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"

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"

Clear Right Side, Clear Wrong Side

More from "Pretending Status Quo"

When it became clear that the elders were in on the cover up (by their own admission at a church meeting) and that Eddie had gone on the run with most of his family. Eric and I felt that the families that stayed with the church really communicated by their actions (or non-action) which side they were on.

YES, at this point we believed there was a clear right side and a clear wrong side, both morally and biblically. We felt it was necessary to cut ourselves from any family that was still standing along side the elders and the church during that time. None of this was done lightly or without much personal grief. All of our children suffered on different levels, in particularly by losing friendships that had been nurtured for six years. All of our regular activities were affected by this. We had built a community with these families. We had literally moved our family so we could be closer to the church and more involved with this church community.

If you can imagine, we were in the country on just shy of one acre, homeschooling, juggling six kids, and  suddenly very isolated. Something died inside of me when all those families continued to fellowship with this church body. I don't even know how to adequately express what I felt. But I remember thinking how can we communicate to our children that you only stand up for what is right if it is easy or convenient? This was no small matter. If there was a time to stand up and do the right thing, this was it! There is still a core group that have stayed on with Jim Cameron and Dave Barrueto as elders.

We  had one family come to us personally and ask for forgiveness for the way they treated us during that time. They were sincere and I believe honestly understood the grief their actions caused us. They were also realistic and knew although we forgave them, everything was different now and did not expect us to be friends. The husband ended up writing a very long letter outlining (from a biblical point of view), how the church should have handled this situation and how to respond to an un-repentant Patrick as a christian. His letter was sent to all the church members and some other leaders that support what the Rojas family has done. What was strange to us was everything in his letter, we had been saying all through the court process (remember this went from January to August), but we didn't have scriptures attached to every statement. Thankfully his letter did seem to open the eyes of some.

We have a friend that always refers to the "ripple effect" that Patrick's crime caused. Like when you drop a rock in the water and you see the ripples expand further and further from that one little stone. I pray that the "ripple effect" from this little blog will grow and grow and grow and shine light into the darkness, be helpful to some, healing to others, and mean freedom for the Rojas girls!

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".

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"

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

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.

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.

Why do you still attend?

I don't get why individuals still attend PHFCC in Port Orchard, WA under Dave Barrueto and Jim Cameron if they know our story. One of the elements that attract individuals to that particular congregation is the "emphasis on family." The belief is that the we, as Christians, reach the world is through a strong family unit that glorifies God.

With that in mind don't you find it ironic that the men in that congregation would continue to submit to leaders who, by their own actions, took part in damaging a family and for that matter future families. The same leaders kept quiet about information that our family needed to help our child, information the police needed, information that the church body should have had in order to protect their own families from a predator.

I have no idea exactly what the leaders currently tell new members of the church about their past history, especially if one of the new families comes across my blog. But at the time, one excuse that was routinely given was, "that they (the elders) were only men and had made mistakes." Once, I heard this with my own ears from Jim Cameron and he seemed rather irritated and arrogant at the time. I want to address this in particular. Mistakes, I get. But let me be clear these elders continued to support the Rojas family way beyond anything that could be considered a "mistake."

#1. Jim and Dave (the elders) withheld details to the crimes Patrick committed against our child from the detective. (They will say that they thought we knew, that they had no legal obligation to report, that this was a matter for the "church" not the state.) I would reply: Jim knew exactly what we knew! Maybe they had no legal obligation but what about moral? The abuse of a child is absolutely the matter of the state and a matter that the "church" should take far more seriously than it does!

#2. Jim omitted information when he gave his statement to the police. You can request a copy of Jim Cameron's statement to the detective and see for yourself. There is no mention in Jim's statement about Patrick's detailed description of the crimes committed against my child. Jim actually implies the opposite! He lied to protect a sexual predator! Dave was not interviewed, nor did he call to report the information about the crimes that Patrick committed.

#3. Jim and Dave impressed upon the church the importance of not talking about the matter between the Rojas family and Schneider family. They tried very hard to control the information that was talked about. Dave even called my mom (the victim's grandmother) and told her she was in sin, for gossip, because she had talked to Dave's mother-in-law about some of the details with what was happening. The elders also put out a letter to the congregation stating it would be a sin to talk about the matter even amongst their own family members.

#4. Jim and Dave coined the phrases, "It was only a kiss." WTF: between a 22yr old grown man and an adolescent child, "just a kiss" and just "inappropriate behavior." They both knew that much more than "just a kiss" had taken place!!

#5. Jim and Dave tried to convince Eric (my husband) that we needed to be back in fellowship with Patrick. That we needed to forgive. That true forgiveness meant our family would be in fellowship with Patrick and the Rojas family.

#6. Jim and Dave refused to request a copy of Patrick's sexual psycho evaluation before his sentencing. Stating that the matter was in the states hands. REMEMBER, they already knew the details of what Patrick had done to our child.

#7. The elders helped Eddie Rojas hide his family.

#8. After knowing all the information about Patrick's crimes in our case, additional victims, other sexual deviant behavior, that were made public in an all church Heads-of- Household meeting, the elders continued to stand along side Patrick and support his silence about his additional victims.

#9. Even after finally reading the evaluation done on Patrick, that is primarily in his own words,the elders encouraged families with children to interact with Patrick.



Definition of a mistake:
1 : to blunder in the choice of
2 a : to misunderstand the meaning or intention of : misinterpret b : to make a wrong judgment of the character or ability of
3 : to identify wrongly : confuse with another

If one is actively living a mistake, is it still a mistake? They did not care about what was best for our family! They did not consider the other children that will be abused by Patrick by belittling the crimes he committed in our case. They did not protect the Rojas girls.

And if these men have seen the error of their ways, what has changed? Have they talked about the abuse in their own family against their own children that was never reported? Have they gotten their own children help? Stop the silence! Live in the light! Our God is a big God, do you really think He is only found in PHFCC under these men? Why do you still attend? I am really asking!

Stay Silent

(cont. thoughts on the MLK, Jr. Quote)

Not only did these "good people" stay silent but they intimidated others--with the word of God--to stay silent. The church congregation was told that the matter at hand was between the Schneider and the Rojas families. That any individual discussing the matter was in sin for gossip. The only appropriate avenue of conversation was with your husband/dad or the elders. Not even mother to child or child to child should utter a word about what was happening. Madness! What is even crazier, is that so many intelligent individuals attending our church followed this manipulation.

The fact that Jim and Dave knew damning information that could have helped the authorities in their investigation into the crimes committed against our child but chose to keep silent is devastating to say the least! But what is more overwhelming to process and comprehend is the fact that our former pastor Eddie Rojas, his wife, Kathy, and eldest son Jairus Rojas knew that Patrick was a pedophile and had the potential to harm our child and forever alter our child's life but chose to stay silent. They had a choice. They chose silence. Unfathomable!

Now--Patrick and Jairus want ME to be SILENT...NOT A CHANCE, as long as I have a choice!!

The Good People

“We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

The "good people" that stayed silent in our story; Eddie and Kathy Rojas, Jairus Rojas, Jim Cameron, and Dave Barrueto.

Shout out to the Rojas Boys!

Found your dad.

About the Rojas boys that are still here in Port Orchard, Washington:

I know that Jairus and Patrick have recently tried to attend a church in Port Orchard and they discovered they were not welcomed. Another pastor actually confronted Patrick about his lack of repentance. I hear Patrick considers his minor charges and jail time a "blessing from God." So, Patrick, you lie, you won't cooperate with the police, you hire an attorney to hide behind and in your twisted mind you consider the outcome a "blessing from God?" WOW!

This leads into the next question. Patrick, Jairus, why aren't you attending Peninsula Household of Faith Community Church under Jim Cameron and Dave Barrueto? These families support you. These men lied and mislead others for you. Why are you trying to attend other churches? Are you trying to attend a different church so you have a place where you can freely groom another victim? Or do these families from PHFCC just want to support you as long as it's not around their children?

A note to the rest of you: If you attend church in the Kitsap/Peninsula area, you need to get to know what these guys look like, so you can protect your family.

I actually considered attending the wedding.

I am mad! I am stunned! I am about to vent.

I just saw some photos on facebook from the wedding my family was invited to. The invitation to this wedding caused me to post about how I wished those involved in the crimes against my child would stop trying to make us a part of their lives. The photos revealed who else was in attendance. I am astonished that after all this time, that after all the posts I have written someone would find it appropriate to invite my family to the same intimate event as Jim Cameron and Dave Barrueto. These men were key players in covering up the gravity of the crimes against my child. They both purposefully withheld information from the authorities, mislead the church congregation as to the gravity of Patrick's crimes, and have continued in fellowship and support of Patrick Rojas. I also believe that these men knew of Eddie Rojas's plan to evade the authorities and helped him leave the state with his family. There are other offenses that have been outlined in detail in previous posts. I bring the above up in this post just to show the insanity of inviting all of our families to the same event. Why would someone even want men like these at one of their most special times in life? Unless maybe they also belittle what these men did and the role they played in the crimes against my family.

This is another example of how the families in this circle of people make themselves feel good by sending us an invitation. It's rude. It's flat out mean.

When I received the invitation, foolishly, I assumed that some of the main players of deceit wouldn't be in attendance if we were invited. It was still a hard decision as to whether we should attend or not because I knew for sure there would be some families in attendance that would be hard to see because of the role they played. Self preservation won out. We were not going to attend the wedding.

When the invitee was addressing the wedding invitation to the Cameron family and the Barrueto family and the Schneider family, did they even consider that my child, the innocent victim, would have to be around these individuals if we attended? Did anyone consider the REAL victim in all of this? Actions taken, once again, would indicate NO.

REALLY the invitation that was sent to our family was in vain. They can say with their words that their intentions were innocent and out of love and wanting us to celebrate with them on their special day. I would reply, "That sounds nice, but REALLY? Would you please just face reality?" Is it loving to just toss out invites to all when you know what was done to our family by specific individuals?

I think I am maddest at myself. I actually considered attending the wedding.

Good Thing

Mid July 2009, I received an e-mail from someone who had read this blog. This person, Brian Byrd, requested that I send him a copy of the psycho sexual evaluation that Patrick had taken. He told me he was long time friends with the Rojas's. Brian noted I was a stranger therefor he wanted to verify the information I was posting on this blog. I sent him a request form that he could send to the prosecutor asking for a copy of the evaluation.

I respect the fact that Brian decided to investigate and search for the truth. Brian was getting two very different versions of why the Rojas's were in hiding and what Patrick had done. He didn't just stop reading my blog and believe what he was selectively being told by Kathy Rojas. Brian took his time and contacted individuals and was willing to hear truth even if it hurt to hear it.

Brian a stranger to my family decided he would assist in getting the truth out.(as of 3/11/10 Brian removed his articles) This is a good thing! Having someone that isn't involved in anyway. Who actually has a long history with Eddie and Kathy Rojas, who makes statements such as Brian does on his page, will I believe penetrate a group of people that are refusing to consider the truth in what I am writing because they consider it bias.

Brian thank you for supporting the truth!

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.

Another Meeting

By this point, Eric and I and two of our children were in therapy. It's a good thing! It was great for both Eric and I to be able to go to someone not connected in any way so that we could sort through our emotions and sort through how we interpreted others actions. Expensive but necessary! This was a vital part of the road to recovery and healing. Recovery from cult-like thinking and healing from all the betrayals.

When we arrived home from the Heritage Home Educators of Washington Conference, we made some phone calls and asked for a meeting with the elders, the Rojas's, and some other couples. We wanted them to see first-hand how we were being treated. (Another weird thing in all of this was that if someone didn't hear or see something first hand, "it wasn't to be fully believed. It was considered gossip.")


This meeting was held at a neutral home. After we left the meeting, Eric and I were almost certain we were done with the church. In no way were they concerned for our victimized child or sensitive to us as the parents. We were glad that the others in the room were able to see the elders and their demeanor and attitudes toward us. They were able to witness Eddie and his tirade about the non biblical therapy Patrick was having to sit through and the Bible study he was responding so well to. The only apology we received was from an oppressed Kathy Rojas who said," If she would have known we were attending the conference they wouldn't have had Patrick attend with their family." I wanted to say,"Whatever, you know we go every year." I was told from a third-party, Kathy knew we were attending . I just looked at her. Eddie quickly redirected the conversation. At that point I had stopped listening.

Everything ended with the basic sentiments that Dave and Jim were doing the "best they could" (this was a regular statement made in defense of the elders) and now finally understood that they needed to be more sensitive and over-communicate with us regarding Patrick. It was specifically mentioned that Patrick wouldn't just show up anywhere we might be. That one of the elders would notify Eric if Patrick would be at a gathering or meeting we would possibly be at. Remember this is a fairly small church and everyone is intertwined with each other. Some in the room felt like it was a positive meeting. As if all the previous passive preferences for Patrick by the elders and Eddie (the pastor) were a huge misunderstanding and it was all cleared up now.

On the other hand, Eric and I had the sense that the elders and the Rojas's didn't get any of it. They didn't want to even consider the fact that Patrick was a predator, even though the Rojas's secretly knew he'd had other victims. They didn't want to admit that he was even a threat, even though the elders knew the full details of what he had done to our child. They found it hard to grasp that we didn't even want to visually see Patrick, even if it was only from across a room full of people. They didn't understand why we couldn't just all gather together and worship God and act as if things were fine, because you know Patrick was repentant so it was all suppose to be good now.

Sometimes It's Appropriate To Swear

Eric and I planned to make a weekend out of the Heritage Home Educators of Washington Conference in 2007, just as we had for several years. We were needing the time away as a couple and I always needed the home schooling encouragement by this time of the year.

This conference happened to be just days after Patrick had plead guilty to "Communication with a minor for immoral purposes" and was also ordered to take a sexual psycho evaluation, with his actual sentencing still pending. 


So when I say the last person in the world I expected to see at this family-oriented conference was Patrick Rojas. I mean he was literally the last person I expected to see. In retrospect, I should have expected him to be there. Up to this point, almost always the opposite of what we expected to happen-happened. Patrick was at the conference with his parents, Eddie and Kathy, and his 12 other siblings.

The Rojas family members were actually guests of Michael Bradrick's, who is on the Heritage Home Educators of Washington board of directors. 


We called Jim and Dave (the elders) of our church and requested that they have Patrick leave the conference--that is was too hard for us to see him. As he didn't have any children he was homeschooling, it seemed reasonable that he leave so we could attend the conference in peace. Jim and Dave communicated to us that this was something out of their sphere as elders. They were willing to communicate our wishes, but they would not tell him that he had to leave.

It took hours for all of this to be relayed and many tears. We requested that Dave notify the leaders of the conference as to Patrick's current legal status. We fully expected them to want Patrick to leave this family event. Patrick was walking around freely amongst unknowing families and children. When Dave called back he said Patrick was indeed going to stay. They felt it was good for him to hear the word of God that was being preached. If we wanted they could help us avoid seeing him by communicating with each other on cell phones as to his location.

Once again they deferred to Patrick. We left devastated.

We asked Dave if they had notified the leaders of the conference. He said that they had and that the leaders of the conference felt they didn't have the right to ask Patrick to leave. "All were welcome to attend." 


Dave Barrueto actually stated that our request for Patrick to leave was "unreasonable."

Over an hour after the last phone conversation, we were driving home from Overlake where the conference was held when we received another call from Dave Barrueto, who said, "Patrick had been thinking and decided to leave the conference so we could attend it." The actual conference only had about two hours left by this point and we were one and a half hours away. All of this originally started with a phone call to Dave at around 7am that morning. Now it was about 3pm. Our response to Dave: "It's too little, too late!"

I have a friend that gave me a card during this time that reads, on the outside:

"Sometimes it's appropriate to swear."!

On the inside, it said, 


"Like now."

Totally *!@#ing appropriate.......This was one of those moments!

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.