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

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adot0902 said:
Some more thoughts, because you all are so much better at figuring out who to write, and what petitions to start, I'm not even going to go there, because that is not my area. I'm going to look at some other avenues that could get this place shut down

1) Has anyone ever seen Hephzibah House's IRS Determination Letter, there are some interesting tax laws with making sure all donations be funneled through the church vs. through the school
2) Any chance we could figure out who the church has liability insurance through and maybe inform them of what is going on, I'm sure if they knew what a risk they were taking they would be dropped from the policy thus possibly putting them in danger of being unable to operate? (I'm sure we could figure out the Church's insurance company)
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The insurance company is an interesting avenue I hadn't thought of, I agree that's a great one to look into.

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EuTuCroquet? said:
Just throwing this out; curiosity.

Is Hephzibah registered as any kind of nonprofit? Has it ever been? Or registered under some sort of foundation? If so, it would have to submit financials, which would be public record.

Maybe search by leadership names, organization name, church ...

Sources like Guidestar, 990 Finder, state registry websites; maybe there are public records.

Not sure that would be helpful in any way. But never hurts to check.
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Yes, I found two properties/businesses that were registered as non-profit and receive tax exemptions. Both the location of the office and the property where the church and where the girls are kept, which are a town over from one another.
 
Also, it looks like they got a food inspection violation at the end of 2017. I wonder if the inspection was scheduled or if it was unannounced. Is this the location the girls are housed? It is listed as being in Warsaw (not sure if it's county name or town name). It just kills me to know someone was inside doing an inspection and missed what was going on.

http://www.inkfreenews.com/2016/12/...ealth-department-november-health-inspections/

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disgruntled said:
We have done three peaceful protests at the courthouse where we handed out flyers. I have recently learned that Williams is running a booth there now every 1st Friday. I think a booth might be a possibility, perhaps not on the same day, I cannot even imagine how stressful that would be.

We thought that protesting at the Hephzibah House compound was off limits because the road is restricted from foot traffic and it would be trespassing to be on his property. (He owns a huge swath of land on both sides of the road) BUT the college protests last year got my attention and I think that private property that opens itself up to the public or clients may not have the same protection. I may be able to legally protest peacefully at the end of their driveway.

We had quite a petition going for the HR911 bill. We had an online petition and also carried paper petitions for people to sign at our protests. Were you thinking a petition to rework or readdress the failed bill or a petition to get local oversight? Im not sure exactly what that would look like....maybe you have an idea?

I'm just so overjoyed with all these suggestions and leads and connections. I you don't see me responding here I am probably busy writing and organizing, I will be coming back to reference links and ideas tho. I wish I could just hug every one of you.
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I have tears as I am reading this. I wish I was there with you. I would set up my booth right next to his.
 
EuTuCroquet? said:
Also, is this “religious” organization receiving money from somewhere to fund this atrocity?
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It is my understanding that these schools (there have been several that I have read about, not necessarily connected in any way) have two revenue streams. One is from supportive churches who support what they believe to be happening there. And the other is tuition from parents. One such set-up (I forget the name, but I believe that they originated in Texas) even had a children's choir that they would take around to churches as examples of their good work. But they tend to shun any government dollars that would have accountability attached.

One counter example is a Gothard (name of the founder) residential facility that operated in Indianapolis for a time, accepting juvenile court referrals (and $). They were ultimately shut down for abusing children (and possibly some church-state violations as well). However, I believe that the "work" simply continued elsewhere, including internationally. I believe that the founder may finally have been booted out for sexually assaulting female "interns." The Duggar family sent Josh to their organization to help with his sexual issues. (pause to contemplate the irony)

Indiana is/was also the home of New Horizons Academy (Marion, Indiana). I do not know if they are still in existence. They were connected to Escuela Caribe, which was highlighted in a documentary, "Kidnapped for Christ" and the memoir Jesus Land by Julia Scheeres. All very sad stories.
 
disgruntled said:
I'm back, most of my kids are tucked in bed now. I am just speechless with this and frankly feeling rather inadequate. Thank you all and please be patient as I figure out this site a little more.
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For you:

Patient we will be
You are an inspiration
Hopeful for justice

Love and peace to you
From all of us far and wide
Thank you for sharing
 
fictionisbetter said:
Here is their tax information. I don't know much about this stuff (sorry if it's already been posted) but if anyone with expertise can go over it with a fine tooth comb, it may prove helpful in some way.

http://www.nonprofitfacts.com/IN/Hephzibah-House-Inc.html

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Thanks for finding this.

I did notice that 86.8% of their income was from grants in 2014. For perspective an organization performing similar work averages .3 % in grants. If any one individual contributes 2%+ they need to report that unless it's a government entity making the contribution. They reported that they didn't receive more than 2% from any one individual. Who is funding them? I hope it's not tax dollars at work here.
 
EuTuCroquet? said:
Just throwing this out; curiosity.

Is Hephzibah registered as any kind of nonprofit? Has it ever been? Or registered under some sort of foundation? If so, it would have to submit financials, which would be public record.

Maybe search by leadership names, organization name, church ...

Sources like Guidestar, 990 Finder, state registry websites; maybe there are public records.

Not sure that would be helpful in any way. But never hurts to check.
Click to expand...

Finally, something I can help with. They are a nonprofit and operate on a relatively small budget - less than $500k/year. Most of their income is from donations and grants. Ronald Williams is reported to make $41k/year for 60 hours/week of work.
 
This is about sex abuse, but do they not work on other issues as well?


Project Safe Childhood Home
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NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR CHILD EXPLOITATION PREVENTION AND INTERDICTION

Download the Full Report (PDF)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Introduction
Review of Efforts to Combat Child Exploitation
National Child Exploitation Threat Assessment 2016
Goals and Objectives for Continuing the Fight Against Child Exploitation
Child Exploitation in Indian Country
Conclusion
Appendices


INTRODUCTION

The PROTECT Our Children Act of 2008 requires that the Attorney General develop and implement a National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction (National Strategy). The first National Strategy was published in 2010. This, the second National Strategy, builds on that work.

The National Strategy is a culmination of a year of discussions among members of an inter-agency working group convened by the National Coordinator for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction at the Department of Justice (DOJ, or the Department). The National Strategy first discusses the work of federal law enforcement agencies and prosecutors since 2010, as well as other agencies and offices that play important roles in this work by supporting victims, providing grants to state, local, and tribal governments and non-profit partners, and educating the public about the dangers of child exploitation, and also the work of the non-governmental National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). Second, it provides a threat assessment that addresses the nature and scope of the problem and updates the assessment contained in the 2010 National Strategy. Third, it lays out plans for continuing the fight against child exploitation in four key areas: investigations and prosecutions; outreach and education; victim services; and policy initiatives. Fourth, the National Strategy has a section dedicated solely to child exploitation in Indian Country, as the issues there are often unique. Finally, a series of appendices include statistics on federal prosecutions; detailed tables of information on the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program (ICAC program) funded by DOJ; research on child exploitation funded by DOJ; a summary of the survey on which the threat assessment is based; and the text of DOJ legislative proposals. Throughout the National Strategy case studies are included as examples of child exploitation prosecutions brought by DOJ.

Read the full section.
 
https://www.guidestar.org/profile/35-1271444

Guidestar profile link.

It has two one-star reviews. Downloadable pdfs of financials are available.

(Here's a download link to 2016/2015 tax return info in pdf format.)

Seems to be Hephzibah Houses in other states, too. No idea if they're related.

Doghairrules said:
Finally, something I can help with. They are a nonprofit and operate on a relatively small budget - less than $500k/year. Most of their income is from donations and grants. Ronald Williams is reported to make $41k/year for 60 hours/week of work.
Click to expand...


ETA:

On page 10, Section 24a of the 2015/16 tax form / "Other expenses" — Ministry expe/Reimundist — $87,409

What's this mean? Is Ronald Williams the pastor of this "girls' school"? Is he also paying himself almost $90k in addition to the $41k he's paying himself as director? ... If the entire operation runs on about $500k ... ??? Who is receiving that $90k?
 
disgruntled said:
It has been incredibly frustrating to me that everyone knows there are children locked up with a lunatic with a PROVEN track record of sadistic abuse and every agency that should be able to help them just seems to shrug it off. I get that it is not easy and the law protects Williams and not the girls....but, really. There has to be something that can be done. I am willing to turn every stone. I am would be happy if he was taken out for tax evasion like Al Capone, just so he could no longer harm those kids.
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JMO
Re BBM

See I really think organizations like this are making large "donations" to local LE and other local agencies and maybe even above local to "protect" them. I honestly think that is why you have hit road blocks in the past.

Its similar to the lobbyists in Washington IMO where they use the old "i rub your back and you rub mine" technique. They could even be possibly donating funds legally and in their cover letter to lets say the Sheriff's office for example, they would say something like
"Here is our annual check for $10,000 to help your department since we value and trust law enforcement to help us all stay safe from trouble".

That implies they expect protection from them without them actually saying it. And they may even hand deliver funds each year which allows them to make subtle off the record comments implying they expect protection.

I really think these places are able to thrive because of techniques like that.

If something like that is happening which I suspect it very well could be then one angle that may be pursued is to see if there are financial records that may be able to be obtained through freedom of information act to see if places like the police department, sherrifs office, city administration office, school board, and others have received any annual donations like that specifically from them.

Then if it can be shown that these places do in fact donate large sums of money then it can be checked to see if there are limits or caps or rules for the recipients of these funds. And to see if those rules have been broken.

I suspect there are strict rules about "gifts" and "monetary donations" to law enforcement because it ties in with political contributions and political ambitions. And rules are usually in place to prevent people from buying their way into positions like being a sheriff or being part of the school board or other city administrative places.

So im wondering if this is another path that maybe able to be pursued to see if laws are being broken if its proven they are illegally donating large sums of money. Once the monetary donations can be stopped (if they exist) then there wont be an incentive for anyone to "protect" them.

I realize this may be a little difficult to pursue all that but with the right kind of legal help and the right kinds of questions being asked and the right kind of documents requested through the FOI Act I do think this may be a good avenue to pursue.

All JMO of course.
 
adot0902 said:
Some more thoughts, because you all are so much better at figuring out who to write, and what petitions to start, I'm not even going to go there, because that is not my area. I'm going to look at some other avenues that could get this place shut down

1) Has anyone ever seen Hephzibah House's IRS Determination Letter, there are some interesting tax laws with making sure all donations be funneled through the church vs. through the school
2) Any chance we could figure out who the church has liability insurance through and maybe inform them of what is going on, I'm sure if they knew what a risk they were taking they would be dropped from the policy thus possibly putting them in danger of being unable to operate? (I'm sure we could figure out the Church's insurance company)
Click to expand...

Wow. Very creative thinking. i really like the insurance company angle. Do we know what company covers them and how we can find out?

I can't believe this is on page 19 already!!!

Disgruntled, don't feel inadequate! Ultimately this is your case and it is incredible how much you have done and are doing. Much more than most of us could handle!!!
 
Right?! Where does its funding come from???

BayouBelle_LA said:
Thanks for finding this.

I did notice that 86.8% of their income was from grants in 2014. For perspective an organization performing similar work averages .3 % in grants. If any one individual contributes 2%+ they need to report that unless it's a government entity making the contribution. They reported that they didn't receive more than 2% from any one individual. Who is funding them? I hope it's not tax dollars at work here.
Click to expand...
 
EuTuCroquet? said:
https://www.guidestar.org/profile/35-1271444

Guidestar profile link.

It has two one-star reviews. Downloadable pdfs of financials are available.

(Here's a download link to 2016/2015 tax return info in pdf format.)

Seems to be Hephzibah Houses in other states, too. No idea if they're related.




ETA:

On page 10, Section 24a of the 2015/16 tax form / "Other expenses" — Ministry expe/Reimundist — $87,409

What's this mean? Is Ronald Williams the pastor of this "girls' school"? Is he also paying himself almost $90k in addition to the $41k he's paying himself as director? ... If the entire operation runs on about $500k ... ??? Who is receiving that $90k?
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for this. I wasn’t sure I could post the link.
 
gitana1 said:
Wow. Very creative thinking. i really like the insurance company angle. Do we know what company covers them and how we can find out?

I can't believe this is on page 19 already!!!

Disgruntled, don't feel inadequate! Ultimately this is your case and it is incredible how much you have done and are doing. Much more than most of us could handle!!!
Click to expand...

I will check with a colleague about whether there is a way to find out about liability insurance.
 
EuTuCroquet? said:
https://www.guidestar.org/profile/35-1271444

Guidestar profile link.

It has two one-star reviews. Downloadable pdfs of financials are available.

(Here's a download link to 2016/2015 tax return info in pdf format.)

Seems to be Hephzibah Houses in other states, too. No idea if they're related.




ETA:

On page 10, Section 24a of the 2015/16 tax form / "Other expenses" — Ministry expe/Reimundist — $87,409

What's this mean? Is Ronald Williams the pastor of this "girls' school"? Is he also paying himself almost $90k in addition to the $41k he's paying himself as director? ... If the entire operation runs on about $500k ... ??? Who is receiving that $90k?
Click to expand...

Also REI in this context usually refers to real estate investment. I don’t think they could legally put additional salary for him in that category on the 990.
 
Doghairrules said:
I will check with a colleague about whether there is a way to find out about liability insurance.
Click to expand...

My colleague says if the insurance company is not listed on the 990, which it isn’t, the only other way to find out who it might be is if they were sued, then the company might be named in the court papers. They may not still have the same company, but it may be worth a try.

Do any of you know how to search for lawsuits?
 
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