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

[fictionisbetter]

I can see my daughter's father's house in this photo. Creeptastic.

That is absolutely terrifying.

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[JaneEyre]

I can see my daughter's father's house in this photo. Creeptastic.

New word I'm adding to my vocabulary!

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[Ibiz]

Making a minor eat their own vomit is abuse. A mom can point at her kid and have a stranger beat the kid senseless with a bat. It doesn't make it legal because the child's parent said it was okay. The stranger would be arrested. jmo.

That's not the same as placing a child in a private boarding school.

If any abuses are going on there, then I would think with the technology we have today, one of these kids could text us out some photos to prove the abuse, so we can get the police over there to rescue them.

 

[Davia18]

How old is this Williams ? Sounds like he must be getting up there in age. Also how many workers are here to control these girls.
Also are these girls with troubled past or girls with attitude problems and so on.
Now a days teen girls are pretty aggressive IMO.

What would happen if one of these girls told him off and didn't follow his rules. My daughter (13) who is very sassy and has been in situations with a terrible father and has had to be aggressive. ( don't worry I now have sole custody )

I just feel at some point one of these girls aren't going to deal with it and fight back while still there. Can someone be sent in undercover ? An adult possible office that looks much younger than they are.

Anyone have thoughts.

 

[disgruntled]

I can see my daughter's father's house in this photo. Creeptastic.

Small world. They probably have no idea Hephzibah House is even there.

 

[KinderedSpirits]

I was thinking along the undercover lines too. Even though I know it probably won't be easy.

I'm wondering if any of the parents who currently have their children there, sent them despite knowing about the abuse accusations. If so, that level of brainwashing is even more sickening!

Im also wondering if some local coverage would reach the parents that are in the dark about the abusive environment they have sent their daughters. Word tends to travel quickly in small circles. I'm really just brainstorming out loud. There has to be a way to crack this cycle of abuse.


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[KinderedSpirits]

Double post sorry!

 

[disgruntled]

That's not the same as placing a child in a private boarding school.

If any abuses are going on there, then I would think with the technology we have today, one of these kids could text us out some photos to prove the abuse, so we can get the police over there to rescue them.

I laughed out loud when I read your post! There are no cell phones allowed at Hephzibah House. No computer access, no newspapers or television or magazines or radio. Absolute, complete and total lock down. You cannot even talk to the girls around you without permission.

 

[Hatfield]

How old is this Williams ? Sounds like he must be getting up there in age. Also how many workers are here to control these girls.
Also are these girls with troubled past or girls with attitude problems and so on.
Now a days teen girls are pretty aggressive IMO.

What would happen if one of these girls told him off and didn't follow his rules. My daughter (13) who is very sassy and has been in situations with a terrible father and has had to be aggressive. ( don't worry I now have sole custody )

I just feel at some point one of these girls aren't going to deal with it and fight back while still there. Can someone be sent in undercover ? An adult possible office that looks much younger than they are.

Anyone have thoughts.

JMO
LE has done that before with sending "kid" to high school to break up a drug ring. That would be a really good idea IMO. The problem would be convincing LE they need to spend resources to do something like that.

I think its a great idea and would either confirm they are following all the rules and nothing comes about it or the opposite. Its a fantastic idea actually IMO.

 

[Hope4More]

How old is this Williams ? Sounds like he must be getting up there in age. Also how many workers are here to control these girls.
Also are these girls with troubled past or girls with attitude problems and so on.
Now a days teen girls are pretty aggressive IMO.

What would happen if one of these girls told him off and didn't follow his rules. My daughter (13) who is very sassy and has been in situations with a terrible father and has had to be aggressive. ( don't worry I now have sole custody )

I just feel at some point one of these girls aren't going to deal with it and fight back while still there. Can someone be sent in undercover ? An adult possible office that looks much younger than they are.

Anyone have thoughts.

Terrified kids don't fight back. Broken kids don't fight back. Kids who have been brainwashed into believing the abuse is their fault don't fight back. And, kids who have been subjected to enough psychological abuse for long enough, or from birth, that they aren't even aware of the fact they are being psychologically abused ? They don't fight back either.

 

[Davia18]

Terrified kids don't fight back. Broken kids don't fight back. Kids who have been brainwashed into believing the abuse is their fault don't fight back. And, kids who have been subjected to enough psychological abuse for long enough, or from birth, that they aren't even aware of the fact they are being psychologically abused ? They don't fight back either.

That's what I was wondering, if these girls are already from brainwashed religious homes. Not bashing religion as I believe but I know some are very extreme in their believes.

 

[JaneEyre]

JMO
LE has done that before with sending "kid" to high school to break up a drug ring. That would be a really good idea IMO. The problem would be convincing LE they need to spend resources to do something like that.

I think its a great idea and would either confirm they are following all the rules and nothing comes about it or the opposite. Its a fantastic idea actually IMO.

An adult getting a job as one of the female caretakers would work.

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[BeesInMyBonnet]

Applauding Hope4More’s post on your eloquent, powerful writing, disgruntled. I’m an editor, and I know excellent writing when I see it. Yours is top notch.

Forgive me if this has been suggested: I contacted Indiana’s attorney general a few years ago when I was catfished and scammed out of $4,000. Two major companies—one of which is headquartered in Indiana—placed all the blame on me. I wrote to the state AG for help with the Indiana-based company, pointing out that the company’s lax security allowed the catfisher to succeed in his scam. The AG was responsive and sympathetic—and the big name company backed down.

I’m sleep deprived and exhausted from work, so please forgive me if my suggestion would not help in this situation. Either way, you’re amazing, and I’d like to help however I can.


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[Ibiz]

I laughed out loud when I read your post! There are no cell phones allowed at Hephzibah House. No computer access, no newspapers or television or magazines or radio. Absolute, complete and total lock down. You cannot even talk to the girls around you without permission.

Disgruntled, you said you were at this school in the 1980s?

I can tell you I went to a public government run grade school in the 1980s. When I was in the second grade our teacher would rap masking tape across a students mouth, and then around their head so many times that their head looked like a mummified paper mache ball; if they talk to much during class.

If she was really angry with you, then she would have you stand upright with your nose and toes up against the brick wall in the hall. If the school principle came by and saw you, he would grab you by the arm, and drag you to the office, and whip you with a big paddle. So, the whole time you stood in that hall; your hart was just beating and pounding as you hoped the principle did not come by and see you.

I'm just saying things were a bit different back then when we went to school then they are today, and no we did not have cell phones or anything.

 

[osu]

I think that a letter to Dr. Phil would be an excellent idea.
I can totally see him digging into this, and we all know that he has an audience in the millions, the most watched TV show out there.

I agree that the Dr Phil show would definitely be interested in your story! He’s always doing shows about child abuse.

Here’s the show contact form:
https://plugger.drphil.com/plugger/respond/?plugID=15938


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[AzPistonsGirl]

I imagine this thread is too painful, upsetting and perhaps triggering for some people but I just wanted to thank everyone for the bravery and compassion demonstrated here. May something good come from this... even if it helps one person, that is success. hugs.

 

[osu]

My apologies if I somehow violated TOS with my earlier post and links regarding doing an AMA. I still believe that it could get your story out there very quickly to thousands of people and the news media is always keeping close tabs there.
JMO


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[Hatfield]

An adult getting a job as one of the female caretakers would work.

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JMO
Yes that could be another route they could go as well.

LE in the areas have to be aware of these places and the hard part would be getting them to be willing to pursue something like that.

I almost get a sense LE has a "hands-off" policy for these kinds of places and I dont understand why that happens.

I have to wonder if some money gets donated to the city from these places and its a way they keep from being bothered.

Not the same but I remember the whole Warren Jeffs debacle and how it took so long for authorities to do something. It was like they would not even go past the gate at first just because they had a gate.

 

[Spellbound]

Dear Disgruntled:

First of all, you write beautifully well. Your first post detailing your horrific experiences was exceptionally eloquent and powerful. Please don't doubt your ability to either write well, or to move your audience. You can and you do.

Second. I agree with Gitana and those who think seizing upon the Turpin story to draw attention to this HH obscenity is a great idea.

The caveat to that , though, is that the Turpin story won't stay in the headlines for much longer, imo, before there is a long pre-trial (or plea settlement) stretch of relative headline silence.

A larger "hook," and one that has already demonstrated staying power & the power to topple what once seemed immovable, is the "MeToo" movement. (I'm not suggesting this as a political statement, btw).

Many women activists see MeToo as a movement that can (and is) much larger than a campaign against sexual harassment, or even rape. It is and can be a campaign for the right of women to speak up about many ways in which men use their power to abuse women.

How about making this kind of connection:

"Many women are speaking up to say "Me Too," and those words, unspoken for too long, are shaking the foundations of power from Hollywood to Washington.

But what of girls and young women who are being abused by men of power, right now, who are not free to speak those words?........."

The Turpin case can readily be linked to a MeToo argument.....as in, if it's against the law for parents to abuse their power over their children to harm them, how can it possibly be justifiable to ever allow other adults with power over children to harm them, for young girls to be subjected to abusive, degrading, & soul destroying "discipline" by men whose power goes unchallenged?"....

Last. One obvious possible very sympathetic media source came to mind for you (or someone else) to approach: The Intercept. This is their kind of story.

and there is the case in Michigan ... 156 young women spoke up in court about the sexual abuse they received at the hands of the US-Olympic/Michigan State athletic doctor, Larry Nasser. 160+ ladies and girls had spoken up since 1998 about his actions and were not believed or sent off with “he’s the best doctor, it’s a medical procedure”. Until now, until #MeToo ! It all started to come together with a letter to the Indianapolis Star and snowballed into 175 year conviction:

https://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?322087-MI-Former-US-Gymnastics-Doctor-Larry-Nassar-Charged-With-CSA/page6#post13887927

how IndyStar got the ball rolling:
Nassar's downfall started in March 2016, when IndyStar published its "Out of Balance" series, investigating USA Gymnastics' broken policies for handling sexual abuse
https://www.indystar.com/story/spor...ssar-usa-gymnastics-investigation/1062120001/

 

[disgruntled]

How old is this Williams ? Sounds like he must be getting up there in age. Also how many workers are here to control these girls.
Also are these girls with troubled past or girls with attitude problems and so on.
Now a days teen girls are pretty aggressive IMO.

What would happen if one of these girls told him off and didn't follow his rules. My daughter (13) who is very sassy and has been in situations with a terrible father and has had to be aggressive. ( don't worry I now have sole custody )

I just feel at some point one of these girls aren't going to deal with it and fight back while still there. Can someone be sent in undercover ? An adult possible office that looks much younger than they are.

Anyone have thoughts.

Williams is in his 70's now. Hephzibah house is teaming with "staff" Jim Kagin is Handyman. He is also head huntsman if a girl escapes and has beaten many many girls over the years. He is married to Ron William's first underage student. Dawn Kagin who is cook and overseer of all things food for the compound. Their child Shaphen stayed at HH and married very young 18, I believe, to Naomi Williams many years older than him They are both staff and live in the school street building above the office. The have several children. Donald Williams is the pastor of Believers Chapel and is Williams oldest son, he is married to Wenda and they have 10 children. They are both staff at Hephzibah house. The Hayman husband and wife are assistant pastor and she is staff I cannot remember if she is a secretary or is the "nurse" So far that is 10 adult full time staff positions that live on compound property. There may be more.

Next are the dorm mothers. These are single young women who are either former students or recruited from churches by pastors Williams knows well. These Women must agree to live side by side with the girls in the basement 24 hours a day with one day off a week. They receive no pay and must raise support from family and church members of their home church to live on. Williams controls this money, controls how they spend their free time, censors their mail and phone calls as he sees fit. These women vow to follow Williams headship and agree not to date or associate with young men in any way. They are not allowed to bring a car to HH in most cases and can only go to town if chaperoned. The head staff lady right now is Teresa Dawson. under her are 3-5 women. So that is at least 15 full time staff for about 12 girls. Full capacity is 24 but Williams figured out a long time ago that he can pull in just as much cash with 12 and it is much less work.

Girls that come to Hephzibah house are "broken". It is a stated goal and the term refers to actually bypassing the natural instinct to fight back and self protect. Once a girl is "broken" she remains pretty docile and complacent with just occasionally reenforcement. Whatever he dreams up they go through it is intense. I still feel Williams fingers in my head to this day. It changes as people get wise to what he is doing, but the goal is the completely break the child. We always figure out what he is doing about they time he moves to a different tactic. I never knew a girl Williams could not break mentally.