Enablers

The past two weeks have been emotional for me. Someone reached out to me from "the other side." A staunch supporter of Patrick and the belief that he is healed and repentant. I am still unsure as to why this individual felt compelled to contact me ...although lots was said, not one word of regret for her support of Patrick. I understand that the individual felt "lead" by the Lord to contact me but I think they missed the point of His prodding.

This individual happens to be at the end of her life and I fully expected some of the Rojas family members that have been in hiding to poke their heads up to say goodbye but was a little surprised to get a phone call informing me that Sarah Rojas was seen downtown Gig Harbor, yesterday, sitting on a bench sipping on a drink with another girl from our former church. So brazen. The warrant is only for Eddie Rojas so any other Rojas can come and go as they please. It's just hard for me to comprehend the lack of shame that these people feel. They really own their crazy reality and belief system.

I was also told that as of a couple of months ago Patrick Rojas was featured on the drums at Foothills Household of Faith. There was a family visiting this particular church that is aware of my blog and the dangers Patrick poses to children. Apparently the men in the church (at least the men in leadership) are aware of Patrick's sexual deviant history and level 2 status but the WOMEN DO NOT KNOW! Why? How does this help anyone? How does this protect anyone? Pretending that Patrick is not a potential threat to children and placing him on the worship team....really? God does not call us to be stupid or manipulated!

PHFCC Elder's Cover Up

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

THE ELDER'S BETRAYAL IMPEDED JUSTICE!


More from: "What The Elder's Knew"

Patrick Rojas's Sentencing Process

Back to our story.....


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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


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


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

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


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


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


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


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


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

So Important to Get!

Evil is no faceless stranger,

Living in a distant neighborhood.

Evil has a wholesome, hometown face,

with merry eyes and an open smile.

Evil walks among us, wearing a mask

which looks like all our faces.

~From the book "Counted Sorrows"

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


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


This post was inspired by my mother.

Character Reference Letters

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

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

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

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

This has always bothered me!


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


*From "This Has Always Bothered Me" post.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

From "Insensitive With a Purpose" post.

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.

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!

Listen To What Patrick Does

True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice. Martin Luther King, Jr.


People who support Patrick often defend their position with statements such as, "Patrick has repented and is forgiven and we are all sinners, his sin is no different."

I really want to look at these people sideways.

I want to tackle the "repentant" issue. I am sorry, but in no way can I consider Patrick repentant! I know I am not God and I can not peer into his heart. I also know being repentant is much more than just words and tears.

Someone very wise said to me, "Listen to what Patrick does, not what he says." I want you to listen to what Patrick did. 
* He only admitted to kissing our child (only because he knew we already knew that information from our child), 
*Patrick hired what we considered a slick attorney, instead of accepting the consequences for the crimes he committed, 
*When the sheriff tried to interview him, he refused to make a statement, 
*Patrick withheld the names of his additional victims (a selfish act, to protect himself from further prosecution),
* Patrick solicits others to write letters of support for him, 
*Patrick has never attempted through any legal channel to pay restitution to our family for all the extra expenses we've had because of the victimization,
*since Patrick's sentencing he has violated his probation and had to serve additional time.
*Patrick appeared to contest an extension of a No Contact Order we filed for the victim in our family,
*Patrick filed a lawsuit against the parents of his victim for telling Our Story.

These are not the actions of someone who is repentant! Someone who is repentant would do everything they could to keep potential victims safe. I also believe they would take accountability for their actions and accept  the consequences. Patrick should live in the light. Adults in Patrick's life should know he is a predator and they should understand the danger he poses. Patrick should never be alone with a child. Patrick should name his additional victims so they can receive proper help and he should be willing to accept the consequences that go with his crimes (seeing an abuser receive a "just" sentence goes a long way in the healing process.)

Patrick can not live life as if he is like someone who is not a sexual predator! The more a sexual predator tries to hide and live as if they do not have a dangerous problem the more you should be afraid of them. Until Patrick is living in the light, Patrick's supporters in the christian community are enabling him to groom another family. They give him credibility by keeping his secrets and choosing to stay naive on the subject matter. 

Remember Mr and Mrs Rojas and Jairus Rojas knew of Patrick's pedophile behavior and kept it a secret.

After our family was victimized, I confronted Jairus about his knowledge of Patrick being a pedophile and Jairus stated, "Patrick had repented and had matured." My response," Oh, so you thought you would experiment on my family?"

And then there was victim number six, my child.


*From "Repentant ???" post.

Do You Get It

From the first deviant sexual act, the child is forever changed!


Do you get what is taken from a child when they are sexually molested, regardless of the level of the molestation? Their innocence. Their ability to trust. Something that is meant to be beautiful,(sexual intimacy,) gets introduced as something dirty and bad. The child's sense of safety is robbed.

The child that is damaged far more is the child who never tells or isn't supported when they do tell. The trauma that is caused by childhood sexual abuse, if not properly dealt with, can lead to a lifetime of residual consequences.

At our church there seemed to be an overwhelming amount of individuals who wanted to bury their heads in the sand. They didn't want to know what was really happening with our case or in our family. I believe they chose this so they could be friends with everybody. I am not good at playing that game. This was too big!

All the areas of our lives that this affected made it such that we just couldn't play along. Essentially, we stayed away from these people, they didn't want to know and we didn't have the emotional energy at the time to make them face the facts. Amazingly enough most of these people wrote letters in support of Patrick to the judge asking for leniency.

The leaders weren't discouraging it and hey, he was Patrick Rojas, and it was only "inappropriate affections." They didn't bother to ask us questions, or take the time to call the prosecutor, nor the sheriff detective in charge of the case. They simple pulled their heads out of the sand, wrote a letter of support for Patrick, and stuck their heads back in the sand.

Then when the true nature of Patrick and the crimes he committed were exposed they acted as if they shouldn't be held accountable for writing the letters of support because, "If they knew then what they know now......" THEY NEVER BOTHERED TO ASK QUESTIONS. To be fair the congregation was all but forbidden to speak about what was happening between the Rojas family and the Schneider family. This should have been a RED FLAG!

I don't even know what to say about the people who would quote scripture only to us. I have to be careful here so I am not misunderstood. When I would tell someone about what had happened in our family and then their response was something along the lines of, "Just trust God," "God is in control," or "God is sovereign." I wanted to shake the person and say,

"Does that make you feel better because it doesn't change any of the consequences that our family will endure."

Their statements actually made me somewhat defensive, what exactly were they implying? I felt like I needed to defend the fact that I was undone by what happened to my child and by who and with the help of others that I had respected and trusted. The countenance of the person and the way in which they were talking to me made it seem as if I was suppose to be happy about all of this because it was Gods' will. If I would just trust God everything would be fine. It was like I was doing something wrong by mourning the betrayal of so many people.

*From "Reactions" post.

911 Call

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

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

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

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

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

That is exactly what we did!


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

First Piece of Evidence

*Retelling from the "Discovery" post

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Patrick was 22 years old and our child was 11.

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

No, Really!

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

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

A Shield, Not A Sword

"He can use the 5th amendment as a shield but he can't turn around and use it as a sword as well." This was one of the best statements my attorney, Talis Abolins, has used.

In describing how it's Patrick's right to plead the 5th amendment but he can't then turn around and expect me to fairly defend my statements on this blog without delving into his sexual deviant history and all those that have known about it. It's brilliant. If you look at the public court documents that have been submitted you will see one example of something Patrick considers a false defaming statement in my blog, that I refer to him as a pedophile. No, really! "He was (only) charged with communication with a minor for immoral purposes." Hence, he is not a pedophile....forget about the 6 victims that range from 1.5yrs old to 11yrs old or that the abuses that occurred on several of the victims were numerous and sexual in nature, that classic grooming techniques were used to confuse and quiet his adolescent victims and their families. Or that Patrick, at the time we exposed him, had been at this for seven years!

Another one, Patrick contends that he wasn't contesting the "No Contact Order"...something about just wanting his attorney to review the order. REALLY? It took THREE trips to the court house BUT Patrick wasn't REALLY contesting the no contact order. Don't get me started on this one...No contact orders are so straight forward!!!!

I believe it's always been about control. Pedophilia is about control. This lawsuit is about control. I hope, I pray the control will be stripped from Patrick this coming Friday!

I Was In, All The Way, Almost

Why didn't I reconize how bad this was while I was in it? I remember raising my eyebrow and discussing it with a few others and questioning how strange it was... to chastise your adult child. To basically require your older girls to discipline and raise your younger children...one reason I stopped at six kids was because I didn't think I could personally handle raising more and didn't want to burn-out my older children before they ever had a chance to live their own lives. But when it is all being sold under "selflessness" and "God only gives you what you can handle" "God is soverign" "Just trust God to provide" ....

I wanted to glorify God...I wanted to raise my children in a Christ-centered home (I was insecure because I came from virtually the opposite type of upbringing.)

I saw this group that appeared to be very Christ-like...selfless, serving, devoted. They seemed to practice what they preached (although, I had been around Christians for years it seemed there were so many that didn't actually live out basic biblical precepts, as I interpret them) and here was this group that seemed to live them out and their children were respectful, kind, loving, and seemed very happy. Who wouldn't be attracted to that? I desired a "happy" family that glorified God. I was in, all the way, almost.

Then this happened.

I couldn't do what I knew the elders and Eddie and Kathy wanted me to do even if it meant I was "ungodly." Because in their eyes my actions were not biblical. The pressure was overwhelming, coupled with the devastation of what we believed to have happened to our child.

As time went on the revelations grew worse. We became aware of other adult family members that could have warned us of Patrick's propensity to sexually abuse adolesent children, we learned of additional victims, betrayl upon betrayl.

Then, I started this blog.

How could my blog possibly be biblical? (I say that very sarcastically.)
It's gossip, you know. It's written by a women, "Who is easially deceived." I can hear "them" saying..."Patrick is only biblically required to confess his sins (crimes) to his "elders" and as long as he repents and follows their guidence there would be no biblical reason to keep him from the fellowship of believers." "And TRUE forgiveness means full reconciliation."

You wouldn't dare talk about the possibility of re-offending...and if he were to re-offend, Patrick would need to again, confess and repent, and so the cycle goes. IT IS SO SICK and SO WRONG!

Why do some parents tolerate this?

Rehabilitated ?

What concerns me about the individuals that surround and support Patrick is the fact that they claim he is rehabilitated. He is healed of pedophilia.

That is EXACTLY what Patrick wants them to believe.

Can anyone prove that Patrick hasn't sexually abused a child since we reported the crimes committed in our family, January 2007? NO! Just like I can't prove he has. The only way to know for certain that Patrick isn't abusing another child is to limit his access to minor children. Anyone that would "take a chance" and allow Patrick access to their minor children are neglegant parents! Anyone that keeps the families secrets are neglegant individuals.

Dormant maybe, rehabilitated, NO!

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!

Curious

I haven't verified that Renee' Rojas stayed in the states after Benjamin's wedding but I find it interesting that my blog has recently been getting linked to Google searches of "Renee' Rojas, midwife." Thought this was post worthy. Very curious. I am so glad that individuals are doing searches before letting just anyone into their lives.

David Rojas Decided To Surface

David Rojas has joined his brothers Patrick and Jairus in Port Orchard, Washington. David is one of the children that was in hiding with Eddie and Kathy Rojas. I have heard conflicting reasons as to why David has decided to surface at this time, I won't speak for him. David has been seen in attendance at a local church with Patrick Rojas.

If you are local, I would suggest you print out the Up-To-Date Recap and a picture of Patrick Rojas, level 2 sex offender, and make your church leaders aware of who this man is. Or simply request that your church leaders Google Patrick Rojas.

I have been told that Eddie and Kathy along with most of their other children are in Italy.

AWARENESS is the best prevention!

Self Employed

If you are hiring someone to come into your home to do work for you, I would strongly urge you to ask for the individuals full name and do a quick search on the sex offender registry.

You may be surprised who you might be letting into your home. Being self employed is a way for sex offenders to fly under the radar and puts the responsibility on you to know who you are hiring. Before letting someone into your home for a remodel job, google them. Don't assume anything. After you do this a few times it won't be so awkward.

I would recommend that businesses do this as well. As a for-instance, if you are hiring someone to help your office with some IT work, run the specific name of the individual scheduled to help you on the job. Be proactive!

You could also check to see if the person has pending cases in your area.

For pending cases in Piece County, Washington click this link.