Police Response to Allegations of Abuse

Talk to them. Come on, you have nothing to be sorry about

Ma'am, you might as well leave them in there.

I can't talk to them.

Oh, okay.

I gotta talk to you.

Okay.

I can't-

Okay. Okay. But you see how clearly upset they are.

Yeah, I do.

This is-

Walton County protocol-

... like this is-

... doesn't allow me to speak to the victims

... not worrying. I just wanted you to see, like, this

is not-

So, so who's who here? Ob- obviously they're-

I don't, I don't know. Who, who, your-

Well, no, I mean who's who. Explain. I don't know y'all.

That's my mom.

So explain to me.

Mom, daughters, and brother.

Okay. All right, so both of these are your daughters?

Yes.

Okay. And this is their friend's house?

Yes.

And they were here to spend the night with their friend.

Okay, had they ever spent the night over here

before? Okay.

Is this a friend from school?

Yes.

Okay. Who is this guy?

I'm the brother.

They all came together.

They all came together.

Okay. All right.

They were here together.

So tell me what happened.

Okay.

The police arrive at the scene and find the girls' parents, who

are distressed.

This is where the investigation officially begins.

We thought they were home.

I'm good here. Can you make contact with those folks?

And, um,

we just got woke up in the middle of the night.

They called Carter to come get them like this, hysterical.

Okay.

And I got on the phone and she was just like, "Come get me, come get me,

come get

me, I'm scared," which is so unlike her. And I said, "What happened?

Did someone hurt you?" And she's like, "Yes, I don't wanna talk about it 'cause I

don't wanna get them in trouble." I said, "I need to know." I said, "Calm down and

tell me." And she... I said, "Did someone touch you?" "Yes." I said,

"Was it an

adult?" "Yes." I said, "Who is the adult?" She said,

"My friend's mom."

Now, I don't know who that is inside that house. I, I don't know.

And I said, "We're on our way. We're calling the police."

14, 4.

I said, "Whichever one gets there first, go outside." I said...

But they were locked in a bathroom, scared to death,

and I don't know the situation

in there.

Okay.

So I said, "When we-"

You don't know the, you don't know the people?

No, I don't.

You don't know them at all?

I don't.

You, have you ever met them?

Never.

Okay.

And, um, so they were here at a party, right?

It was a birthday party. They were here-

No, it was just a party.

Okay, they were here at a party. Um-

Did y'all know they were here?

Yes.

I knew they were here.

Okay.

Yeah, yeah, we knew they were here. We have GPS and stuff.

But, um,

so anyway, that's kind of where we're at.

Now elaborate on the... They're saying that-

The girls' parents explain to the officers that Melissa, the homeowner, had

allegedly touched their daughters inappropriately.

This is the serious accusation that lies at the heart of the case.

And they were-

What?

... they were running out here by a female

that lives here. Maybe your wife.

Do you have a wife here with you?

Yeah. My, yes.

Do you know where she is?

No.

Yeah, there's two

there. Their mother and father and brother are here.

They're afraid.

They're crying hysterically in the back of a car.

What?

They were scared to talk about it because they didn't, they didn't wanna be hurt,

and they've got stuff in there that they need, they need to get.

Okay. So they're-

Yes.

And this is a female-

Who is the mom?

Do you know her name?

Melissa.

Melissa.

It happened to both of you guys?

She says she started kissing her, put her hand up her shirt.

She didn't know what to do. So that's what-

Okay

... that she touched you.

You were-

The officers were about to find out that there were more juveniles inside the

house, and most of them had been served alcohol

by the husband himself.

I mean, did you know there's two here sleeping

over or...?

Yes. There's more than one.

Yeah, there's two in that car.

Do you have daughters as well? I'm just trying to-

Yes. Yes

... trying to piece everything together.

Yes. I-

He's trying to call her. He's just not in.

Yeah, I just tried to call her. I don't know.

I mean-

So who is she to you, man?

She's my, she's my wife.

She... Okay. So

they said that she may be on the back porch, but she's not back there now.

So is she sleeping somewhere inside the house?

No. Not that I know of. I, I mean, he just woke me up out of bed.

Yeah, yeah.

I would... What the ?

It's like 4:00 in the morning, man.

Yeah. What, what the ?

Who are these people inside this car right here?

My daughter had a little get-together tonight, and some friends were staying

over. A, a, a blonde, one with glasses.

Okay.

Are, is that who's in the back of the car?

I think so. I can't really see in there, to be honest with you, man.

We need to try to figure out where your wife is, 'cause that's who we really need

to talk to.

Um, we need to make sure she's okay because

you don't even know where she's at.

No, I don't. I went to bed over an hour ago.

They were on the back porch sitting outside, talking and laughing

and getting it

on.

Yeah.

Can you mind if he goes in with you?

No, no.

Okay.

By all means, come on in.

We just want... We just need to find out if-

No

... your wife is okay firstly.

Harry, what's going on?

I don't know. I'm about to find out, but they want to talk to you.

I don't know.

I was asleep. They just knocked on the door.

Why are you asking me?

We, you're about to go find out.

What the ? What, what do you want me to do?

Just come, come follow me to the front door.

Okay.

Um, they said that basically that she was trying to, like, you know,

take their or

their bra. They were... She was trying to kiss them, and she was

touching them, you know, there, I think through pants.

Okay.

But, you know, still.

Do we know, do we know

exactly where in the house this took place? Okay.

And then the other thing, do we know i- are

there other girls in the house that belong to other parents?

And if so,

that's another concern of ours. We need to try to-

Melissa came to the door, but soon all hell

was about to break loose on the

officer.

All right, ma'am, we can hang out right here, just

that we're close to the front

door.

Oh, my dog is... Okay.

Oh.

All right, ma'am.

What the ?

All right, ma'am. So we got a phone call that-

Yes

... two girls were touched inappropriately.

They were screaming, and they ran out into the front yard

and hopped into that car

over there.

Two of your daughter's friends.

Okay.

Can you tell me what happened tonight?

So I am a nurse. I don't, I don't even know.

Come on.

Melissa becomes belligerent and uncooperative with the police.

Her hostile behavior and refusal to comply with the officer's

requests lead to her

arrest.

About what? Ma'am, there's a serious allegation going on.

There's two girls crying.

I understand!

Ma'am, quiet down.

You tell me what the -

Quiet.

You tell me what the -

Ma'am, don't you yell at me. Ma'am, get over here.

I'm not playing with you.

No, I'm not playing with you either.

Go back to the front.

Tell me. No.

Ma'am. Ma'am.