Posted on 06/06/2007 1:37:40 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
They already sell watches with microchips in them to monitor children. If the wristwatch is removed, I believe an alarm sounds.
Yes, as I said, it’s not clear. But the charges would have been very different if this were a kidnapping by strangers, I think. The simple explanation would be divorce and a custody dispute, with the father making off with his daughter when the family court judge wouldn’t agree to his having custody or visitation rights.
It also remains to be seen whether or not the girl was willing, and whether she was locked up or hiding from the police.
A slightly updated version of the story.
(A 15-year-old girl who had been missing for nearly a year was found alive Wednesday in a small hidden room under a staircase in a home owned by an acquaintance of her parents, police said.
Investigators arrested a couple living at the West Hartford home.
Police in nearby Bloomfield said they found the girl in a room blocked from view by a dresser. They said they had gone to the home with West Hartford police to serve search warrants for DNA and other evidence, but investigators would not say whether the warrants were related to the missing girl.
It did not appear the girl had been living in the room, but she could not have gotten out on her own, Bloomfield police Capt. Jeffrey Blatter said. It was not clear how long she had been inside.
Blatter said the girl was pale, but he would not identify her or comment further on her state of mind and physical condition when she was found. She was being examined by medical personnel.
“We can all assume that a 14-year-old under the influence of a 40-year-old has been harmed in some way,” he said.
The home’s owner, Adam Gault, 41, an animal trainer from West Hartford, was charged with second-degree unlawful restraint, second-degree reckless endangerment, second-degree custodial interference, interfering with an officer, risk of injury to a minor and second-degree forgery. He was being held on $500,000 bond.
Ann Murphy, 40, described by police as Gault’s common-law wife, was charged with conspiracy to commit second-degree reckless endangerment, conspiracy to commit second-degree custodial interference and risk of injury to a minor. She was held on $100,000 bond.
The girl had been known to run away, Blatter said.
“She is a child from troubled circumstances and found what she believed to be a friend” in Gault, Blatter said.
Police said they expect to make more arrests)
Is that a serious question? If so, I believe that a WTNH report said that the home was on Newington Road in West Hartford (which would probably put it in the Elmwood section in the South of the town). See this article.
This story is still pretty confused - as others have mentioned, a lot more should unfold over the next few days. Also from that article: More arrests and other charges are possible. West Hartford police say they have had contact with Gault in regards to other cases involving "inappropriate relationships he's had with other young females," West Hartford Capt. Lori Coppinger said. A 15-year-old boy was also found in the home. Police do not know if Cramer and the boy knew each other prior to being at the Gault home.
My sentiments exactly. After hearing about the young girl in Kansas this afternoon, I am going to write to my congressman demanding the Federal Government make these crimes against children punishable by death, and the death sentence to be carried out within 90 after conviction. This has to stop.
Thanks... I used to live and work in W. Hartford. I know the Elmwood section well.
It’s customary to hear the charges before the trial, and it’s also customary to have a trial before turning the case over to the jury, as an aside, most judges will even let the jury decide guilt or innocence before scheduling a double execution...
Ummmm, it's why I said "if these two don't get the death penalty"... That implies a trial, right?
I mistook you for one of them.
I'm with you. Totally. Fair trial first.
But I understand their anger...
If this plays out as most of us think it will, I’d pull the lever without a second thought.
It’s just that the charges the police filed seem way inappropriate for what one would expect from what we think the crimes are - kidnapping, slavery, rape, sexual abuse, and child pornography.
Clearly there is more than initially meets the eye...
You might be right - could be more than meets the eye -- a runaway without sexual abuse - adults short on judgement, whatever -- another reason to thank our lucky stars for a fair legal system. But if it is as it seems -- we'd both happily pull the lever.
Maybe she thought she was Harry Potter and had to live under the stairs somewhere...
Yes, what animals. I can only imagine what they did to this girl.
90 days? Weeks? Months? Are you prepared to foot the bill, as a taxpayer, for some expedited appeals during that timespan of 90 _____ ?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.