD, PA.. "AProfile of Pedophilia: Definition, Characteristics of Offenders, Recidivism, Treatment Outcomes, and Forensic Issues". MAYO CLIN PROC 82:457-471,2007. MAYO FOUNDATION FOR MEDICAL EDUCATION AND RESEARCH.

Insensitive With A Purpose

We hadn't left the church yet but we were starting to have the distinct impression that if we didn't pretend like the others we would need to leave!

Sometime 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).

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 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 actually ended the prayer time that was specifically for us 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! 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.

What Eddie Knew ?

Yes, Eddie, Kathy, and Jairus knew of Patrick's pedophile behavior and they kept it as a dark dirty little secret. 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 he had to take a court ordered sexual psychological evaluation. 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 cross 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. The prosecutor went on to explain to us that our child was one of 6 admitted 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 pedophile behavior which started at age 15.

The evaluation revealed that Patrick at(15yrs of age) was "caught" he was disciplined by his father, he repented and all was forgiven. Then again at age 17 the evaluation revealed Patrick was caught another time. This time Patrick shared that both his parents talked with him and 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. What I am willing to say about the other victims is as follows: his victims ages range from 18months old -11yrs old. Patrick was victimizing someone or grooming non stop from ages 15-22, (when we reported him) that out of the five additional victims four of them would qualify him for 4 charges of child molestation in the first degree and the fifth would be a lesser charge.

The parents knew! The thought that Eddie and Kathy knew and kept it a secret and allowed Patrick to stay the night at our home took my breath away! (Patrick's idea was to take one of our children hunting and since they had to get up so early Patrick suggested he stay the night at our home.) We were in the home!

To add to the insult Eric and I were told to keep the sex/psycho evaluation information quiet. That because this was an ongoing investigation we shouldn't talk about it. It was two more months before Patrick's sentencing and the same two more months before all the information would become more public. We didn't know at the end of the two months we would be dealt the final blow.(at least we hope it is the final blow)

The Sunday before Patrick was sentenced Eddie Rojas stepped down from his role as Pastor of the church. That week Eddie attended Patrick's sentencing. Eddie 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. (remember from an earlier post, Eddie knew CPS wanted to interview the minor girls)



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 Community Church, in Port Orchard, WA.) ,would admit to having met privately with Patrick and Eddie two days following the discovery that our child had been sexually abused. After being pressed, by some in attendance, the elders would reveal that during the private meeting Patrick admitted in detail all of what he did to our child.

THE ELDERS KNEW!

My next post will be dedicated to the significance of the elders having this information and what if anything the elders did with the information.

Discovery

We were having company come over the next night so our family was tidying up our home. The family we were having over ironically enough happened to be 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 victim who stated their memory was very dream like and thought maybe Patrick kissed them.

We found a friend's home where our children to could go and called an emergency meeting with, at the time our pastor, Eddie (whom is the offenders father) his wife, Patrick, and one of our elders, Jim Cameron. I still wonder why we did it this way...in some ways I wish we would have called the police immediately. But in the meeting Patrick admitted to kissing the victim on the lips multiple times while the victim was asleep in their bedroom. With the note alone and the victims "dream like" minimal memory, most likely no charges would have been filed on Patrick and we would have never known just how twisted and dangerous he is. But because there were witnesses of the admission and specifically a "non partial" witness, Jim Cameron, the admission was taken seriously when we reported it to the police. When the prosecutor, Kelly Montgomery, reviewed the case she 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 that 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. Also, that the Rojas's 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".

Now 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.

The following 24hrs were horrible...it started to play back in our 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.

A name popped in my head, it was someone I could call and if we were making something out of nothing this person wouldn't hesitate to tell me. 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 "meeting" she stated that we needed to report sexual abuse. 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 to protect a pedophile.) She told me to call a sexual abuse hot line and talk anonymously with them about our situation and see if they give us the same advice, 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. 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!