To Whom It May Concern:

The following is an outline containing information regarding my reports from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and the ultimate Termination of my Parental Rights in the Commonwealth of Kentucky:

1. LaSalle County, IL DCFS file SCR #0574955 A was filed on March 31, 1994 reporting that I had sexually molested my then six year old daughter Diane three times by taking her hands while she was sound asleep and making her rub herself in her crotch. I told CPS Investigator Pat Swanson that I have been brought up by a Christian family in Batavia, IL and was taught never to do any such a thing to my daughter, my son, or to any child. Upon completion of the interview, I moved out of the Sandwich, IL address of 61 Hickory Lane, as they did not want to hear the truth. They told me that I had to let them know where I was at, and that I could not leave the state of Illinois.

2. DeKalb County, IL DCFS file SCR #0574955 B was filed as a result of my wife Macy calling the DCFS in response to my having lived with my nephew Rick, his wife Chris, and their then 3 year old son Justin. I spoke with CPS Investigator John McCue and told him of the first report and told him that I never at any time molested my daughter Diane, nor did anything happen with Justin. I asked him who made the call to them, and he said that he could not tell me, but that “it was the same person who has called us every time you have moved.” He spoke with both Rick and Chris, who confirmed that they knew that Diane had a habit of lying to get out of trouble, and that they had no fear of Justin being around me. Mr. McCue then asked me to leave the room while he interviewed Justin, but Rick and Chris demanded that they be present at the questioning, to which Mr. McCue granted their request. According to the report, Justin denied any inappropriate touching by me, and it was so indicated on the report. Mr. McCue’s decision was to have me leave and go to Ripley, TN, as there was no court order or any reason for them to keep me in Illinois. The report itself clears me of any wrongdoing against Justin, but it still maintains the allegation against me regarding Diane; however, instead of molestation allegations, it alleges that I committed incest with her. Neither this nor the molestation allegations are true. I am given to understand that it is against the law for a second report to be based upon the first report. This is because Mr. McCue interviewed Ms. Swanson, who said “Robert denied the allegations. Robert is not credible” (emphasis mine). Even though these reports were given to the Illinois State’s Attorney Eleanor Grainey, she did nothing with them. As of the date of this fax, I have neither been charged nor have ever been charged with molesting my daughter or committing incest with her. There was to have been either a Trial-by-Jury or a Bench Trial regarding these allegations no more than 30 days after the reports have been filed. To this day, neither a Trial-by-Jury nor a Bench Trial ever took place.

3. Both SCR #0574955 A & B were appealed to their supervisors, and they sustained their findings. I then appealed for an Administrative Hearing. This took place on August 30, 1996 in Ottawa, Illinois at the DCFS LaSalle County Field Office under Docket # 95-A-132. The Administrative Law Judge Ann Breen-Greco (a DCFS paid judge) heard SCR #0574955 A for that day. According to their own laws, they were required to make a decision and send it to me Certified Mail no later than September 29, 1996. As of the date of this fax, that decision was never sent to me. This is because – according to Mr. John McCue – if I was not satisfied with the findings of the Administrative Hearing, I could then take it to Civil Court, where the Credible Evidence percentage would have been raised from their 51% to the Civil Court’s 75%. Again, this decision never was sent to me.

4. In February 2000, I made a call to the Kentucky Cabinet for Families & Children’s Department of Community Based Services in Mayfield, KY and discovered through Diana Yancey that my children were taken into foster care as a result of my first wife remarrying three years after the divorce became final, and being involved in an indiscretion with my daughter, and her husband having molested both my daughter and my son.

5. In April 2000 I saw the kids for the first time in over a year, as my ex wife moved with her husband to the Paducah, KY area and forbade me to have contact with my own children until after they were taken into Protective Custody. After the visit, my parents, my sister, my second wife, and I spoke at length with Tena Phillips of the DCBS, who said that she needed the reports in order to help clear my name. Not knowing if the DCFS reports were expunged, I handed the reports over to Tena.

6. In December 2000, I wrote to Administrative Law Judge Ann Breen-Greco regarding Docket # 95-A-132. In late January 2001, I received a letter from Mr. Charles A. Meyers, Deputy Chief Administrative Law Judge for DCFS that the tapes to my Administrative Hearing were no longer in their possession, as they had been expunged. In response to his letter, these questions were asked in a letter to Judge Meyers dated February 5, 2001, to which I have never received an answer:

a. Does this also hold true for SCR # 0574955-B, even though an Administrative Hearing has never been held?

b. Does it also hold true that since the reports have been expunged, that all case plans have been expunged with it?

c. If this is true, does this make void any case plan information originated by Mrs. Pat Swanson (or any caseworker) and sent to Ms. Tena Phillips of the Kentucky Cabinet for Families and Children, as the case is no longer active, and I have never had a case filed against me in the Commonwealth of Kentucky?

d. Lastly, since the reports and tapes are expunged from the State Central Register, has my name been permanently removed from the State Central Register and am I free to seek custody of my two minor children, as charges were never filed against me by State's Attorney Eleanor Grainey before she retired?

7. On December 14, 2000, Diane and Charlie were brought down to Ripley, Tennessee for my mother’s funeral. When the children were seated on either side of me, Charlie told his stepmother that he and Diane wanted to come live with us in Memphis.

8. On April 10, 2001, my son told me that he and Diane no longer wanted to live with my wife and me. I told Diane (as she would be the first to be set free from Foster Care) to “promise me before God that you will come look for me when you become of age,” and she said that she would.

9. On March 1, 2001, the Kentucky DCBS moved to have my parental rights terminated, as they refused to give me custody of my children because I would not submit to their case plan, on the same basis as I refused the DCFS case plan – I never molested my daughter at any time.

10. On December 10 and 12, 2001, a bench trial to terminate the parental rights of my ex wife and me was held. The DCBS tried to get my DCFS reports admitted into evidence, but it was objected to by my court-appointed attorney Karen Alderdice, and sustained by Judge Cynthia Sanderson. While the proceedings were going my way, the Guardian Ad Litem for Diane and Charlie said that the children were “ready” to tell their side of the story. Ms. Alderdice objected to this because they would not be cross-examined, but the GAL said that there was precedence for children to testify in a cleared court room without the opportunity to be cross-examined. Judge Sanderson overruled the objection and let the children testify in a cleared court room without a chance to be cross-examined. According to a video tape that the McCracken County Family Court allowed me to have, my children testified that they had no recollection of me except on birthdays and Christmas. By this time, both children have been to many counselors that they started to believe the allegations. With only Diane’s uncrossed testimony, and for the fact that I was unable to rescue them from the danger that they might have been in, it was determined that my rights were to be terminated along with my ex wife’s rights.

11. On my final visit on December 12, 2001, I received pictures from my children (shown at the end of this fax), and again told them to find me when they become of age. Since then, I have had no further contact with them. 

Please find at the end of this fax pictures of my children, and know that I love them and would welcome them back into my arms, if they would only come back, and if you would only show President Bush that major reforms (not those of HSLDA) are needed. Please refer him to Sex Abuse Hysteria: Salem Witch Trials Revisited, found on the website http://www.rgardner.com/pages/30.html.