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Copyrights reserved by the author. If you are in doubt, please click on 'Copyrights' and read the details. Californian Nightmare by R. Bob Schlaefli On July 4, 2001, my younger son Chris, age 21, and his friend Anthony, 22, flew from Woodstock, Georgia to Pasadena, California for a vacation and to housesit for my older son, who lived there at the time. They decided to drive to the beach to see some fireworks and enjoy their first day in California. On their way home after the fireworks, the boys stopped at a gas station. As they drove back to the freeway, they picked up a girl, who was hitchhiking in a very dark area of the on-ramp. Once they were on the freeway, the girl got very friendly with the boys and started touching them in a sensuous way. She then took off her clothes and jumped into the front seat on top of Anthony, who was on the passenger side. She told Chris that his turn would be after they arrived home. During the one hour drive home in heavy traffic, she kissed Anthony up and down etc., but they did not have intercourse. When they arrived at the house in Pasadena, the girl asked for a beer. A short time later Anthony left and went to sleep in his room. The girl started to kiss Chris in the same way she had kissed Anthony before in the car. After having consensual sex, Chris went to the bathroom. When he came back to the living room, the girl was gone. Chris could not find her anywhere in the house. About 30 minutes later, the Police came to the house and questioned Chris and Anthony for several hours. They finally charged them with sexual assault and arrested both boys. The next day, Chris called me and I took a flight to Los Angeles to bail them out on a $50,000 bond. After meeting with one of our attorneys in Beverly Hills, we found out that the girl was a 44 year old woman. She gave 3 totally different, conflicting statements to 3 different police departments. We hired a private detective, who found that she was an alcoholic and drug addict. She also had a criminal record for false imprisonment and assault. The case was assigned to a female prosecutor. At the boys' arraignment hearing, the prosecutor added the charges of rape, kidnapping, and battery to the sexual assault charge. She then demanded the judge to raise the bond from $50,000 to $2.4 million each and have them taken back into custody. The judge agreed with the DA, and ordered the boys be placed into custody. Chris, Anthony, my wife, and I were crying when they were handcuffed right there in the courtroom and taken back to jail. This was the darkest day in my life, since I was born 61 years ago. I promised Chris and Anthony that I would use my last dollar to find the truth and get them out of jail. For the next 5 months, my wife and I traveled from Atlanta to Los Angeles every week, so we could visit Chris and Anthony in the L.A. County Jail on visiting days (Thursday - Sunday). One week, Chris had a broken nose and Anthony had a swollen bloody ear. They were beaten up by some of the gang member inmates, because they were so-called "sex offenders". Chris or Anthony could not report these incidents to the guards or warden, because of the fear of more punishment from the other inmates. During the 5 months the boys were in jail, they had to go to numerous court hearings. Every time we went to court, the DA had added on some new charges in order to drag out the process and keep the boys from having their preliminary hearing. This enabled her to keep the boys in jail as long as possible. On several occasions, after court, we saw the DA and her "victim" walking out of the courthouse like best friends laughing and sometimes holding hands and touching each other in a mysterious way. It was very strange and disturbing to the attorneys, my wife, and I. Finally, during Thanksgiving week, the judge was able to actually hear the boys' case. The DA, for some strange reason, put her "victim" on the stand and let her testify at that time. My attorneys told me that the prosecutor would only do this if she thought that her witness would not show up for the trial or something might happen to keep her away. While on the stand, the "victim" denied all the statements she had made to the police on the date of the incident. She told a brand new story, which conflicted with the previous police reports. The judge then accepted my attorney's motion to reduce the bond. He set the new bond at $750,000 each despite the vehement arguments of the DA. He also decided to transfer the case to a higher court. I was able to borrow enough money, with a second mortgage on our home, which allowed me to finally bond the boys out of jail. They were given permission to return home to Georgia. In January, the "victim" crashed her car into two parked vehicles. We learned that she was driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol. One month later, this "victim" died of cirrhosis of the liver! The DA denied knowing about her "victim's" illness. We feel it was too big a coincidence that the DA put her on the stand to testify 3 months earlier. At the next hearing, the DA requested a female judge. My attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the case, which made the judge have to read all the different police statements. She was able to see for herself all the inconsistencies. The DA refused to agree to dismiss the case. (She has so far added enough charges to bring the total to 17 each.) She stated that she had promised her "victim" that she would make sure that the boys went to jail for 25 years. She says they are a danger to society. At that point the judge got upset and asked the attorneys and the DA to come to the bench. The judge asked the DA: Judge:"Do you think you can get a conviction out of this case?" DA:"I don't care, my victim is dead, I have nothing to lose." Judge:"Do you realize that you work for the people/state, not for yourself?" DA:"Yes, I know." The Trial is now set for November 1, 2002 After spending more than $300,000 for this case between our two families and still owing $200,000 to attorneys, consultants, expert witnesses, and private investigators, we have decided we would rather lose everything we own than to lose our son Chris and his friend Anthony. Thank you for considering our story. We feel strongly that others should know how our justice system sometimes works against them, especially with a prosecutor who works for their own personal interest and advancements, while needlessly spending taxpayers' money for a lunatic victim. Our prosecutors needs to be a representative for the people in a fair and honest way. R. Bob Schlaefli A very concerned father
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