IN - Allegations of child abuse at Hephzibah House, Winona Lake, 2018

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Could you maybe get Mother Jones Magazine interested in a follow-up, in the wake of the Turpin case? Or any other reputable investigative reporters. Politicians? Or even a celebrity like Oprah?

This sadistic torture and abuse, under the guise of religious freedom, must be exposed for what it really is. How many other religious "reform" schools are there scattered around our 50 states operating with the consent of brainwashed parents? So much deceit and evil masquerading as religion "under the banner of heaven" (John Krakauer).
 
This reminds me such much of the Church of Wells in Texas. Only the parents don't send their girls to that place, the group goes to colleges, and recruit for their cult. You can't ever leave once there. You aren't allowed to talk to your prior friends nor your family. Completely isolated from the world.

In America, these places should not be allowed to operate! Wellness checks maybe? State inspections? I have no idea what we can do to help these people. It's wrong on, and it appears our hands are tied?!?!
 
Slavery used to be acceptable. It was sanctioned by many religions. So, there is hope.

How do we stop the slavery of these children?
 
gitana1 said:
Lots of typos! Sorry. I meant "currently" not "urgently" and "facility" not "faculty".

Ugh. Autocorrect.

As far as filing a suit, where does the money go? I have some questions in order to figure out how to get someone to take the case. One possibility is trying to file yourself. With some help. Contacting Illinois law schools and asking for help from students. Calling Legal Aid groups in the region and asking if anyone would be interested.

In light of the outrage the Turpin case has caused, this could be the time. Start off emails or letters with, "Everyone has asked why no one spoke up. How did t get that bad? Well I am speaking up. I have spoken up. So have many others. But no one is listening."

Marketing interest is crucial here.

Let me give this some thought.
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gitana, thank you for being here and taking an interest in helping.

Every time I think things can’t get worse, we find it does. Feeling helpless and hopeless is not the way to live. Change comes from us!
 
bionicmlle said:
So happy to see that this topic is getting some attention. I stumbled on Websleuths via the Turpins and read Disgruntled's story and knew she must be talking about Hephzibah House - I have read her website for years and followed this incredibly frustrating case, as well as others. There are many, many schools for boys that function in the same way, with the sick protection of religious liberty. When they seem to actually have consequences for their practices, they close up shop and just open up again in another location with the same cast of characters (literally). One of the most disturbing cases is the Dozier House for Boys in Florida which I am sure many of you are familiar with.

Disgruntled has done an amazing job of gathering stories that are always hard to read, providing a visceral reaction that makes any sane person want to intervene -- it seems as though they have exhausted so many options. I am struck by the lengths they have gone to to abuse these children - even providing hormonal supplements to stop menstruation per some girls' accounts. I wonder how they have obtained these medications and if the physician working with HH has been reported to the medical board?
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This is one way to take them down. Get that doctor investigated, and maybe he'll sing like a bird about what's going on.

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I’ve been trying to think of who could be contacted do some investigative work on what’s going on at HH? According to the Anderson Cooper piece, sadly it seems that local and state LE/government hands are tied as these people are being protected by their *religion*.
So maybe the best bet would be reporting them to a team of investigative reporters that specializes in investigating and exposing these types of cases?

The Boston Globe's Spotlight Team consists of six reporters and other staffers who join the team from time to time for special projects.

“Boston Globe's "Spotlight" team, the oldest continuously operating newspaper investigative journalist unit in the United States, and its investigation into cases of widespread and systemic child sex abuse in the Boston area by numerous Roman Catholic priests.” They’ve also investigated and exposed many other cases over the years besides the priest sex abuse case.

The team can be contacted confidentially at the link below.
https://apps.bostonglobe.com/spotlight/tips/


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gitana1 said:
If you call let them know that based on the horrors you have read from actual former "students" there, you have grave concerns for the well being of any and all current students.
That you are aware there are about 12 girls urgently there.
That anyone as abusive as that creep Williams? was cannot change and should never be allowed to be around children, especially at a private school or faculty.
That you are certain abuse is still concerned despite their stammers that they don't beat the girls anymore.
That you are requesting a welfare check on the resident minors.
That you hope they question those girls away from anyone else, ask them if they are scared, when they last ate, their last three meals (when and what), of they are punished. How. If they are allowed to bathe. How. Is food or water ever withheld. Is sleep ever refused. Etc.
Fingers crossed.
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Thank you so much! Hopefully my boss will be out and about today so I can call during work hours.
 
gitana1 said:
Lots of typos! Sorry. I meant "currently" not "urgently" and "facility" not "faculty".

Ugh. Autocorrect.

As far as filing a suit, where does the money go? I have some questions in order to figure out how to get someone to take the case. One possibility is trying to file yourself. With some help. Contacting Illinois law schools and asking for help from students. Calling Legal Aid groups in the region and asking if anyone would be interested.

In light of the outrage the Turpin case has caused, this could be the time. Start off emails or letters with, "Everyone has asked why no one spoke up. How did t get that bad? Well I am speaking up. I have spoken up. So have many others. But no one is listening."

Marketing interest is crucial here.

Let me give this some thought.
Click to expand...
I agree with Gitana about the how the letter needs to be written. How the letter opens is crucial to getting their attention. I highly suggest running it by Gitana or me (preferably both) prior to sending it.

I write to grab attention on a regular basis through fundraising newsletters for abused animals. I have an MA in English, but I also took PR and marketing classes and worked in PR for a bit, as well as lots of writing classes. So I can help. Gitana has a legal background, and is also a really good writer in general, as you can see from her posts over time.

Often you have one shot - the first sentence or two - to grab the attention of editors.

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human said:
Isn‘t Pence the former Governor or something like that?

Put him on the spot with this somehow. It was foing on under his watch and continues now.

How can it become public? Asking him about it and what to do?
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I don't know that Pence would say anything. His whole thing is the religious right, and he won't want to intervene or say a word that might upset his base, not when the presidency is within a stone's throw for him.

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gitana1 said:
Holy ship. What you've endured is incomprehensible. I wish I could give you a hug.



You're right. The difference is that with certain religious sects violent abuse is biblically justified. According to them.
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Yes totally. Because it’s in the Bible right? /s

It amazes me what abusers can justify bc they do it “in the name of God”. Sickening.
 
human said:
How about talking with Jeff Anderson the attorney who has taken on clergy, mainly the Catholic church,

http://www.andersonadvocates.com
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Great idea! Even if he can't take this on, he may have a contact who could.

By the way, I realize we have now thrown out so many ideas for you, disgruntled, that it could feel overwhelming.

I would take a notebook and make a list of the ideas we've given, then prioritize those.

And don't let yourself get overwhelmed. We are not in any hurry to get all of this done at once. You do this at your own pace, and we will be here to support you and help as we can.

And if you choose to do something specific and would like help, just put it out there to us, and one of us will step up.

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Mamamerced said:
Could you maybe get Mother Jones Magazine interested in a follow-up, in the wake of the Turpin case? Or any other reputable investigative reporters. Politicians? Or even a celebrity like Oprah?

This sadistic torture and abuse, under the guise of religious freedom, must be exposed for what it really is. How many other religious "reform" schools are there scattered around our 50 states operating with the consent of brainwashed parents? So much deceit and evil masquerading as religion "under the banner of heaven" (John Krakauer).
Click to expand...
I can definitely contact Mother Jones, Oprah and others again. We have had no no help from the state Representative in the district Hephzibah House is in. He stated to us that he considered Ron Williams a friend. Ms Macer of the 9th district in IN did meet with one of us Dec 27th and that went better. She wants to help us set up an advocacy group for survivors. A good and nobel thing, but Indiana has it backwards a bit. IMO. Their priority should be to stop Williams. It seems a no-brainer that these girls are unlawfully imprisoned at the very least.
 
Investigative reporters and news agencies all follow Twitter daily for their next story. You could hashtag each one on Twitter to get their attention.



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Midge Montana said:
I agree that the uproar that the Turpin case is causing can be used to your advantage right now.
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if there was a suit the money should go towards helping survivors get basic skills to thrive in the real world. They need tutoring, GED, help with getting driver's license and learning to use computers, how to shop and dress and apply for jobs and school and manage money and themselves and avoid being further victimized because they are compulsively sweet and compliant and obedient.
 
Addressing this to Gitana and disgruntled specifically:

I know that one of the state reps in Indiana has been contacted and says he won't do anything more to regulate religious schools in the state.

But back to striking while the iron is hot, with the Turpin case fresh in everyone's minds, maybe we should write to others in the Indiana state legislature. Are there any democrats? (I'm not making this political, but the fact is that we need to approach someone who is not dependent on the religious right for reelection.) Or are there any who clearly have an interest in children's issues?

Right now would be the time to put a bug in their ear about new legislation regarding some kind of oversight.

I know when I was researching homeschooling, I found a pro-homeschool site that talked about wanting to push for at least some regulations. They mentioned what various states do and do not have, which ones they believe take it too far or not far enough in terms of oversight.

I believe we could look at some of the homeschool oversight regulations in various states as a jumping off point to suggest kinds of legislation that could be introduced to create some oversight for these private religious schools.

I don't want to say, hey Gitana, you do this. But I'm thinking you might be the most capable of writing this kind of letter with disgruntled as a co-signer.

Ultimately, yes, we need to expose and shut down this school. But we also need to look at the big picture and come up with ways to prevent the ones we don't know about from continuing in the same way. And that has to be done through state legislation.

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human said:
Isn‘t Pence the former Governor or something like that?

Put him on the spot with this somehow. It was foing on under his watch and continues now.

How can it become public? Asking him about it and what to do?
Click to expand...
I have written the governor of Indiana in years past. I'll have to look and see who that was and when.
 
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