Family upset over 'field trip' of convicted sex offender
Posted on 01/04/2003 6:46:25 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
Family upset over 'field trip' of convicted sex offender
01/04/2003
The mother of a Texas prison inmate is speaking out about an unscheduled trip home her son made - a trip which has sparked a statewide investigation.
Jeffrey Paul Hale is serving a life sentence for the sexual assault of a child. And now, the family of one of Hale's victims is demanding some answers.
An area parent felt a rush of emotions as she read an article about a field trip authorities said Hale got to take recently while in law enforcement custody. Hale was convicted of sexually assaulting her son, and sentenced to 40 years in prison.
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"I was very upset and very angered," said the victim's mother, who did not want to be identified. "I was disappointed in the system."
Records show the offender was picked up on November 14, 2002 by Liberty County sheriff's deputies. Authorities said he was summoned as a witness in a civil divorce matter involving his mother. A bailiff picked up Hale at a Beaumont prison unit at 11:27 in the morning, and arrived at the county jail at 2:50 in the afternoon.
The sheriff and Texas Rangers questioned why the one-hour trip instead took nearly three and a half hours. According to the sheriff, the bailiff explained under oath that the inmate's mother, Janet Harrelson, went along for the ride and told him the sheriff approved her trip and a stop at her house for lunch with her son.
"(He) took her to Ms. Harrelson's house, where some her family were there, and friends from out of the country were visiting," said Liberty County sheriff Greg Arthur. "They had lunch, and then came back to the jail."
According to the sheriff, he never approved the trip, and suspended two bailiffs for violating department policies.
At the time, Harrelson was serving as Liberty County treasurer.
"I never told the bailiffs the sheriff gave permission for anything," Harrelson said. "I asked the bailiffs, and they gave permission."
Harrelson insists she did nothing illegal or inappropriate, and never used her position to gain favors. Still, a district judge removed her from her position as treasurer while the case is being investigated.
"They have taken my life away from me, and I have done nothing illegal," Harrelson said, her voice breaking. "It's terribly unfair; it's terribly unjust."
Hale's trip home to Dayton stunned authorities in Tarrant County who prosecuted his case.
"I think he is very dangerous, and I also think he is a flight risk," said Tarrant County prosecutor David Haggerman. "Through testimony, we also (discovered) he could speak six languages very fluently, and had an ability to blend in with the culture or society wherever he went."
Hale's victim's family is demanding a full investigation of the incident, which they say could have ended with more young victims.
Liberty County authorities say the case could go to a grand jury next week.
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 Video: Mary Ann Razzuk reports |
LOL!
Yeah... If playing a retarded bartender is your high-water mark as an actor you do have to ask yourself if your talents might lie elsewhere.
A good burger-flipper is, after all, a terrible thing to waste.
I still wonder if he killed anyone else while out roaming around the country...
It was sickening to see the child rapist's mother say, "They've taken my life away" because of her suspension from the Tresurers office. What the hell does she think her son did to that child?! Talk about destroying someone's life!
Very troubling. Did he manage to get on a plane to go to the lower 48? Otherwise, not only did he get away from his handlers, he also got past both Canada and US customs. I wasn't aware that inmates on "field trips" would have the proper ID to get on a plane or cross a border. Was this recent?
By the way, he murdered the four teens, who were camping out, because they came back to the campsite and found him stealing some music tapes- as I recall the story. Of course, we don't execute monsters up here- we provide lavishly for them for life, unless some scumbag lawyer can get them out sooner.
I need to research this a little more- he was convicted in 1974 for rape and murder- I may have him confused with another case regarding the 4 teens who were murdered. Or he may have been on a "field trip" at the time!)
I incorrectly stated that Frank Alto was the murderer of four Anchorage teens who were killed on a camping trip. It was another criminal scumbag, Charles Meach. Here is the story:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CONVICTED KILLER IS BACK IN ALASKA FEDERAL PRISONS DON'T WANT MEACH Author: MARILEE ENGE Daily News reporter Staff Date: March 15, 1990 Publication: Anchorage Daily News (AK) Page: A1 Charles Meach, the former mental patient who killed four Anchorage teenagers in 1982 and went to the federal prison system to serve his 396 year sentence, is back in Alaska. Meach was apparently too much trouble for the federal prisons, according to state Corrections officials. He wouldn't take his medication, threatened and intimidated people and had to be supervised all the time. Now, Alaska jailers must find a place for him in a system that is not prepared to incarcerate a [Read article (fee)]
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