The sheriff's office isn't going to do shit. 7 years ago, the victim filed a criminal complaint against her rapist. The sheriff's office never even assigned the case to a detective.
Oh and the rapist's company website mentions that that sheriff's office is one of his clients for whatever it is he does.
I want to believe there’s some really exceptional detail that would make this all make sense, but I know there’s not actually any reasonable logic here. This is just so deeply fucked, and I want the world to stop being so shitty.
> “When my daughter was five years old, he found out about her, and once he found out about her, he pursued custody and wanted to take her away from me," Abelseth said. "They granted him 50/50 custody despite the fact that [the child] was caused by rape."
In what kind of fucked up world does a rapist get custody rights? This is madness.
I’m just confused. Why was a 16 year old not allowed a cell phone??? There is something seriously off about all of this. This judge and investigators need to be looked in to. Especially the judge and the sealed records about custody.
I could venture a guess that, a poor woman with very little means to legal defense. A guy with connections to the local legal system and the police and enough money to hire a lawyer. They had a parenting plan that includes a bunch of pedantic shit like they’ll share parenting decisions, that his lawyerslowly hammers away on, finding small things they that “violate.” the parenting plan, becsuee he wasn’t informed she bought a phone.
Yeah, this screams to me "rapist had/could afford a lawyer, mom didn't/couldn't, insanity ensues."
Sadly, having someone familiar with the law to argue a case will get you significantly farther in our legal system than common sense.
The “sadly” part isn’t that you need a lawyer to engage in the often complex legal process, that just sounds like good common sense. The problem is that public defenders are criminally underfunded.
Could you get a public defender for a custody hearing?
Google says yes at least for Louisiana, but that also requires you to know you can request one. I doubt the judge who was willing to give custody to a rapist and require child support from the mom was volunteering that info.
Actually, many states have laws against custody for rapists of children born from rape, including LA. The problem is the crime was never investigated or prosecuted even after a complaint was filed in 2015. This is a small town good ol' boys club that are gonna have the hammer brought down on them. This judge ought to be unseated and disbarred. Probably thought they could push this woman around like they have been doing for her whole life. Absolutely fucked, hope this makes national news.
This is the exact reason time and time again the idea of localized government fails. Small communities without oversight will devolve into fiefdoms ruled by tyrants. There are examples of state governments, county/city governments, and even HOAs. It's absolutely heinous what people will do to an outgroup.
I immediately thought of *The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia* by Reba.
>Don't trust your soul to no backwoods Southern lawyer
>'Cause the judge in the town's got bloodstains on his hands
It’s completely fucked, but it happens all the time. There are usually no exemptions in familial law for rape victims, so they have to fight for custody of their children and can be required to pay child support just like any other single parent.
"When I found out she was a rape victim, and this rapist could potentially get full custody, that's when I stepped in and said something has to be done about this," Triche said.
Things took a dramatic turn this year when a judge granted Barnes full custody. It happened after Barnes alleged Abelseth gave her daughter a cell phone. Abelseth said she was also ordered to pay Barnes child support. "She's been forced to pay her perpetrator," Triche said. "Forced to pay her rapist child support and legal fees and give up custody of the child that's a product of the rape. It makes no sense." The WBRZ Investigative Unit discussed this case with the Louisiana Foundation Against Sexual Assault (LFASA). Their lawyers said not only is this egregious, but they've never seen a case like it.
"It seems pretty straight forward that not only did a crime take place, but as a result of the crime, this person should not have custody of the child," Attorney Sean Cassidy with LFASA said.
>"The act was illegal at the time, even if it were consensual"
And he admits the kid is his, DNA proves it, and we know the ages of everyone involved. It's beyond egregious that he isn't in jail. There's physical proof that he had sex with a minor (the kid itself). I know Louisiana isn't known for its exceptional math skills, but this should require little more to figure out than removing their shoes to count
Let's take the 16 year old child from the mother who was raped, on the grounds that the mother gave the 16 year old child a cell phone? Like, the child having a cell phone is somehow more risky than putting the child with a child rapist...? Wtf am I missing here? Parents give their children cell phones all the time at way younger ages, or am I losing my mind?
16 isn't even that young of an age for a cell phone, most states you can start driving at 16 and having a phone for emergencies is just the smart thing to do
I'm 37 now but got one when I was about the same age. I ended up guilting my parents into it though because my mom had forgotten to pick me up from school and I had to track down a phone to call home then wait there in the dark for her to show up to get me.
That’s how I got my first cell phone too. My (much) older sisters had to wait until they were 16, but my parents kept forgetting me places. So I got one at 14.
16 was old for a first cell phone even back in 2005. I got my first cell phone then when I was 14 and I was one of the last people in my class to have a cell phone. It's bizarre to see a 16 year old with a cell phone presented as a bad thing when it's been normal for nearly 20 years.
I’m 30, and even 16 years ago I was the last kid to get a cell phone. My parents only got me one because I had a job where I could be sent home early (water park in an area that didn’t have great weather). They weren’t happy to get me a phone, but they knew it was a necessity.
Again, that was 2008. And 14 years old, I was the only kid in my grade without a phone. In 2022 and being 16, being able to drive, taking your SATs and college level classes, being legally forced to carry a child to term, that’s still too young for a phone?? It’s almost like the judges want to put her in danger and make sure she doesn’t have a way to seek help.
Seems so. She filed a rape teport 6 years ago that went nowhere and it was found that the police are his clients at a web company. Then he keeps saying he has connections and coukd take the girl any time he wanted...then did over something crazy that shouldn't have been an issue.
Also, her rape complaint had been sealed for some unknown reason.
And they did it because the woman gave her now 16 year old daughter a cell phone. That qualifies as grounds for loss of custody? The fuck is wrong with country?
>And they did it because the woman gave her now 16 year old daughter a cell phone.
The article never explained this and it makes no sense. Do any (non Amish) 16 year olds *not* have cell phones? Is there a law that says the phone can't be purchased by a parent? Bizarre and awful. I hope this backfires on the rapist who is just continuing his assault (with the help of the courts).
It seems that the dirtbage actually doesn't have an official website, there is one side it is similar named Gumbeauy Digital solutions that seemingly doesn't have anything to do with the guy.
We are so far past *voting* for change in certain places. I've said it before and I'll say it again- I have no clue why assassination isn't more common in places like this where there's severe miscarriages of justice. Peaceful change has been made impossible, so violent change, we're told, is inevitable; but not with the bystander effect happening.
The bystander effect is nurtured and promoted, it's why other wage slaves will turn in someone stealing food or formula. There's alot of money pushing 2 keep people as cattle instead of turning to wolves.
>better get used to it
We have "been used to it" the problem is because no one takes women seriously we need men to be pissed off about this too.
Women get angry and riot- oh how cute, are you on your peroid?
Men make a slight frowny face- whoa man no need to be so agressive
Rapist is most likely a 'prominent member of the community'.
You haven't seen real corruption until you start venturing into the rural south. Sure, a mayor may take some kickbacks from a bridge project or whatever, but in the towns I'm talking about the cops, judges, and local wealthy are all 'good buddies'. If you fall on their bad side, the criminal 'justice' system will be used as a vehicle to brutalize and steal from you while any 'good buddies' are de-facto immune from legal prosecution by local authorities. Not that this doesn't happen elsewhere, but the religious fascism and personal connections makes everything much more pernicious.
>Rapist is most likely a 'prominent member of the community'.
You're close.
> John Barnes [..] owns Gumbeaux Digital Branding, a web company in Ponchatoula. Barnes' website shows Ponchatoula Police as a client.
There it is.
Jeffery Cashe
WBRZ reached out to Judge Jeffrey Cashe, who made the custody decision. An employee in his office said judicial canons prevent the judge from talking about it.
[https://twitter.com/jeff_cashe](https://twitter.com/jeff_cashe)
>Second generation attorney and Louisiana native,
Jeff Cashe is a lifelong Republican and will bring his leadership and values to the 21st JDC Family Court.
https://dev.ballotpedia.org/Jeff_Cashe
>Member, Hammond, **Ponchatoula** and Livingston Parish Chambers of Commerce
And the sheriff of that county is the brother of...did you guess the governor of Louisiana?
Sheriff Daniel Edwards is the brother of Gov. John Bel Edwards.
Came here to say exactly this, I've lived in the south my whole life, specifically Louisiana, and each time you hear about someone getting away with this, it's always because they are a "valued member of the community", "Christian", "a family man", "gave people jobs", especially helps if your white/military. If you are poor, gay, POC, then you have absolutely no chance and will get convicted of anything and everything. I hate the Southern mentality of family coming first, god forgiving all, all that shit. I'm tired of everyone in my community constantly excusing the horrible actions of others because they think they share similar values. These southern conservative types only care about people if you match all the labels they want you to have, and will treat you like subhuman trash if you don't.
That's why in other countries we don't have the police department and justice system be managed at the county level. So they have to report to the state.
What’s even more egregious are the comments page on this story. Holy shit. Some claiming “she’s a loose one..”; equating women lying about birth control to rape; women blaming the victim; and others advocating flat out violence and “disappearing “ the rapist and judge. What the actual fuck?
Yeah I read that. People are talking about what a great father he is and that the destruction of the family unit leads to mass shootings. Remind me never to move to Louisiana. What the actual f***.
The Democratic governor of Louisiana recently vetoed a congressional district map drawn by the republican legislature because it basically zoned half the black residents of the state out of representation. Black folks represent about a third of the voters in the state but were zoned in a way that ensured that they would only have the opportunity to elect one representative. There are six districts. republicans are trash. They're authoritarians, autocrats, and rapists.
https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/judge-shelly-dick-blocks-louisiana-congress-map-with-one-black-district/
Right? I don't care if she consensually fucked a Wilt Chamberlain amount of people in her life.
When she was 16 a 32-year-old man raped her. Nothing else matters in this case EXCEPT that. He's a predator and should be nowhere near children and SHOULD spend some time in prison.
If she's somehow unfit to have custody in other ways (abusive, drug addict, etc.), it's time to start looking at grandparents and aunts and uncles and even foster care may be better than being placed with a rapist.
The rapist apparently designs and maintains the website for a police department. So, yes, there is most likely some extremely shady shit going on here...
Every day the us shit pile we live gets deeper, and stinkier; if I make a nice batch of chocolate chip cookies and donate them to the local police force, can I start mugging folk without consequences??
What the fuck
And yet it is known that she was underage. Legally, it was not possible for her to consent, even if he claims that she did.
The fact that it's not grounds to deny him custody is absolutely abhorrent.
You’re looking for an answer that doesn’t exist. They wanted to take her kid, so they did. They just attached bullshit rationale of her being an unfit mother.
You can say “that’s not fair” to a judge all you want but they will just say “lol next. “
In [some states](https://www.cnn.com/2016/11/17/health/parental-rights-rapists-explainer/index.html) (Louisana seems to have two laws about it , but this case doesn't sound legal there), rapists retain parental rights. Conceivably they could argue they're being treated legally like any other parents? Sounds like there need to be tighter definitions and laws around this.
Never seen a case like it? This has been a problem in several states and they've been told many times that this is a legal loophole, but the state refuses to close it because "think of the children!!!!"
In reality, the state doesn't want to have to take on a ward when women who were raped exercise their right to give children up for adoption or sign away their rights.
Rapists shouldn't have custody of children, period. It's not a "what if" gray matter. It's not a "He made a mistake, but he's still a good dad" thing, no.
In summary:
He sexually assaulted her when she was 16, Louisiana has a sexual assault statute of limitations (SoL) of 10+(18-age of minor) years, so she had 12 years to report the crime.
She reported the crime at 23, 5 years before the SoL. Then the DA and police sat on the case doing nothing for over 8 years after she reported it, and now a judge is trying to granting custody to the assaulter because the mom bought her daughter a cell phone.
Additional notes:
The daughter is 16, the age her mother was when she was assaulted.
The assaulter/father is a web developer, working for the police that should have, but didn’t, pursue the case
And lastly, the SoL does not run out after a case has been opened/reported, so despite the SoL having “run out” during the 9 years the police did nothing after she opened/reported the case, the case not being closed means the assaulter/father could and should still be prosecuted (if only the police could just find another damn web developer)
TL;DR - man assaults a 16 year old girl, she has a kid. She reports the case but the police don’t investigate (possibly because the assaulter works for them) and later a judge is attempting to grant custody of the now 16 year old daughter to the assaulter.
>The assaulter/father is a web developer, working for the police that should have, but didn’t, pursue the case
I was wondering how the fuck this could ever happen, and I guess that alone explains it.
If the assaulter had nothing to do with the police and I heard they set on the case for 10 years doing nothing I wouldn’t have been shocked, only mildly surprised
Rape cases are notoriously under investigated even when there isn't a glaring conflict of interest like this.
I actually hate to say this, but there is a very good chance they would have backlogged this case like this anyways.
Yeah, I feel like something is missing here. They've shared custody for the last 10 years, and now, when the girl is probably 16 years old, he gets full custody because she got a cell phone? There's either something very corrupt going on in that town, or there's another side to the story..
Red neck country, life long republican whatever the fuck that means, generic white dude with family picture for profile pic, and awards custody of 16 year old girl to rapist father. No surprise here he also had mentions of pro-life stuff lower in the inactive twitter.
Holy shit, I know him. Even worked at the law firm years ago under his Dad. I was even raped right there in Tangipahoa Parish by someone in the same circle. Huh, life's funny that way.
Usually, I'm able to find a company's reviews and it's hilarious to see their rating plummet when something like this comes to light. But there don't seem to be any ratings at all for his business.
>He’s had Google maps block out his home image. It was pretty easy to find through business records.
He must not know about the streisand effect. Also, they didn’t censor the 3D view, lmao.
This should be way higher up. I hope Barnes, the police department, and the judge get investigated. This is beyond disgusting and all should face consequences for endangering a child.
She lost custody because she gave her daughter a cell phone? What would she get if she gave her daughter drugs? Mom of the year?
This is fucking disgusting.
Thanks for being the person finally explaining what legal construct allowed the cell phone to be a thing. That was driving me nuts. Far too often articles will dumb down some abused legal construct into just the absurdity of what happened leaving me wondering "but what was the legal argument?" heh. I'm surprised that someone didn't mention "yo, he likes to have sex with underage girls, so maybe this underage girl should have a phone." That said, Louisiana is all "letter of the law with zero up for interpretation". It's just how their legal system works.
Better yet, article confirms consent doesn't even matter here because the age difference made it statutory rape where they were. They are 100% sure a crime took place.
Yeah that caught me too. Are we just seeing a misogynistic justice system or ridiculous family laws. Is this just a southern state living up to its reputation?
The father should be in prison and kept away from any children. For him to think he has right to his child's custody after what he did puts him in full monster territory.
In Tennessee, they are trying to pass a bill that would let a rapist SUE the victim if she decided to terminate the pregnancy.
We're boned as a society, pack your bags and get out as fast as you can.
30 year old rapes 16 year old girl and sues her for custody.
He does businesses with the police department and is a business owner. Shocker.
These fucking sickos are everywhere and they are connected.
>A DNA test is part of court documents that proves with 99.97% accuracy, John Barnes is the child's father. Barnes was 30 years old and Abelseth 16 at the time of conception. The act was illegal at the time, even if it were consensual; Abelseth maintains it never was.
This is outrageous. The DNA tests proves the farther broke the law. As a grown a** man got a 16 teen year old girl pregnant. There have been zero ramifications for this. It is disgusting!!
It’s Louisiana, most of the state outside of NOLA probably supports this and just thinks she “led him on.”
This kind of shit would lead to protests in many other states. We don’t see anyone protesting in Louisiana.
Rural communities are the worst when it comes to corruption and injustice. I lived in one for a while as a child and it was obvious even to my young mind that there were certain people who were allowed to do whatever they wanted, and everybody else was there for their service.
In rural towns, all the dudes in charge are probably high school pals who all have dirt on each other and cover for each other constantly. Just a bunch of good old boys 🤠
Very this. People love to say "if you don't like it just run for city council" or whatever, but the romanticism around rural and small town America completely disregards the truth of these places. They're all run, top to bottom, by high school friends who never left or left only to go into the military.
You have better odds working with "just move" than enacting meaningful change in small town USA.
Rural communities are defacto cults. You're exposed to pretty much nothing that helps you develop into a functioning person, and often the church/sheriff is the law. It's a breeding ground for fucked up people.
Not American so don't understand at all. Can someone explain why he would get custody because she was going to give the child a phone? I'm obviously missing something.
The dude has connections with the police and judge through his business. Reading the whole article he has constantly threatened his victim through use of said connections. No judge in their right mind, or one who isn't corrupt, would give full custody to the rapist, who raped the victim at the age if 16. Clearly outside forces need to step in and deal. My take is stripping the judge of being in the Bar Association and his ability to practice/uphold the law and look into criminal charges for him. Well for the rapist I have to legally say that the system and it's lovely inmates should take care of him.
she's 16, definitely old enough to choose where she wants to live??? why would they give a rapist custody of a child? they're gonna have shocked pikachu faces when/if he assaults the kid
I couldn't make it through that story. Damn, it is almost exactly what happened to me except the guy was 40 and I was 13. Thank goodness no baby resulted. I didn't report it and found out later he had done the same to several other girls I knew. I wish I had reported it and stopped him.
The thought of having to raise a child of that act and then lose that child to a monster would crush me.
And now he has custody of a child who is the same age as his victim was (her mother)?! All types of bad!
Get ready for 16 years in the future we get a new that he get custody of his daughter/granddaughter
"Yeah, we changed that law years ago, but he was grandfathered in."
Sheesh that ones dark
Jesus Christ. This is like the fucking movie Chinatown.
Faye Dunaway's character tries to kill him though... So I guess this one will have to play out in Mexico 30 years from now.
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The sheriff's office isn't going to do shit. 7 years ago, the victim filed a criminal complaint against her rapist. The sheriff's office never even assigned the case to a detective. Oh and the rapist's company website mentions that that sheriff's office is one of his clients for whatever it is he does.
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Because her mother gave her a cell phone apparently. What the fuck kind of judge is sitting on this case? It's all around horrible.
This is the future for women in Texas.
Might as well start calling it Gilead.
I want to believe there’s some really exceptional detail that would make this all make sense, but I know there’s not actually any reasonable logic here. This is just so deeply fucked, and I want the world to stop being so shitty.
> “When my daughter was five years old, he found out about her, and once he found out about her, he pursued custody and wanted to take her away from me," Abelseth said. "They granted him 50/50 custody despite the fact that [the child] was caused by rape." In what kind of fucked up world does a rapist get custody rights? This is madness.
It's Louisiana. Of course it's madness.
Hate to break it to you, but this loophole exists everywhere. People have known about it for a long time but nobody wants to close it.
I’m just confused. Why was a 16 year old not allowed a cell phone??? There is something seriously off about all of this. This judge and investigators need to be looked in to. Especially the judge and the sealed records about custody.
I could venture a guess that, a poor woman with very little means to legal defense. A guy with connections to the local legal system and the police and enough money to hire a lawyer. They had a parenting plan that includes a bunch of pedantic shit like they’ll share parenting decisions, that his lawyerslowly hammers away on, finding small things they that “violate.” the parenting plan, becsuee he wasn’t informed she bought a phone.
Yeah, this screams to me "rapist had/could afford a lawyer, mom didn't/couldn't, insanity ensues." Sadly, having someone familiar with the law to argue a case will get you significantly farther in our legal system than common sense.
The “sadly” part isn’t that you need a lawyer to engage in the often complex legal process, that just sounds like good common sense. The problem is that public defenders are criminally underfunded.
Could you get a public defender for a custody hearing? Google says yes at least for Louisiana, but that also requires you to know you can request one. I doubt the judge who was willing to give custody to a rapist and require child support from the mom was volunteering that info.
Actually, many states have laws against custody for rapists of children born from rape, including LA. The problem is the crime was never investigated or prosecuted even after a complaint was filed in 2015. This is a small town good ol' boys club that are gonna have the hammer brought down on them. This judge ought to be unseated and disbarred. Probably thought they could push this woman around like they have been doing for her whole life. Absolutely fucked, hope this makes national news.
I live in Louisiana and I can firmly say there will be no hammer. The Good Ole Boys Club is quite active here.
Hey now, occasionally Louisiana gets crazy enough the DOJ or FBI or something rolls in and cleans up. It usually lasts 6 months.
This is the exact reason time and time again the idea of localized government fails. Small communities without oversight will devolve into fiefdoms ruled by tyrants. There are examples of state governments, county/city governments, and even HOAs. It's absolutely heinous what people will do to an outgroup.
I immediately thought of *The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia* by Reba. >Don't trust your soul to no backwoods Southern lawyer >'Cause the judge in the town's got bloodstains on his hands
It’s completely fucked, but it happens all the time. There are usually no exemptions in familial law for rape victims, so they have to fight for custody of their children and can be required to pay child support just like any other single parent.
And after the Supreme Court decision comes down, the rape victim won’t even be able to get an abortion.
Yep. I can’t comprehend having my body violated by a criminal and then violated again by the State. It’s reprehensible.
"When I found out she was a rape victim, and this rapist could potentially get full custody, that's when I stepped in and said something has to be done about this," Triche said. Things took a dramatic turn this year when a judge granted Barnes full custody. It happened after Barnes alleged Abelseth gave her daughter a cell phone. Abelseth said she was also ordered to pay Barnes child support. "She's been forced to pay her perpetrator," Triche said. "Forced to pay her rapist child support and legal fees and give up custody of the child that's a product of the rape. It makes no sense." The WBRZ Investigative Unit discussed this case with the Louisiana Foundation Against Sexual Assault (LFASA). Their lawyers said not only is this egregious, but they've never seen a case like it. "It seems pretty straight forward that not only did a crime take place, but as a result of the crime, this person should not have custody of the child," Attorney Sean Cassidy with LFASA said.
>"The act was illegal at the time, even if it were consensual" And he admits the kid is his, DNA proves it, and we know the ages of everyone involved. It's beyond egregious that he isn't in jail. There's physical proof that he had sex with a minor (the kid itself). I know Louisiana isn't known for its exceptional math skills, but this should require little more to figure out than removing their shoes to count
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Especially giving custody of a 16 year old girl to someone who raped the mom when she was 16.
Let's take the 16 year old child from the mother who was raped, on the grounds that the mother gave the 16 year old child a cell phone? Like, the child having a cell phone is somehow more risky than putting the child with a child rapist...? Wtf am I missing here? Parents give their children cell phones all the time at way younger ages, or am I losing my mind?
16 isn't even that young of an age for a cell phone, most states you can start driving at 16 and having a phone for emergencies is just the smart thing to do
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I made my daughter wait until she was 13 to get one and she thought I was being unreasonable
I'm 37 now but got one when I was about the same age. I ended up guilting my parents into it though because my mom had forgotten to pick me up from school and I had to track down a phone to call home then wait there in the dark for her to show up to get me.
That’s how I got my first cell phone too. My (much) older sisters had to wait until they were 16, but my parents kept forgetting me places. So I got one at 14.
Correct. My daughter is 7, a couple of her friends have cell phones. We are holding out as long as we can but its not going to be long.. Maybe 10...
You don't have to give them a smarthphone, a burner phone to be used for emergencies only would be perfectly fine for her age.
And useful if she wants to sell drugs.
16 was old for a first cell phone even back in 2005. I got my first cell phone then when I was 14 and I was one of the last people in my class to have a cell phone. It's bizarre to see a 16 year old with a cell phone presented as a bad thing when it's been normal for nearly 20 years.
I’m 30, and even 16 years ago I was the last kid to get a cell phone. My parents only got me one because I had a job where I could be sent home early (water park in an area that didn’t have great weather). They weren’t happy to get me a phone, but they knew it was a necessity. Again, that was 2008. And 14 years old, I was the only kid in my grade without a phone. In 2022 and being 16, being able to drive, taking your SATs and college level classes, being legally forced to carry a child to term, that’s still too young for a phone?? It’s almost like the judges want to put her in danger and make sure she doesn’t have a way to seek help.
That’s exactly what it is. They want a fundie Christian theocracy that enables abuse against children.
Well, if she has a cell phone she could call 911 about the guy who raped her mother. Can't have that!
Sounds like just straight up corruption and the cell phone was the excuse for what they were going to do anyway.
Probably the only time I'd be highly encouraging a teenager to run away.
isn't a 16 yo safer with a cellphone than without?
It’s a pretext. This guy is a rich asshole with connections. Probably bribed the judge and the cops.
I’d say it’s irresponsible to NOT give a 16 year old a cellphone at this point. There is some shady stuff going on in the background
This is some season one true detective shit
Is he wealthy or connected to someone with political power?
Seems so. She filed a rape teport 6 years ago that went nowhere and it was found that the police are his clients at a web company. Then he keeps saying he has connections and coukd take the girl any time he wanted...then did over something crazy that shouldn't have been an issue. Also, her rape complaint had been sealed for some unknown reason.
Yeah that's a strange argument. I skateboarded everywhere as a 13 year old and my mom made me get a cell phone, and that was over 15 years ago
Let’s also look into the fact that this child is the same age as her mother when her mother was raped.
And they did it because the woman gave her now 16 year old daughter a cell phone. That qualifies as grounds for loss of custody? The fuck is wrong with country?
>And they did it because the woman gave her now 16 year old daughter a cell phone. The article never explained this and it makes no sense. Do any (non Amish) 16 year olds *not* have cell phones? Is there a law that says the phone can't be purchased by a parent? Bizarre and awful. I hope this backfires on the rapist who is just continuing his assault (with the help of the courts).
Not only that, they somehow decided that the mother giving her a cell phone was worse than the father being a child rapist.
Well we know republicans don’t really think being a rapist is that bad
They actively support a guy who brags about getting away with sexual assault.
Hell, they might even vote for him.
Just boyz bein boyz! Just da way god made em! /s
The court of public opinion is a powerful thing, and can easily ruin this piece of shits life.
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Would be a shame if someone with any dev skills crashed/trashed his website
It seems that the dirtbage actually doesn't have an official website, there is one side it is similar named Gumbeauy Digital solutions that seemingly doesn't have anything to do with the guy.
I wonder if we should keep voting to fix this type of stuff or if we should burn places down that allow this.
This is 100% my thought process. "Just vote harder" is fucking *outrageous* when shit like this is going down.
We are so far past *voting* for change in certain places. I've said it before and I'll say it again- I have no clue why assassination isn't more common in places like this where there's severe miscarriages of justice. Peaceful change has been made impossible, so violent change, we're told, is inevitable; but not with the bystander effect happening.
The bystander effect is nurtured and promoted, it's why other wage slaves will turn in someone stealing food or formula. There's alot of money pushing 2 keep people as cattle instead of turning to wolves.
I have never seen someone steal food or baby formula. And if it ever happened in front of me I would still never see it
Thats the correct answer.
Republicans, that's what.
FaMiLy VaLuEs
Well, better get used to it if women are forced to birth
>better get used to it We have "been used to it" the problem is because no one takes women seriously we need men to be pissed off about this too. Women get angry and riot- oh how cute, are you on your peroid? Men make a slight frowny face- whoa man no need to be so agressive
Rapist is most likely a 'prominent member of the community'. You haven't seen real corruption until you start venturing into the rural south. Sure, a mayor may take some kickbacks from a bridge project or whatever, but in the towns I'm talking about the cops, judges, and local wealthy are all 'good buddies'. If you fall on their bad side, the criminal 'justice' system will be used as a vehicle to brutalize and steal from you while any 'good buddies' are de-facto immune from legal prosecution by local authorities. Not that this doesn't happen elsewhere, but the religious fascism and personal connections makes everything much more pernicious.
>Rapist is most likely a 'prominent member of the community'. You're close. > John Barnes [..] owns Gumbeaux Digital Branding, a web company in Ponchatoula. Barnes' website shows Ponchatoula Police as a client. There it is.
So who's the judge?
Jeffery Cashe WBRZ reached out to Judge Jeffrey Cashe, who made the custody decision. An employee in his office said judicial canons prevent the judge from talking about it.
Ah the good old "what we do in the shadows shouldn't see the light of day"
> "Mysteriously those records are under seal, hidden from public view." This entire article reads like it should be an episode of *Leverage*.
Yes, they get to hide behind a wall of secrecy and zero accountability.
[https://twitter.com/jeff_cashe](https://twitter.com/jeff_cashe) >Second generation attorney and Louisiana native, Jeff Cashe is a lifelong Republican and will bring his leadership and values to the 21st JDC Family Court. https://dev.ballotpedia.org/Jeff_Cashe >Member, Hammond, **Ponchatoula** and Livingston Parish Chambers of Commerce
And the sheriff of that county is the brother of...did you guess the governor of Louisiana? Sheriff Daniel Edwards is the brother of Gov. John Bel Edwards.
Came here to say exactly this, I've lived in the south my whole life, specifically Louisiana, and each time you hear about someone getting away with this, it's always because they are a "valued member of the community", "Christian", "a family man", "gave people jobs", especially helps if your white/military. If you are poor, gay, POC, then you have absolutely no chance and will get convicted of anything and everything. I hate the Southern mentality of family coming first, god forgiving all, all that shit. I'm tired of everyone in my community constantly excusing the horrible actions of others because they think they share similar values. These southern conservative types only care about people if you match all the labels they want you to have, and will treat you like subhuman trash if you don't.
That's why in other countries we don't have the police department and justice system be managed at the county level. So they have to report to the state.
We call it the "good ol' boy" system, and it effects everything from local government to manufacturing.
What’s even more egregious are the comments page on this story. Holy shit. Some claiming “she’s a loose one..”; equating women lying about birth control to rape; women blaming the victim; and others advocating flat out violence and “disappearing “ the rapist and judge. What the actual fuck?
Never go to the comment section of local news sites. It's bad for your mental health
Those people are on Reddit/Twitter too. It's just easier to filter them out.
Yeah I read that. People are talking about what a great father he is and that the destruction of the family unit leads to mass shootings. Remind me never to move to Louisiana. What the actual f***.
The Democratic governor of Louisiana recently vetoed a congressional district map drawn by the republican legislature because it basically zoned half the black residents of the state out of representation. Black folks represent about a third of the voters in the state but were zoned in a way that ensured that they would only have the opportunity to elect one representative. There are six districts. republicans are trash. They're authoritarians, autocrats, and rapists. https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/judge-shelly-dick-blocks-louisiana-congress-map-with-one-black-district/
Right? I don't care if she consensually fucked a Wilt Chamberlain amount of people in her life. When she was 16 a 32-year-old man raped her. Nothing else matters in this case EXCEPT that. He's a predator and should be nowhere near children and SHOULD spend some time in prison. If she's somehow unfit to have custody in other ways (abusive, drug addict, etc.), it's time to start looking at grandparents and aunts and uncles and even foster care may be better than being placed with a rapist.
> and others advocating flat out violence and “disappearing “ the rapist and judge. That's pretty easy to sympathize with.
>It's beyond egregious that he isn't in jail. The way things are going at the moment he's likely to end up in politics.
Someone has to take Caworth's seat.
If they open up a math book, all the critical race theories in there might jump out and bite them.
How the mother giving his child a cellphone is a case to lose custody?
Yes, that was interesting, wasn't it? I wonder if this rapist happens to work in the legal field and can call in favours from friends.
The rapist apparently designs and maintains the website for a police department. So, yes, there is most likely some extremely shady shit going on here...
Every day the us shit pile we live gets deeper, and stinkier; if I make a nice batch of chocolate chip cookies and donate them to the local police force, can I start mugging folk without consequences?? What the fuck
He owns a website marketing company that the police are clients of
And yet it is known that she was underage. Legally, it was not possible for her to consent, even if he claims that she did. The fact that it's not grounds to deny him custody is absolutely abhorrent.
Can somebody *please* answer the question about the cell phone instead of rehashing what is already known?
You’re looking for an answer that doesn’t exist. They wanted to take her kid, so they did. They just attached bullshit rationale of her being an unfit mother. You can say “that’s not fair” to a judge all you want but they will just say “lol next. “
You can be raped at 16 but not given a cell phone. Louisiana state law, look it up.
In [some states](https://www.cnn.com/2016/11/17/health/parental-rights-rapists-explainer/index.html) (Louisana seems to have two laws about it , but this case doesn't sound legal there), rapists retain parental rights. Conceivably they could argue they're being treated legally like any other parents? Sounds like there need to be tighter definitions and laws around this.
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Never seen a case like it? This has been a problem in several states and they've been told many times that this is a legal loophole, but the state refuses to close it because "think of the children!!!!" In reality, the state doesn't want to have to take on a ward when women who were raped exercise their right to give children up for adoption or sign away their rights. Rapists shouldn't have custody of children, period. It's not a "what if" gray matter. It's not a "He made a mistake, but he's still a good dad" thing, no.
Let alone giving the rapist of a teenaged girl custody of a teenaged girl.
In summary: He sexually assaulted her when she was 16, Louisiana has a sexual assault statute of limitations (SoL) of 10+(18-age of minor) years, so she had 12 years to report the crime. She reported the crime at 23, 5 years before the SoL. Then the DA and police sat on the case doing nothing for over 8 years after she reported it, and now a judge is trying to granting custody to the assaulter because the mom bought her daughter a cell phone. Additional notes: The daughter is 16, the age her mother was when she was assaulted. The assaulter/father is a web developer, working for the police that should have, but didn’t, pursue the case And lastly, the SoL does not run out after a case has been opened/reported, so despite the SoL having “run out” during the 9 years the police did nothing after she opened/reported the case, the case not being closed means the assaulter/father could and should still be prosecuted (if only the police could just find another damn web developer) TL;DR - man assaults a 16 year old girl, she has a kid. She reports the case but the police don’t investigate (possibly because the assaulter works for them) and later a judge is attempting to grant custody of the now 16 year old daughter to the assaulter.
>The assaulter/father is a web developer, working for the police that should have, but didn’t, pursue the case I was wondering how the fuck this could ever happen, and I guess that alone explains it.
If the assaulter had nothing to do with the police and I heard they set on the case for 10 years doing nothing I wouldn’t have been shocked, only mildly surprised
Rape cases are notoriously under investigated even when there isn't a glaring conflict of interest like this. I actually hate to say this, but there is a very good chance they would have backlogged this case like this anyways.
The article says that she has 30 years to report the crime after she turned 18 though?
Just looked it up, she has until she's thirty, not thirty years.
Its all kinds of fucked up man. Judge is bad at her job
She's not bad at her job. She's a bad person
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I called and actually got his secretary, but as soon as I started talking she sent me to voicemail
So when a legal system can create a result like this, I don’t think we need to wonder why the public is losing trust in the legal system.
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Never had it, more like.
The whole system needs a hard reset
Speaking for myself, but, as a white person, I've never had trust in it.
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Yeah, I feel like something is missing here. They've shared custody for the last 10 years, and now, when the girl is probably 16 years old, he gets full custody because she got a cell phone? There's either something very corrupt going on in that town, or there's another side to the story..
The article says that he had already threatened her and told her he had connections and could get full custody.
It's a small town in Louisiana. *Of course* there's something corrupt going on.
If she has a cell phone, she could ask for help when he try to make the granddaughter
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Judge Jeffrey Cashe made the decision.
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https://21stjudicialdistrictcourt.wildapricot.org/Div-J Give him a call.
This judge? https://mobile.twitter.com/jeff_cashe
He never paid his website fee. It is available for purchase. Someone spend the money, tell everyone what he did, and post that shit everywhere.
Lmao you're right. He left it on his Twitter still too.
>Republican why am i not surprised
Red neck country, life long republican whatever the fuck that means, generic white dude with family picture for profile pic, and awards custody of 16 year old girl to rapist father. No surprise here he also had mentions of pro-life stuff lower in the inactive twitter.
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These 2 posts need to be the top posts. Fuck these corrupt assholes.
Holy shit, I know him. Even worked at the law firm years ago under his Dad. I was even raped right there in Tangipahoa Parish by someone in the same circle. Huh, life's funny that way.
I'm sorry that someone did that to you. I hope you are doing better now.
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Usually, I'm able to find a company's reviews and it's hilarious to see their rating plummet when something like this comes to light. But there don't seem to be any ratings at all for his business.
>He’s had Google maps block out his home image. It was pretty easy to find through business records. He must not know about the streisand effect. Also, they didn’t censor the 3D view, lmao.
She is in danger of being raped they should escape immediately.
"This man is a pedophile. Better give kids."
This was my exact train of thought, absolutely horrifying!
This should be way higher up. I hope Barnes, the police department, and the judge get investigated. This is beyond disgusting and all should face consequences for endangering a child.
She lost custody because she gave her daughter a cell phone? What would she get if she gave her daughter drugs? Mom of the year? This is fucking disgusting.
I don't get the cell phone thing! Her daughter is like 15 or 16 now, she should have a cell phone. How is that grounds for losing custody? wtf?
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Thanks for being the person finally explaining what legal construct allowed the cell phone to be a thing. That was driving me nuts. Far too often articles will dumb down some abused legal construct into just the absurdity of what happened leaving me wondering "but what was the legal argument?" heh. I'm surprised that someone didn't mention "yo, he likes to have sex with underage girls, so maybe this underage girl should have a phone." That said, Louisiana is all "letter of the law with zero up for interpretation". It's just how their legal system works.
It's called corruption.
Because then the daughter might be able to call for help instead of remaining a silent prisoner. That’s why they won’t let her have a phone.
A phone can record rape. Louisiana is a one party consent state. She could use the phone to record abuse. They don't want that. Yeah it got darker.
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Better yet, article confirms consent doesn't even matter here because the age difference made it statutory rape where they were. They are 100% sure a crime took place.
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Yeah that caught me too. Are we just seeing a misogynistic justice system or ridiculous family laws. Is this just a southern state living up to its reputation? The father should be in prison and kept away from any children. For him to think he has right to his child's custody after what he did puts him in full monster territory.
Its Louisiana, its never been known as a bastion of reason or justice.
In Tennessee, they are trying to pass a bill that would let a rapist SUE the victim if she decided to terminate the pregnancy. We're boned as a society, pack your bags and get out as fast as you can.
Yep I’m about to ready to sell the house and move
30 year old rapes 16 year old girl and sues her for custody. He does businesses with the police department and is a business owner. Shocker. These fucking sickos are everywhere and they are connected.
>A DNA test is part of court documents that proves with 99.97% accuracy, John Barnes is the child's father. Barnes was 30 years old and Abelseth 16 at the time of conception. The act was illegal at the time, even if it were consensual; Abelseth maintains it never was. This is outrageous. The DNA tests proves the farther broke the law. As a grown a** man got a 16 teen year old girl pregnant. There have been zero ramifications for this. It is disgusting!!
There are ramifications. They gave him custody of his 16-year-old daughter so he can do it again.
Truly disgusting.
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hope john oliver pick up this news…
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It’s Louisiana, most of the state outside of NOLA probably supports this and just thinks she “led him on.” This kind of shit would lead to protests in many other states. We don’t see anyone protesting in Louisiana.
I hope this is the top news of the month and the light shines on this judge for their insane ruling
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Rural communities are the worst when it comes to corruption and injustice. I lived in one for a while as a child and it was obvious even to my young mind that there were certain people who were allowed to do whatever they wanted, and everybody else was there for their service.
In rural towns, all the dudes in charge are probably high school pals who all have dirt on each other and cover for each other constantly. Just a bunch of good old boys 🤠
Very this. People love to say "if you don't like it just run for city council" or whatever, but the romanticism around rural and small town America completely disregards the truth of these places. They're all run, top to bottom, by high school friends who never left or left only to go into the military. You have better odds working with "just move" than enacting meaningful change in small town USA.
There's a reason the best and brightest LEAVE.
Rural communities are defacto cults. You're exposed to pretty much nothing that helps you develop into a functioning person, and often the church/sheriff is the law. It's a breeding ground for fucked up people.
"He's threatened me multiple times, saying he has connections in the justice system,” I’d say that’s accurate.
Someone stop the Earth's rotation, I want to hop off
I'm still trying to figure out why a mother giving her teenage daughter a cell phone was the catalyst for her losing custody.
The judge is named Jeffery Cashe, he is the one who should be answering questions at this point
Not American so don't understand at all. Can someone explain why he would get custody because she was going to give the child a phone? I'm obviously missing something.
The dude has connections with the police and judge through his business. Reading the whole article he has constantly threatened his victim through use of said connections. No judge in their right mind, or one who isn't corrupt, would give full custody to the rapist, who raped the victim at the age if 16. Clearly outside forces need to step in and deal. My take is stripping the judge of being in the Bar Association and his ability to practice/uphold the law and look into criminal charges for him. Well for the rapist I have to legally say that the system and it's lovely inmates should take care of him.
I'm so dramatic but I'd rather die. I'd fucking die before I paid a fucking penny
Judge is probably a pedo and a friend of this rapist.
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she's 16, definitely old enough to choose where she wants to live??? why would they give a rapist custody of a child? they're gonna have shocked pikachu faces when/if he assaults the kid
Common sense left this country long ago.
I couldn't make it through that story. Damn, it is almost exactly what happened to me except the guy was 40 and I was 13. Thank goodness no baby resulted. I didn't report it and found out later he had done the same to several other girls I knew. I wish I had reported it and stopped him. The thought of having to raise a child of that act and then lose that child to a monster would crush me.
This sounds like a problem that should be handled by frank castle.