IA IA - Johnny Gosch, 12, West Des Moines, 5 Sept 1982 #4

[Lylaaf]

I found a picture of a man that Noreen thought was involved.

 

[Lylaaf]

This is a picture of Charlie Kerr(the owner of the farmhouse in Colorado) is it just me?

 

[FergusMcDuck]

Charlie Kerr didn't own a farmhouse in Colorado.

 

[Lylaaf]

My

Charlie Kerr didn't own a farmhouse in Colorado.

My fault.. Sioux City

 

[dotr]

Charlie Kerr records from Sioux City PD : Sioux City Police Department : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Sioux City Police Department records on Charles Alexander Kerr, who was implicated as the owner of the farmhouse where 12-year-old West Des Moines boy Johnny...

archive.org

''Sioux City Police Department records on Charles Alexander Kerr, who was implicated as the owner of the farmhouse where 12-year-old West Des Moines boy Johnny Gosch was taken after his abduction''

 

[Betty P]

Charlie Kerr records from Sioux City PD : Sioux City Police Department : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Sioux City Police Department records on Charles Alexander Kerr, who was implicated as the owner of the farmhouse where 12-year-old West Des Moines boy Johnny...

archive.org

''Sioux City Police Department records on Charles Alexander Kerr, who was implicated as the owner of the farmhouse where 12-year-old West Des Moines boy Johnny Gosch was taken after his abduction''

How did the Sioux City PD know this happened?

 

[Lylaaf]

How did the Sioux City PD know this happened?

I have no clue how they found out. I never even thought about that. I could be wrong, but I believe he was already a sex offender.

 

[FergusMcDuck]

How did the Sioux City PD know this happened?

Paul Bonacci told multiple stories of how he encountered Johnny Gosch. I think it's fair to say his tales can't be trusted. He was a child molester himself - it's quite possible he knew Kerr, or he just picked a generic name for his story and lucked out.

 

[Betty P]

Paul Bonacci told multiple stories of how he encountered Johnny Gosch. I think it's fair to say his tales can't be trusted. He was a child molester himself - it's quite possible he knew Kerr, or he just picked a generic name for his story and lucked out.

Ok, so this was just Sioux City PD following up on leads? This scenario sounds as probable as any, actually. Back then, everyone thought these kinds of kidnappings happened by monsters passing through from state to state. When some were finally solved (Jacob Wetterling), it sometimes ended up being someone local or living within a 30 minute drive from the abduction point.

 

[Lylaaf]

Paul Bonacci told multiple stories of how he encountered Johnny Gosch. I think it's fair to say his tales can't be trusted. He was a child molester himself - it's quite possible he knew Kerr, or he just picked a generic name for his story and lucked out.

There are quite a few people that feel the same way, evidently. I just don't see it that way. He told school counselors about this when he was in HS, and in court the counselors acknowledged that was true. His diary was at his grandma's house while he was in jail, so he didn't just latch on to a story and then write about it. To discount his story, as far as Franklin goes, is to discount many others. The kids that the Webb's were fostering that finally told about the abuse they suffered and all of the children in that house were taken from them. Two or three of them also talk about Larry King and flying with him.. the parties, the drugs. If we discount what Paul is saying, then the same must be done for all of the other kids. But If we are to take the word of these other kids at face value, then the same goes for Paul. Also, I don't believe that he likes to diddle kids. I think that it was probably something that was forced on him.. or else. I get that we all have a choice, but I could see most people being fearful at a young age if threatened with death of yourself or family members. Obviously, I don't know that for sure, but just a thought. I know I went off topic as far as Johnny goes, but I believe Paul. I get we disagree, and that's okay. Thanks for replying.

 

[FergusMcDuck]

There are quite a few people that feel the same way, evidently. I just don't see it that way. He told school counselors about this when he was in HS, and in court the counselors acknowledged that was true. His diary was at his grandma's house while he was in jail, so he didn't just latch on to a story and then write about it.

The story in the diary contradicts what he would later tell Johnny's parents about the abduction. He basically wrote that he went to a farm and there was this kid there (unnamed) who he then describes using only information taken from Johnny's missing posters.

To discount his story, as far as Franklin goes, is to discount many others. The kids that the Webb's were fostering that finally told about the abuse they suffered and all of the children in that house were taken from them. Two or three of them also talk about Larry King and flying with him.. the parties, the drugs.

Sorensen, the foster mom who took in the children, claimed to have gotten 30 of her foster kids to talk about satanic ritual abuse during a few years in the mid 80s. She and her friend Hallberg (who found the second Franklin victim, with even wilder tales of satanic ritual abuse, among the patients at the hospital she worked at as a nurse) were deep into the Satanic Panic of the time - right before they began pushing this publicly, they had visited with McMartin pre-school families in California.

If we discount what Paul is saying, then the same must be done for all of the other kids. But If we are to take the word of these other kids at face value, then the same goes for Paul.

It's not like there were a lot. The Washington girl Sorensen fostered and the Moore girl Hallberg found in the hospital both had their stories pulled out of them by their "finders", much in the vein of similar Satanic Panic cases. Alicia Owen got convicted of perjury after her friends and co-accusers admitted to it all being a hoax, an attempt to get money and fame. And that just leaves Bonacci.

Also, I don't believe that he likes to diddle kids. I think that it was probably something that was forced on him.. or else. I get that we all have a choice, but I could see most people being fearful at a young age if threatened with death of yourself or family members. Obviously, I don't know that for sure, but just a thought. I know I went off topic as far as Johnny goes, but I believe Paul. I get we disagree, and that's okay. Thanks for replying.

I don't think it's a coincidence that the story Bonacci, a convicted child molester, tells is one that not only absolves him of blame but has also made him a hero to plenty of people.

 

[Lylaaf]

I know people think Alicia Owen is also lying. Genuine question:if so, when given the chance to retract her statement and receive no jail time, if she was lying, why not say so. Instead, she stuck to her story and chose prison. Another genuine question: how did so many children at McMartin have the same venereal disease. How was Aquino house described correctly if none of the kids had been taken there. Yeah, someone could have told them, but who? None of the parents were friends with him. Certainly no one that he was friends with coached the child/children. I wouldn't think so, but again, some of this is opinion. Thanks for replies, McDuck.

 

[Lylaaf]

I have another question for anyone.. Gannon.. there is a soccer picture of him, and underneath it says 1987. I think it is from HS, but if her was born in 1957, that would make him 30 years old at the time of that picture. In 2005, when the SHTF, he only looked to be in the 30s. I don't believe his real age is 67 even thought that is what is stated. Hopefully someone sees this and can help me out here.

 

[FergusMcDuck]

I know people think Alicia Owen is also lying. Genuine question:if so, when given the chance to retract her statement and receive no jail time, if she was lying, why not say so. Instead, she stuck to her story and chose prison.

I don't presume to know the reason she lied. Admitting to the world to being a liar and losing all your friends and support from (what was at the time) a massive movement with regular appearances on Oprah or Geraldo, might be less appealing than painting yourself as a martyr.

Another genuine question: how did so many children at McMartin have the same venereal disease.

They didn't. It's s myth, like the tunnels or the flights or Chuck Norris (his participation, that is, not his existence).

How was Aquino house described correctly if none of the kids had been taken there. Yeah, someone could have told them, but who? None of the parents were friends with him. Certainly no one that he was friends with coached the child/children.

So this is also not true. There were some generic descriptions from a single child that was at the center of it all. Let's not forget that Aquino was target number one of the Satanist hunters - an openly practising occultist in the US military with an impeccable record. The child he was supposed to have taken from the daycare and abused was only in said daycare for a handful of times, all of which when Aquino was provably on the other side of the country. According to her Christian chaplain father, the child saw Aquino in a store months later and had a "bad reaction". They put the kid in the usual satanic panic therapy sessions, but even there she didn't say what they wanted to hear - her mother had to supply the statements. It's safe to say Aquino was innocent, just a thankful subject of con artists like Bonacci.

 

[FergusMcDuck]

I have another question for anyone.. Gannon.. there is a soccer picture of him, and underneath it says 1987. I think it is from HS, but if her was born in 1957, that would make him 30 years old at the time of that picture. In 2005, when the SHTF, he only looked to be in the 30s. I don't believe his real age is 67 even thought that is what is stated. Hopefully someone sees this and can help me out here.

With these things, it's best to ask certain questions. What is the source of the image? Is it truly of the correct Guckert/Gannon? Is it dated correctly? And how does it square with the public records of Gannon's school? And why would whomever responsible for the new identity, subsequently backdate his age, ruining their own cover?

 

[thefragile7393]

I know people think Alicia Owen is also lying. Genuine question:if so, when given the chance to retract her statement and receive no jail time, if she was lying, why not say so. Instead, she stuck to her story and chose prison. Another genuine question: how did so many children at McMartin have the same venereal disease. How was Aquino house described correctly if none of the kids had been taken there. Yeah, someone could have told them, but who? None of the parents were friends with him. Certainly no one that he was friends with coached the child/children. I wouldn't think so, but again, some of this is opinion. Thanks for replies, McDuck.

Everything about the mcMartin preschool was completely a lie and made up. Literally…everything.

The McMartin Preschool Case: Satanic Panic and Child Sexual Abuse Allegations

 

[I Survived]

Please, read The Witch Hunt Narrative of Ross E. Cheit about the so called Satanic Panic of the Eighties. It's a very long book, but at least is well documented, there are a lot of sources and it's written by an accademic point of view (the author is a professor of the Brown University).

 

[FergusMcDuck]

Please, read The Witch Hunt Narrative of Ross E. Cheit about the so called Satanic Panic of the Eighties. It's a very long book, but at least is well documented, there are a lot of sources and it's written by an accademic point of view (the author is a professor of the Brown University).

I've read the book, and it's really bad. Cheit just basically asserts that the prosecutors were completely right and that the exonerating appellate courts were (without evidence) swayed by pressure from the "witch hunt narrative". But the methods behind the accusations - the interviewing techniques, the medical examinations - were genuinely discredited.

Take Kelly Michaels. She was essentially fingered because she was weird, and the interview techniques did the rest. Cheit then posits "well, she actually was weird". Sure, and? He continues the bigoted character assassination from her initial trial - her same-sex relations in college become "sexual confusion" (even if it was, how does that indicate p***philia?) and a tame poem she wrote is described as lurid (Cheit fails to quote the whole thing).

It goes on like that. People who work in a daycare can read p*rn or m*****bate in their free time and it does in no way indicate deviant behavior, but to Cheit it's incriminating. And with the collapse of the scientific basis for the accusations, that is all he has.

His main thesis - that the "witch hunt narrative" prevents people from believing real cases of child abuse - falls flat on its face when you consider the biggest and arguably most devastating cases - the Catholic priest cover-ups - all postdate the start of the "narrative". Obviously the "narrative" didn't prevent its discovery and credibility. And during the height of the Satanic Panic, who was looking at the priests?

If Cheit himself saw his accusations disregarded or doubted because of the backlash to the Satanic Panic, that's regrettable. But you don't correct an injustice by reinstating other injustices.

 

[cnmccarthy]

Johnny Gosch's little red wagon still goes on display fairly regularly in Iowa, says Little Village. It was at the state fair in 2017, a reminder not only of the questions that still surround his disappearance, but as a reminder of all the lost, missing, abducted, and exploited children still in danger.

Read More: The Tragic Story Of The Kidnapping Of Johnny Gosch - Grunge

 

[Sneaker33]

I've been digging into this case for years, though I haven't posted on Websleuths for years, and probably never about this case. I'm sure that this has been discussed before, but I cannot understand how it is possible that Johnny visited Noreen after his abduction. It doesn't make sense why that would be allowed by whomever abducted and maintained control over him. How could she not say anything, especially to police who are trying to find him. They know how to deal with this kind of information without releasing it to the public. The names that Noreen was supposedly given could help police substantially. I don't believe for a second that she had anything to do with his disappearance but more so that perhaps she had just completely lost grasp on reality at the time. Who could blame her? I'm interested to hear what the thoughts of others are on this.

I have been doing a bit of a deep dive on this case and I believe Johnny did visit Noreen. I do have a theory as to why he did not visit his father as well as to why Noreen did not report the visit until she was under oath. I do think there is a very high probability Jeff Gannon is Johnny Gosch. I am not one to get attached to conspiracy theories but I do believe this case was surrounded by corruption and related to sex trafficking.