GUILTY MO - Edward Bagley & others for keeping teen as sex slave for 8 years, Lebanon, 2009

[bessie]

Reply to MissIzzy down there at 119. (Sorry, forgot to quote.)

Such thought provoking questions, Miss Izzy. I don't claim to have the answers, mind you, but I appreciate you posing them to us. Sexual responsibility/freedom and ID adults is an important human issue that is grossly overlooked except by the few parents and caregivers like yourself for whom it's a daily concern. There's a voice inside me that's saying, "Don't worry about it, MissIzzy. Ignorance is bliss. They're better off playing with Barbie dolls ." But I realize that as a parent you would love to see them make the natural progressions in life. I would, too. Yet, is it right to release them into adult situations that require a level of responsibility beyond their capacity? On the other hand, is it morally just to exercise control over the sexual activity of chronological adults? Do we write laws based on intellectual age, which is subjective? At some point it becomes a human rights issue, as you well know.

It's a tough dilemma, to be sure. I'm just glad those two girls have you and your husband to guide them, and that so far they seem content with the status quo. It's very sad that you can't protect the other daughter. But your hands are tied by the law, and frankly I'm not sure if that isn't the way it should be. We step onto a slippery slope when we begin to deny liberty to any group of individuals. Yet, I'm sickened to no end by how many, like her and the torture victim, are exploited each and every single day.

 

[bessie]

Yes it was a given that any attorney for the defense would choose to blame the victim. It is really the only defense. This is the reason this dude waited until she was 18. Allegedly.

Beyond that they will use the drugs she was plied with and the drinking etc to state that her recollections were fuzzy and that she was an active consenting participant. To having her body parts nailed to things and to having been shocked into cardiac arrest.

I know a couple who practices a master/slave relationship with BDSM. He and I have had many many conversations regarding hurting the "slave." He and the other couples I have met who practice state in NO UNCERTAIN TERMS that legitimate practitioners NEVER EVER mutilate, maim or kill the submissive participant. Doesnt happen. Ever. Not people who legitimately practice this lifestyle. The dominants I spoke with also state that they never, ever share their submissive partner with the same sex as the dom. Not going to happen. At a maximum they allow others to admire or desire their sub.

Let me make it clear that I am not a practitioner at all. I met this couple by chance and the sub in this relationship is happy and healthy. She loves it-she loves not having any decisionmaking. She takes care of hearth and home, he is the decisionmaker.

Would never happen in in my world as I prefer to be mistress of my own destiny.

In any case, I call shenanigans period in this case. This is not legit-this is torture.

Those are the guidelines followed by the few individuals I've known who live the BDSM lifestyle. No, not my cup of tea, either, but to each his own as long as those consenting are truly adults.

 

[Missizzy]

Bessie--Thank you so much for validating the struggle of attempting to reach the right balance of safety and freedom for young people with disabilities. I find it absolutely shocking how little this issue is discussed even amongst parents of children with these challenges. I am the first to admit that my husband and I are tremendously fortunate to have been gifted with our two daughters. Children with developmental disabilities so often get "stuck" at developmental levels that are not the easiest.

Many profoundly affected people can get stuck at the "terrible twos". Really. Happens all the time and is a lifelong challenge. Now, this does not mean that if you were in their presence, you would be observing the full behavior of a two year old but you would see tantrums, neediness, emotional lability, pouting, and so on. As each human is unique, there are no absolutes. It seems that each person with even the greatest level of DD will have peaks and valleys--gifts and challenges.

Another stage that people seem to get stuck is at 12. We read that often as it's common. I believe that this is most likely where this young woman is. Their IQ is most likely in the 60s-70s and they can converse, read at a 2nd-3rd grade level, manage any electronic device known to mankind but have no grasp on safety issues or the natural consequences of their actions. If they don't have a criminal/delinquent personality, they can often function wonderfully in the world WITH SUPPORT--just like 12 year olds require. If everything is routine and smooth, they'll do fine. If however, there's a glitch or a separation from protective supervision, all hell can break loose. They can easily become victims due to their vulnerability and they can also victimize without understanding the full impact of their crimes. I know that our prisons are literally packed full of people just like this.

Then there are the fortunate few, like our girls, who stopped at 7-8. That's a magical age. Children at that stage still think their parents hung the moon (it's very validating to think that a handful of children still think that I did just that). They want to please. They absolutely love school and fun activities. They are typically guileless and open with their emotions. Barbies, scrapbooking, walking the dogs, playing board games (Connect 4 and Memory going on 15 years now and they still giggle), Hannah Montana bookbags. It's actually slightly challenging to encourage them to dress in a more mature manner when they move into the workplace as they really want the pink cords and the rainbow tops. And the dollar store is heaven. I'll take it!!

http://www.aamr.org/content_100.cfm?navID=21

So this begs the question as to why I would even consider nudging my girls towards some sort of a relationship. I guess it's because I want them to experience crushes, phone calls, holding hands, possibly a kiss. I honestly don't know how to proceed. I guess that's where the Easter Seals dances and the YMCA song (which ends each dance to raucous whooping and laughter) comes in.

In fact the raising of children is a dance itself. You never quite know where to put your feet.

 

[Missizzy]

Compare these two statements. There's a discrepancy here, IMO.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101023/ap_on_re_us/us_sex_slave


"...Bagley's wife, MB, said she and her husband knew the girl because she had dated their son. That relationship had ended, Bagley's wife said, but the girl wanted to come live with the couple when relations with her adoptive parents soured. She said the girl moved in when she was 17, not 16, and never had sex with her husband until after she turned 18.

"She was not a runaway," MB said. "We picked her up from her adopted dad and stepmom. They were right there and everything...."

more at link



http://kansascity.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel10/kc090910.htm

"According to the federal indictment, Bagley enticed FV, a 16-year-old runaway who suffered from mental deficiencies, into his trailer home in December 2002. Bagley promised FV, who had grown up in foster care homes, that he would help her to become a model and a dancer; she was given her own bedroom and provided with clothes and food. Bagley allegedly gave FV marijuana and ecstasy, showed her images of and sadomasochism activities, and began sexually abusing her...."

more at link



Did Bagley truly wait until the girl was 17 to have sexual intercourse? Was she a runaway from a foster home or was she adopted? MB states that she lived with an adoptive father and a step-mom. What's their take on all this? The pertinent Missouri law on the age of consent:

http://www.ageofconsent.com/missouri.htm


566.034. 1. A person commits the crime of statutory rape in the second degree if being twenty-one years of age or older, he has sexual intercourse with another person who is less than seventeen years of age.
2. Statutory rape in the second degree is a class C felony.
(L. 1994 S.B. 693) Effective 1-1-95 As of August 28, 2001.
Source: http://www.moga.state.mo.us/statutes/C500-599/5660034.HTM


Statutory rape, first degree, penalties.

566.032. 1. A person commits the crime of statutory rape in the first degree if he has sexual intercourse with another person who is less than fourteen years old.
2. Statutory rape in the first degree is a felony for which the authorized term of imprisonment is life imprisonment or a term of years not less than five years, unless in the course thereof the actor inflicts serious physical injury on any person, displays a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument in a threatening manner, subjects the victim to sexual intercourse or deviate sexual intercourse with more than one person, or the victim is less than twelve years of age in which case the authorized term of imprisonment is life imprisonment or a term of years not less than ten years.
(L. 1994 S.B. 693) Effective 1-1-95
Source: http://www.moga.state.mo.us/statutes/C500-599/5660032.HTM

EDITOR: This does re-confirm our age chart. If you are over 18 but under 21, the age of consent is 14. If you are over 21, you may not have sexual intercourse with anyone under 17.

 

[Missizzy]

An abstract of a study done on ID pre-teens, teens, and young adults (formerly referred to as MR). Note that this was written in 1984. Not a popular area of study, obviously. The bottom line is that youth with ID are vulnerable:

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/73/4/445


"The patients had an age range from 11 to 23 years (mean 16.7). Forty-one subjects were mildly retarded (IQ 55 to 69), 23 were moderately retarded (IQ 41 to 54), and 23 were severely retarded (IQ less than 41). Half of the mildly retarded had had sexual intercourse, a proportion comparable to the general adolescent population. Thirty-two percent of the moderately retarded and nine percent of the severely retarded adolescents had had intercourse. One third of the mildly retarded and one fourth of the moderately retarded adolescents had been victims of rape or incest. Continued sexual activity correlated with sexual abuse, but the majority of victims had no prior or subsequent evidence of intercourse...."




Another criminal case for comparison, with many similarities. Note that it took four years to come to trial and just how contentious the debate was:

http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/08/03/reviews/glenridge-verdict.html

4 Are Convicted in Sexual Abuse Of Intellectually Disabled [EBM] New Jersey Woman

"...the jury returned guilty verdicts on the most inflammatory charges in the case -- that popular high school athletes clustered around a childlike 17-year-old schoolmate who idolized them and coveted their friendship and then thrust a bat and broom into her.

A central issue in the 23-week trial was whether the young woman, who has an I.Q. of 64, was mentally defective as defined by the law, unable to understand or exercise her right to refuse to engage in sex acts...."

and

"....For all the thousands upon thousands of words in the trial record, the case boiled down to one basic issue: Was a retarded 17-year-old with an I.Q. of 64 and a second-grade reading level capable of consenting to sexual acts involving a baseball bat, a broom handle and a stick?

Prosecutors said no. Defense lawyers said yes.

At the start of the trial last October, Judge Cohen made it clear that prosecutors would have to show more than gullibility, slowness or learning problems to prove the charge that the young woman was mentally defective, as defined by New Jersey's sex crime law, and, as such, was unable to understand or exercise her legal right to refuse to engage in sexual activities.

Most of the state's 24 witnesses, including the young woman's mother, sister, teachers, two friends, and mental health experts, described a troubled life, educationally, socially and emotionally...."

and

Defense lawyers tried to create an entirely different picture of the young woman. They contended, primarily during their cross-examinations, that she was a promiscuous temptress throughout her teen-age years and, in the 1989 episode, was an oversexed aggressor who started and then eagerly joined in all the sexual acts in the Scherzer basement.

"....In late December, the jurors had a chance to form their own impressions when she took the stand. What they saw was a chubby, baby-faced woman with short-cropped hair. They heard her speak in a thin, childlike voice, using vulgar terms for masturbation and fellatio casually and without embarrassment....."

more at link



Pay special attention to the victim's testimony. Sounds like a child, doesn't it? Sounds just like my children's testimony to me. They really looked up to their "friend" and never wanted to hurt him. After all, he sneaked them really good candy and played "camp-out" with them. My guess is that we're going to hear a repeat of that type of testimony and it brings me to my knees.

 

[Missizzy]

I'm sorry but I have to call into question the judgement of a woman who "got to know" this victim, who must have known about her disabilities, and who did nothing to notify authorities. I find this to be very similar to a 12 yr. old child bragging about how he was sexually servicing his Uncle Bob and everyone nodding and thinking, "What a great kid." The entire story being "spun" by the accused isn't flying for me.


http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/03074291-7988-59e7-9fd1-4d81b5088e56.html

A Missouri town's doubts about a sex torture case


"....."They no more held that woman captive than a man on the moon," says LB, 46, who runs La Mexican Kitchen restaurant in town and got to know the woman over several years as a frequent patron who shared shocking details from her private life. "She was very proud of what she did."

Yet experts say sex trafficking cases can project appearances that camouflage what is truly taking place.

"Traffickers really know how to manipulate people and their circumstances so it is not easily seen," said Suzanne LeLaurin, head of the St. Louis human trafficking coalition and a senior vice president at the International Institute in St. Louis, which helps trafficking victims...."

and

"...."You ever watch Big Love?" MB [one of the accused men's wife] says suddenly, referring to the HBO show about a polygamous Mormon family. "Ed wasn't married to her or anything like that. But that's what it was. It was just us. ... It was just a normal, happy family."

But the B's long had an unusual sex life. They swapped partners. They were into bondage — leather and whips and restraints. "Everything was fun, enjoyable. If it wasn't, you didn't do it," MB says...."


more at link (an in-depth article with many new details, also 10 photos)

 

[wfgodot]

Kirkwood man facing federal gun charge, along with sex torture crimes

St. Louis, MO (KSDK)-- A Kirkwood resident has found himself in more hot water after a Federal Grand Jury handed up an indictment accusing him of illegal firearms possession.

32 year old Bradley Cook could face another ten years in prison and a quarter million dollars in fines if convicted of the latest charge of Unlawful Transport of Firearms.

In the latest charges; federal prosecutors allege Cook had possession of various weapons including a Czechoslovakian rifle, plus various shotguns, rifles and revolvers which were all shipped to Cook who was forbidden by law to own or possess the weapons due to previous drug crimes.
---
more at
http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=230769&catid=71

 

[believe09]

Imagine that. Someone who kept a child then woman as a sex slave breaks the law in other ways.

And federal charges on top of that-that is hard time so I hear.

 

[Missizzy]

I wanted to comment about the title of the article I linked to above:

"A Missouri town's doubts about a sex torture case"

I highly doubt (could be wrong, though) that the entire town doubts the evil committed by this group. I feel that the editor should have titled that article, "Some in town have doubts".

JMO

 

[believe09]

snip from MissIzzy's link:

Back at the trailer, MB recalls how deflated she and her husband felt after the woman left and filed for the protection order in early 2009. Federal charges were still a year off. Their sons had moved out. The trailer, alone on the hill, felt empty.

In some ways, she says, it was a good thing. "We actually got to know each other again."

But it was difficult to just forget their relationship with the woman.
"We both loved her. We gave her everything, done anything she wanted, and it just broke our hearts."

Wonder what caused the female victim to file for the protection order after being shocked into a heart attack-the p.o. that EB didnt respect initially?

This article makes me sad-clearly this couple feels betrayed that this girl turned woman left them. Just to review, we have a child who was neglected, in an out of foster homes and was diagnosed with difficulties. She had deficits when picked up by authorities.

She is taken into someone else's home, presumably cared for by these two in the absence of her real and her adoptive parents-suddenly when she is 18 a switch turns on and she decides she wants to a sex slave for her kind-of foster family? Just bam-she says hey lets get into BDSM now that I am of age-tattoo me, shock me, pierce me, whip me, I'll become a stripper and then share me with your friends.

This defies logic. Completly defies logic. I am intrigued however about what a hard time they are having letting her go....when they finally had to. When they were finally forced to. It seems to me that the mentality was that they owned her. That she had no right to leave. That she betrayed them when she did. That is strictly from the outside looking in.

head shakin.

 

[UdbCrzy2]

One of five Missouri men accused of being part of the sexual slavery and torture of a mentally disabled woman pleaded guilty to a federal charge Thursday and admitted torturing the woman and paying to watch another man torture her.

James Noel, 45, of Springfield, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Kansas City to one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion. He now faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, although he has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors and could be rewarded for that help with a lesser sentence.

Authorities began investigating the case last year, after the woman had a heart attack and had to be rushed to a Springfield hospital.

She had been living in the trailer home of Ed Bagley near Lebanon, Mo., and authorities claim that Bagley held her against her will, forced to undergo torture and sex acts and rented her out to other men.


read the story at the link
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/...cle_a91e87ba-4060-11e0-999b-0017a4a78c22.html

 

[Fairy1]

One of five Missouri men accused of being part of the sexual slavery and torture of a mentally disabled woman pleaded guilty to a federal charge Thursday and admitted torturing the woman and paying to watch another man torture her.

James Noel, 45, of Springfield, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Kansas City to one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion. He now faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, although he has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors and could be rewarded for that help with a lesser sentence.

Authorities began investigating the case last year, after the woman had a heart attack and had to be rushed to a Springfield hospital.

She had been living in the trailer home of Ed Bagley near Lebanon, Mo., and authorities claim that Bagley held her against her will, forced to undergo torture and sex acts and rented her out to other men.


read the story at the link
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/...cle_a91e87ba-4060-11e0-999b-0017a4a78c22.html

This is great news! I hope the others plead out as well. This young woman has been victimized enough and I would hate to see her suffer at the hands of these freaks any more.

 

[MLE]

arggggg. And back we go to the friggin traficking

I cannot believe that just a few short years ago I was blissfully unaware of the depths of depravity people will sink right here in the good ole US OF A.

I am sorry, I am just really sickened by discovering how prevalent this problem is right here at home and not in some distant uncivilized third world country. As long as I could imagine it was far from home in some "other" place that was vastly different from here, I could know it but know know about it, KWIM.

America is taking advantage of slaves at a level unseen since the 1860s. In addition to this young lady and others used as a sex slave, a lot of the merchandise in Wal*Mart, Gap, and numerous retailers was made by adults and children in sweatshops under virtual slave labor conditions.

 

[MLE]

32 year old Bradley Cook could face another ten years in prison and a quarter million dollars in fines if convicted of the latest charge of Unlawful Transport of Firearms.

Our laws are screwed up when the maximum sentence for trafficking human beings is only half of the maximum sentence for trafficking inanimate objects such as firearms.

 

[Missizzy]

A fabulous resource for facts:

http://www.polarisproject.org/

 

[believe09]

One of five Missouri men accused of being part of the sexual slavery and torture of a mentally disabled woman pleaded guilty to a federal charge Thursday and admitted torturing the woman and paying to watch another man torture her.

James Noel, 45, of Springfield, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Kansas City to one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion. He now faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, although he has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors and could be rewarded for that help with a lesser sentence.

Authorities began investigating the case last year, after the woman had a heart attack and had to be rushed to a Springfield hospital.

She had been living in the trailer home of Ed Bagley near Lebanon, Mo., and authorities claim that Bagley held her against her will, forced to undergo torture and sex acts and rented her out to other men.


read the story at the link
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/...cle_a91e87ba-4060-11e0-999b-0017a4a78c22.html

I am sorry, did I read this correctly? Come again??? Admits he paid someone to torture and have sex with this woman...and he will likely get less than 5 years.

Well bully for him-she gets to live with this for the rest of her life. The whole shebang. All of it-Lives with her forever. OMG.

 

[believe09]

This is great news! I hope the others plead out as well. This young woman has been victimized enough and I would hate to see her suffer at the hands of these freaks any more.

Fairy friend, he is getting less than 5 years.:banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead:

 

[Fairy1]

Fairy friend, he is getting less than 5 years.:banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead:

Guess I missed that part.

Why am I not surprised? :furious:

 

[Missizzy]

I've read over and over again that those who used to run drugs or guns are turning to human trafficking as the penalties are so much lighter and the money is great. A bit different than our issue here but something to consider when choosing consumer goods and services.

I'm torn about the plea. How I wish there was some way for certain victims to testify without facing their abusers. I fully understand about the accused having the right to face their accuser but sometimes it seems overly cruel and dangerous. Elizabeth Smart did it but she's bright and well-spoken and has an incredibly strong support system. I don't know if this woman could live through a trial. I have a feeling that the defense would rip her up.

Hopefully her wishes were considered.

Five years. That's less than some men for looking at child . And IMO, when this young woman started out, she was a child. In her mind, she still is.

 

[Missizzy]

I have to applaud the St. Louis Post Dispatch for printing the facts about the plea. Several other papers minimize the crime. Even if Noel's rolling on the other men, five years seems horrifically offensive, given what he's admitting to:

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/65d6c2d3-8a33-5159-ae84-a790f77008b1.html



"...In Noel's plea, however, he said that he knew that the woman "was not smart and did not appear to have a full mental capacity of someone her age." He also said she "lacked the ability to communicate normally and had a limited vocabulary" and was an unwilling participant in the torture. Noel said that he originally heard about her from a co-defendant, Michael Stokes. Authorities allege that both men watched as Bagley tortured the woman. Noel tortured the woman himself and paid Bagley $300 to watch a two- to three-hour session, Noel's plea agreement says.

He tested some of the devices and described an old-fashioned crank-style telephone used to repeatedly shock her genitals as "extremely painful" when used just on his arm, his plea says. Noel claims Stokes brought Bagley steaks, cigarettes, cots, clothing, lighters and cash in exchange for sex and torture sessions with the woman and paid $1,000 that was used to transport her to an erotic photo shoot in California...."

more at link


Just wondering. Being that one man has said that he knew the woman was mentally disabled and that she was an unwilling participant, does that set a precedent that these facts are indisputable?