Saying it Without Proof, Doesn't Make it True

It is interesting that the blogger, Christian Peet, believes that the closure of the Creative Frontiers School rested solely on the word of one former employee, I.M..

As we have shown before, the closure of the preschool portion of Creative Frontiers was in part closed due to the allegations of I.M. but not entirely.  I.M. didn't cause the building code violations, she didn't revoke the business license for CFS and she isn't part of the charges against Robert Adams.  Why?  We don't know that, only the District Attorney's office would have that information.  Those charges may or may not be added later.

The elementary portion of CFS was closed due to the numerous code violations.  Nothing I.M. said had anything to do with that portion of the school.  Peet states, 

Another problem -and the enduring problem-is that authorities refused, then, as they refuse now, to admit anything so terrible as having made a mistake in being led astray by Mertens. 

What exactly is there to admit?  There are 6 victims, 2 employees (1 former, 1 current at the time of closure) that have said something nefarious happened.  He is right in that I.M. is not part of the current charges, however, that doesn't mean that the authorities were led astray, or that they authorities made any mistake.  It also doesn't mean her allegations were necessarily false either.  We have talked about the way the closure was handled previously. Perhaps it could have been handled differently, however, simply removing Robert Adams as the principal would not have cleared the building violations dating back 2 years, that would not have removed the denial of a license approval - in short, solely removing Robert Adams would not have made Creative Frontiers School safe for the children attending.

I think the question is not "When will the authorities admit they made a mistake?" but "When will the Adams family own up to their failure to file permits and keep the school up to code?"  Not once have they answered this very pertinent question.

Getting the Ball Rolling

On the CFS Facebook page

Tarpaulin Sky Press
Most welcome. It appears I should have addressed the question of entering a plea, however, so I'll address it now: At his very first press conference, Bob declared "I am innocent" and "I welcome a full investigation." When Bob's attorney decides it is time to enter a *formal* plea and thus set the ball rolling a bit faster toward trial, then she will do so. I imagine, however, that Bob's attorney is in no hurry, considering that she is still waiting for the prosecution to turn over the rest of their alleged evidence.

Sorry this is completely false information.  Saying in a press conference "I am innocent", is not entering a plea of "not guilty".  A defendant can enter a plea of "not Guilty" and then change it later if the desire, or need to.  It happens all the time.  While entering a plea starts the timeline for a defendants right to a speedy trial, it does not allow the prosecution to proceed without sharing their evidence with the defense.  It also does not FORCE the defense to proceed in a speedy manner.  This is a right for the defendant.

I would also like to point out that all of the evidence is not needed to make a plea.  He has been presented with the charges in the arrest warrant.  The question is, "Mr. Adams, how do you plead to these charges?"  One poster on the SacBee website put it perfectly:

I still don't get why he hasn't entered a plea.  Surely you don't need any more information to say "guilty" or "not guilty".  The charges are already out there.  Does he really have to see all the evidence to know if he is guilty of doing something or not?  If I ask my kids, "did you eat that candy?" they don't say, "I can't tell you until you tell me why you think I ate the candy

I can see no reason to need all the evidence the prosecution has, or does not have, to say if you are guilty or not.  Of course if the District Attorney has indeed not handed over their evidence, then of course when the trial or pre-trial portion of the process begins, they absolutely could not proceed without having everything.  But, to say you must have it to enter a plea, is silly.
  

What is interesting to me, is that I would think that a truly innocent man would want to have his speedy trial, waive delays and get the whole thing over with.  They can press the prosecutions hand by insisting he get a speedy trial and that they move forward, but they have not.  They have asked for delay after delay.

When someone is accused and arrested, they have the right to a speedy trial.  They have the right to demand that a preliminary hearing be set for no more than 10 days from arraignment.  That time clock does not start until the defendant has plead "Not Guilty" in a court of law.  Again, saying it to the media doesn't count.  After the preliminary hearing, the defendant has the right to have their trial start within 60 days of being held to answer (meaning sufficient evidence is present to go forward with a trial).

We have seen CFS supporters claim that the lack of plea is due to lack of discovery however evidence discovery is not a right prior to an arraignment unless a formal request has been made.  Assuming Ms. Parisi has made that request and been ignored, it is then a motion she can have handled at the court level and sanctions could be made against the prosecution. Regardless, no matter the evidence that the prosecution may have, nothing can start to be resolved without a plea of "Not Guilty" by Robert Adams.  Until that plea is entered, these appearances are simply delaying the inevitable.  

There is also the issue of the computers and refunds.  Yes, the computers were taken by Law Enforcement. Yes, they still have them. But this isn't uncommon either. It isn't because they want to prevent Mr. Adams for "honoring his financial obligations" it is because these things take time. High Tech Crime units across the country are backlogged and the evaluations can take months. To be clear, I am not accusing Mr. Adams of possessing child pornography, just stating that there is a reason for the Police Department to still have them.  What is becoming very apparent, is that this is being used as just another excuse for them to not do the right thing. Most good businesses have, at minimum, paper backups of their records. Even if they do not have this, they could be honoring parents proof of payment. But they aren't. This isn't the fault of the CHPD. Granted it would be much harder to prove who still OWES Creative Frontiers School money without the computers if they did indeed not have paper backups, but that should make no difference to the parents who are owed refunds.

Of course Parisi is in "no hurry" as she gets paid no matter what.  I know there are a lot of former Creative Frontiers families still waiting for their money.  Former Creative Frontiers teachers who are waiting for their paychecks.  I wonder if she will wait around for more than 3 months for payment as the CFS parents have been expected to do?

Continued....again

Yet again, the attorney for Robert Adams, Linda Parisi, has asked for another continuance.

The new hearing will be Dec 20th 2011

If I'm Right, Then You Must Be Wrong!

To this day it baffles my mind that so many of the supporters seem to have taken a "you are either with us or against us" kind of stance with regards to the allegations surrounding Robert Adams and Creative Frontiers School.

I was watching 3 children play yesterday.  One wanted to go swing, and wanted the other two, who were digging in the sand, to come swing instead.  The child said, "Come swing with me and I will be your best friend."  The other two, actually quite politely, said "No I want to dig right now.  I will swing with you later."  The child who wanted to swing got very upset and stomped off saying "Hmpf.  I don't like you anymore.  I'm going to find someone else to be my best friend."  While this behavior is typical for children, it isn't for grown adults.  As adults, we can see that just because the other two children didn't want to swing right then, didn't mean they disliked the other child, or even swinging.

It seems that some in the CFS Camp can't seem to get this notion out of their heads, even as grown adults.  I have no desire for Creative Frontiers School to fail.  I only desire Robert Adams to go to prison if he is guilty of the crimes he is charged with.  Just because I point out other unfortunate things Mr. Adams has said and done (or not done) does not mean I have a vendetta against him.  It doesn't mean I hope he is guilty, in fact, I hope he isn't.  I have an opinion on the matter that I have formed by reading what has been presented publicly, but it is just that, an opinion.  In that same aspect, I have no problem with someone who has looked at the exact same information and formed a completely different opinion.  It doesn't mean I'm right and they are wrong.  It means we have different opinions.

We have posted many things here.  Lack of credentials of Mr. Adams, business license files, building code violations, DSS violations, police reports, and so on.  If someone can look at all that and say, "Okay...that is no big deal to me", then so be it.  The information presented here is not to make you join our "team".  We don't have a "team" so to speak.  Our mission is to find one thing, the truth.  I don't care if supporters want to look at this information.  I don't care if they form a different opinion after reading it.  Unlike the CFS page, you don't have to agree with me 100% to be here.

Come swing with me, or play in the sand.  I am grown up enough to know that doing one or the other doesn't mean we are on opposing sides.  There is no reason everyone can't be on one side, Team Truth.

Teacher, Camp Director, Masseuse....and Much More

David Devine was a popular West Chester PA 1st grade teacher.  He had 15 years experience teaching summer camp, he even owned his own summer camp, Camp Flying Hawk, which was reportedly run out of his mother's backyard. The camp stated it's "mission is to create a one-of-a-kind summer experience for your children."  Not only did Mr. Devine have a summer camp, he also ran another side business.  It seems he also worked as a masseuse specializing in children. 

When police were investigating a child pornography ring, Mr. Devine's name came up.  When police investigated, they found over 500 child porn images on his computers.

One news article quoted a neighbor:

"It is just unbelievable that would happen," said Janet Sullivan, 54, a neighbor on the quiet street. She said a stockade-style fence surrounding Devine's backyard went up a few weeks ago.

Comments on news articles were defensive of Mr. Devine.  One former parent wrote:

" Mr. Devine was/is a fantastic teacher. I've asked my daughter (whom had him for second grade) if he was inappropriate in any way, and the answer is NO. I hope these CHARGES are not true (from the way everybody writes, he was already found guilty.) He was never "creepy" in any way, shape or form. Your kind of guilty as soon as somebody levels these kind of charges at you - any of your remember the McMartin Preschool Trial? See what happens before you pass that final judgement. "

Oh yes, McMartin.  Where have I heard that before?

Another wrote:

" Wow, what a frenzy the news media can put people in. Burn him at the stake, crucify him, stone him to death. Guilty until proven innocent. "

Another former parent wrote:

" Wow, those of you so quick to damn must have some view from those glass houses you live in. I made these same comments in another comment section and I will post them here too, as Spritle did> For the record, Dave Devine was a fantastic teacher; my child was one of his students too last year. In this class there was a student with a full time aide, so there was never a time he had access to these children during the school day. Regarding the tattoo issue: He was always presentable, never once during the entire year in an UN-air conditioned classroom did he ever come to class without wearing a long sleeve dress shirt and long pants. Not even during outside field days. The tattoe on his leg? Not an indication that he loved little boys, but it could be from the 80's movie about treasure hunting called. Not once did he ever make any inappropriate comments or act odd. The saddest part in this situation is that no-one is to blame but a valuable member of society who offered a tremendous amount to his students with genuine care but who has an illness, plain and simple. There are reasonable explanations to some of the "facts" reported by the news and to consider this the fault of anyone else is irresponsible. Unfortunately, the laws are written as such that one video counts for 75 images. One image or video is too many, I agree, but let's focus on punishing the web hosts, the producers of this filth and the actual abusers themselves. Because there is NO evidence and no-one likely to report he had any indecent motives OR actions. And the way it works today, he will get more time and punishment than the abusers, producers or the webhost. You want to vent? Do something about those laws being changed! Look at statistics: One new child p*** video will draw over 1 million viewers in less then three minutes. There is obviously a market out there, it could be YOUR family member or neighbor or your child's teacher too caught next in the act in the privacy of their home. No, it's not right, it repulsive, but have some compassion. This person needs help because like those of us who can watch someone dismembered in a horror flick like Saw 1,2,3,4 and 5, where we may not go out after viewing and chop someone up or become a serial killer, he this may be the same case in his situation. A person viewing this with whatever sickening fascination it holds DOES NOT mean they will go on to harm anyone. It still is breaking the law however. Many of those who have been convicted didn't realize that by simply saving it to their hard drives, they are setting themselves up for distribution charges and by (obviously) using a computer they are adding "enhancements" to their charge. We are punishing the viewer but not using our resources well enough to stop the production and actual abusing. How do we know (by some long stretch of the imagination, but let's wait and see) that he wasn't searching the only way possible for someone who may have abused him at some point in his life? Or someone's child? Whatever the end result of his trial, in Dave's case, his life is over. How exactly is he likely to be rehabilated in jail? He won't be and it will come at our cost and we will lose a contributing member of society to a mental illness that is more common that you realize. Just be sure when you flirt with that old honey online using facebook or yahoo or whatever, that you remember if you’re married, it's no different to cheat online than in person. Honesty applies in both cases, just as dishonesty! You are in the privacy of your own home, so don't go critizing the system. It's there so you have that right, as he has to a fair trial whether he is found guilty or not. So don't throw stones people! It's getting old! "

Oh...Glass Houses...I've heard that too!  They FOUND child pornography on this man's computer and people were still trying to justify it.

A slightly more reasonable commenter wrote:

" Slow Down! Don't you think that we ought to wait until all of the facts are in before we all comvict this guy, Pennwood Elementary School and the WCASD?? All we have at this point in time are allegations that have been made by a district attorney who is obviously out to make a mane for himself (otherwise there would be no need for press conferences, TV interviews, etc) Our recent history is full of examples where various shcool teachers and day care operators have been publically charged with abusing children and when the charges are later withdrawn the report is buried on the 10th page. Slow down and let the system work. "

 Wait...District Attorney...out to make a name for themselves...Yeah.  I'm certain I've heard that before too...

An article came out about his Camp not being accredited, and defense of his questionable resume begin...this sounds familiar too: 

" Nothing like trying to sensationalize things that aren't.


Why does it matter that he didn't put the camp on his resume? He may have just put jobs where he worked for someone else. Most people don't put EVERYTHING on their resumes.


And why try & make it sound like he was doing something nefarious by using his personal e-mail to send out camp info? It was the right thing to do to NOT use the district e-mail. He wasn't trying to pass off the camp as a district sanctioned camp. "

On Jan 13th, 2011 he was arraigned in Federal court and pleaded 'Not Guilty' (see it isn't that hard).  But in July, 2011, he took a plea deal and pleaded guilty to 50 rather than 500 counts of possession of child pornography.  Sentencing has been delayed to allow time for a "psycho-sexual evaluation" and for "until the sexual-offender assessment board performed an evaluation and reported its findings to the court." Each count could carry a maximum seven years in prison and $15,000 fine.  The prosecutor in the case, Joseph Lesniak said:

“This man put himself in a position of care over kids the age of which he was looking at, both as a teacher and as a summer camp ... owner,” he said. “And also, he had a girlfriend who had two boys the same age. … We know what this man was interested in.” 

While he still has federal court to deal with, in PA state court, he was sentenced Tuesday, October 25th, 2011 to a much reduced sentence of three to 23 months in prison on a single count of sexual abuse of children for possession of child pornography, a felony of the third degree.  Much less than the minimum 11½ to 23 months Assistant District Attorney Joseph Lesniak had sought. 

"Devine will begin serving the sentence handed down by Keeler on 41 consecutive weekends at the George W. Hill Correction Facility in Concord beginning Nov. 18. He will be credited for any unserved county time through his federal sentence."

A plea hearing has been set for Nov. 14 in federal court.

Bad Teacher #1, Rob Mocarsky
Bad Teacher #2, Henry Nguyen 
Bad Teacher #3, Dennis Michael McKeown
Bad Teacher #4, Jon White

Bad Teacher #5, Thomas Beltran

Bad Teacher #6, John Foster
Bad Teacher #7, Shaun Bryer
Bad Teacher #8, Joseph Garbarini III 

Spewing Misinformation

I'm with you [name]. They blog all this misinformation and spew it out as the truth they wouldn't know the truth if it bit them in the ass, sorry for the terminology, but im just fed up with all the crap they are spewing and how people are taking out their revenge by making false claims against people they didn't get along with called them bullies because they don't belive the same things as they do,
You'll have to forgive me but I'm just really flipping mad and these people are allowed to say anything they wish.

I am sorry that we have the ability to make people "flipping mad" because of the truth. Actually, I am not sorry about that.  Sometimes the truth is ugly, it can be unpleasant, it can uncover lies and secrets that people want to stay hidden.  Sometimes the truth is the last thing that someone wants seen and sometimes the truth shows the opposite of the picture one was trying to portray. The truth did bite someone in the "ass", unfortunately it bit Robert Adams and Creative Frontiers School.

Unfortunately, when a criminal investigation takes place, all the covers get pulled so to speak.  Every aspect of the alleged perpetrator's life is delved into. In the case of Robert Adams, that included information around the state of Creative Frontiers at the time of the closure and since. The conditions that the buildings and campus were in at CFS were unsafe, outdated and out of compliance with state and city regulations.  This is not something we made up, this is not "crap [we] are spewing".  This is what it was, plain and simple.

The numerous emails we have gotten from parents saying things to the effect of "I am horrified that we paid as much as we did for our child's tuition" show the level of outrage that many parents feel regarding the deception at CFS.  Parents had no idea that their children were unsafe.  Parents had no idea that Robert Adams did not have the educational accomplishments he claimed.  Parents had no idea what was really happening there because that is something Robert Adams wanted to stay hidden.

We are not here for revenge.  We are not here to bully anyone.  We are not here to be best friends with CFS supporters.  We are here to lift the rock up and allow everyone to see the creepy crawlies that were living under it.  If those creepy crawlies are ugly, well, unfortunately that isn't the fault of the person lifting the rock.

The offer stands to publish evidence that corroborates Robert Adams' credentials. Unfortunately, at the time of this publication, that information has not been given to us. If you have access to this information and would like to publish it, please feel free to email us with scanned copies of degrees.

So What *IS* Relevant?

Several times now it has been stated that the information posted here is irrelevant.  But is it?  How many people would want to know if they had been lied to by someone they entrusted their children to?  That the buildings they were being cared for in were dangerous and didn't meet building code?  That their principal didn't have the educational background and credentials that he claimed?  I certainly would!

All of these things certainly do not mean Mr. Adams is guilty of molesting children, but no one here has ever claimed that.  The thing is, when you are a in business, you have two choices.  You can do things the right way, or the wrong way.  With all the business dealings, there is a paper trail.  Things you say and do can be seen by all who are looking.  Most often, no one has a reason to look.  But when you are accused of crimes, people start to look around.  Unfortunately for Mr. Adams, there have been MANY things he has been dishonest about.  Posting publicly available documents certainly isn't a crime.  It certainly is relevant to the parents who had children at CFS.

My name is irrelevant to this case.  It makes no difference who I am.  You can threaten to expose us and take us to court all you want.  Anyone who has used their real name has been publicly bashed and lame attempts at discrediting them have been made.  One person who used her real name has had her choice in TV shows mocked by none other than Christian Peet on his blog....because that is relevant right?  No. The Ryan Smith case...is that relevant? No.

What is VERY relevant is that supporters are loosing faith.  It isn't hard to thank them publicly for their support and give quick updates about Mr. Adams health.  It certainly isn't part of any gag order.  But I suppose attempting to mock all of these very serious problems instead of actually addressing them is more important on the agenda.   No one is asking for details.  They just want to feel included and know their efforts are actually appreciated.  I'm sure they would rather read that instead of Christian Peet's random dialogues with us using the CFS Facebook page as his backdrop.

Still Not a Non-Profit

Please see the quoted text below.

"I submitted the application myself and can find no reason that we do not qualify under the eligibility section they referred me to on the Google Grants website: http://www.google.com/grants/

details.html#eligibility . Can anyone help us? We are a 501(c)3 secular private non-profit school established in 1975 ( www.creativefrontiers.com ) and I am completely at a loss why we did not qualify. Google's lack of e-mail support is frustrating too! Thanks, Bob"  10/14/2009

I could write up a whole blog post about this, but I will just let Robert Adams' own words do the talking for me.

Perhaps Christian Peet can offer to explain to Robert Adams the difference 'between 'the business itself and a past PTA?--i.e., between a business license made out to two people, rather than an "organization" as denoted in the phrase, "non-profit organization"?"

So, CFS is still not a non-profit.  The CFS PTA TEAM is also not a non-profit.  Yes, Robert Adams claimed the school was.  And despite Christian Peet's thinking that exposing the fact that he has lied about it both on a public forum and to a parent touring, is like saying "CFS is not a hamburger stand" or other such nonsense.  It remains that Robert Adams seems to have trouble with the truth.  Comedic?  A joke?  My goodness, I wish it was.

How Criminal Proceedings Generally Work

So what is going to happen on the 4th?

I'm guessing that many of you, like myself are clueless as to how criminal proceedings work.  I did a little looking into it and found that the hearing for Robert Adams scheduled on November 4th, 2011 is referred to as a "Settlement Conference"

Hearing Future:
Date Time Department Location Reason 11/04/2011 8:30 AM Department 61 Sacramento County Main Jail - 651 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 SC CodeType DomainCode Description Reason SC SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE
So what is that?  The term "settlement" is confusing to me.  The Yolo County Superior Court and the District Attorney's Office of Riverside County have an informative FAQ section that defines a lot of legal terms and answers common questions, which I found useful.  I did some digging and found that, according to an attorney in San Diego, a settlement conference, sometimes called a readiness conference is to encourage the prosecuting attorneys and the defense attorneys to agree to resolve the case by a plea.  Now, this certainly doesn't mean a plea will be made.  The prosecution can decide not to make a deal and the defense can decide not the take a deal. If a plea bargain is made, the court accepts the defendants guilty plea, to the agreed upon terms, and sets a date for sentencing.  If the plea bargain is rejected, then the case goes to either a jury trial for misdemeanors or a preliminary hearing for felony charges.  Since Mr. Adams is charged with both, I would assume if there is no plea bargain, then the case will move to a preliminary hearing. So then what?  Since there are felony charges involved, Mr. Adams' case should move to a preliminary hearing.  This is where the judge decides if there is enough evidence to move to a trial.  The defense is allowed to cross examine witnesses during this process.  If the judge sees enough evidence that he or she feels warrants a trial, then the case moves forward.  The case is set for a second arraignment where a plea is re-entered.  Now, since Mr. Adams has yet to enter a plea, I'm not sure where this leaves him in the process.  After the second arraignment, a second settlement conference is scheduled.  The judge again encourages the prosecution and defense to work out a plea deal.  If no such deal is reached, then the matter is set for a trial in front of a jury. From this point onward, there are a lot of things that happen.  The jury is selected, the prosecution lays out its evidence, witnesses are called, and cross-examined.  After this, the defense attorney is allowed to present his or her own evidence and to call their own witnesses prior to them being cross-examined by the prosecution.  Closing arguments are made and thn the jury goes off to deliberate.  Anyone who has seen an episode of Law and Order or has watched Court Tv knows that this whole process can vary greatly from case to case. If the jury comes back "hung" then the prosecution will usually ask for a new trial date and the process repeats.  If the jury comes back with a not guilty verdict, then the defendant is free.  If the jury comes back with a guilty verdict, then the matter is set for a sentencing hearing. Whether by means of plea bargain or guilty verdict, the sentencing hearing is, quite simply, where the judge sentences the defendant for the crimes.  Before this is done, the defense attorney is allowed to present a Statement in Mitigation.  Letters of support of family and friends are considered.  Psych evaluations are sometimes requested.  The judge considers all of this information and sentences the defendant. How does all of this apply to Mr. Adams?  I'm not certain.  I'm not a lawyer.  I'm just curious, like many people, Creative Frontiers School supporters included, and sought out the answers. Just this last Wednesday, a supporter asks: when is the hearing and what's happening on the 4th? Another responds adding their concerns and seems clearly frustrated with the lack of information being offered to supporters: What is going on? No posts since 10/13?? Then finally, someone responds to both supporters, albeit in a snarky and condescending manner:  If you read some of the below posts, those who want to join in support of Mr. Bob, we're meeting on Nov4th at 8:15a.m. in front of the building, 651 "I" Street. Please wear something red or a CFS t-shirt if you have one. If you want to wear a CFS t-shirt, I believe Tarah or Courtney can try to rustle one up for you so email or call them. Well, I can't blame some of the supporters for not wanting to sift through all the rants and unrelated information on other cases to find out that information.  I don't care what color shirt you wear.  The information above is for everyone, and I sincerely hope it answers some questions.  It certainly did for me.

Not Non-Profit

Its amazing what a little due diligence can do for one. We found out that Creative Frontiers School was not the non-profit they claimed to be.

As shown by GuideStar, the non-profit status for Creative Frontiers was revoked due to failure to file tax forms 3 years in a row.

Now CFS was a school that required tuition payments however that alone does not bar them from retaining non-profit status even if they had filed taxes.  A non-profit organization as defined  by the IRS is:

To be tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, an organization must be organized and operated exclusively for exempt purposes set forth in section 501(c)(3), and none of its earnings may inure to any private shareholder or individual. In addition, it may not be an action organization, i.e., it may not attempt to influence legislation as a substantial part of its activities and it may not participate in any campaign activity for or against political candidates.

I think the idea here is that purpose of the organization is to benefit more than just the owner of it.  Operating costs can include salaries, mortgages, supplies, maintenance, etc. However as we have seen from the numerous building code violations, the bulk of the annual estimated $1.4 million that CFS took in was not going back to the grounds or students of CFS.  It was going into the Adams family directly.

In a conversation in May of 2011, Robert Adams claimed to a parent touring the school that they had a valid 501(c)(3) standing.  The parent wasn't inquiring for any reason other than her company matched volunteer hours and she thought they would enjoy that benefit, indirectly benefiting her child. The fact that the status had been revoked through compliance failure by Robert Adams is yet one more example of the lack of willingness to follow rules set forth.  The fact that Robert Adams lied about the status of their 501(c)(3) status is one more example the rampant and intentional deceit that permeates, seemingly, any interaction with Robert Adams.