Three months after my brother Tim’s abduction and murder, Congress was preparing legislation against child pornography and held hearings May-September of 1977. On hand to testify was Jackson Prison inmate, Michigander, pedophile and purveyor/distributor/creator of child pornography, Gerald S. Richards. His testimony is that of a manipulative, pathological criminal who was granted leniency for this bullshit testimony. He portrays his “work” with boys as “models.” He says next to nothing about the wealthy, well-connected Frank Shelden, his “friend” and partner in the monstrous “boys nature camp” on N. Fox Island, where victims have report being raped, sexually assaulted and filmed.

Click to access 46772NCJRS.pdf

See also,

Click to access 51083NCJRS.pdf

The Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation Act of 1977 was passed and then followed with other legislation throughout the decades to keep up with technological advances criminals used to exploit children.

While I have written a time or two about this criminal, Richards, I am not an expert on N. Fox Island, Frank Shelden, Gerald Richards, Adam Starchild or Dyer Grossman. Here is an excellent overview:

https://thehotstar.net/northfoxisland.html

It was against this backdrop that the Oakland County child murders took place from February 1976-March 1977. There was plenty of amazingly deep reporting on Shelden and N. Fox Island by Marilyn Wright of the Traverse City Record-Eagle, but very little reporting in southern Michigan. Wright’s reporting was entered into the Congressional record before the committee considering the 1977 legislation.

Reporter Michael Sneed of the Chicago Tribune managed to interview Gerald Richards:

Sneed also testified at the hearings, describing the investigation done by a team at the Tribune to investigate child pornography in Illinois and the nation-wide links. The committee acknowledged the import and gravity of the work done on this subject by the Tribune.

https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/51083NCJRS.pdf (pages 109-118).

Genesee County (MI) Prosecutor Robert Leonard (then also president-elect of the National Association of District Attorneys) and assistant prosecutor Lenore Ferber also gave testimony including their eight-week investigation into who we now know were pedophiles Greg Greene, Chris Busch, Douglas Bennett and a fourth unnamed man who was in Ohio. (Id., beginning at 92.)

But really nary a word in the Detroit area the summer of 1977 about the very real possibility that the Oakland County child abductions could be exactly what happens when pedophilia and child pornography are allowed to flourish and, unchecked, to escalate to murder. The press black out began after Kristine Mihelich’s body was found in January 1977 and continues unabated to this day, aided by the now quite ridiculous assertion that nobody can comment on an “ongoing” investigation.

While shit was going down in Flint, Michigan and Chicago, Illinois, in Birmingham, Michigan and all of Oakland County it was a version of Mayor Vaughn’s statement to the residents of Amity in the 1975 movie Jaws: “I’m pleased and happy to repeat the news that we have, in fact, caught and killed a large predator that supposedly injured some bathers. But, as you see, it’s a beautiful day, the beaches are open and people are having a wonderful time.”

Except for those four dead kids.

Gaslighting: The Wikipedia definition is as good as any. “Gaslighting is a colloquialism, loosely defined as manipulating someone into questioning their own perception of reality. The expression, which derives from the title of the 1944 film Gaslight, became popular in the mid-2010s. Merriam Webster cites deception of one’s memory, perception of reality, or mental stability.”

A common phrase that gaslighters use to avoid taking responsibility or being accountable for their actions is “You’re crazy.” A variation is “The family is crazy.” Last time I checked, most cops/prosecutors are not psychologists or psychiatrists. When you hear this from law enforcement about a victim or a victim’s family, you are hearing bullshit. Besides, someone can be crazy and they can still be right.

Institutional gaslighting: When gaslighting occurs at an organizational level. For example, a prosecutor could hide some information or lie about particular details and then peg anyone who asks questions or makes statements about this as being “crazy” or a “conspiracy theorist.”

Vindictiveness: A malevolent desire for revenge. Vocabulary.com gives this example and I add a few additions–If someone steps on your toe (asks questions about a son’s cold case murder) and you put on boots to stomp back (convening a fake grand jury investigation and bringing the dead boy’s father before a judge, falsely accusing him of a felony–leaking grand jury information–to shut him up), you are filled with vindictiveness. See also, Vindictive Prosecution.

Lying liars: So many in the OCCK case.

Lying by omission: Lying by omission is the act of intentionally withholding relevant information to mislead others.

Lying by commission: The act of explicitly stating something that is false. 

Bonus words–

Coward: The opposite of courage. “Cowardice” indicates a failure of character in the face of a challenge.

Conflict of interest: occurs when a person’s personal interests–family, friendships, financial, or social factors–could compromise their judgment, decisions or actions in the workplace. A perceived conflict of interest is when it might appear to others that your private interests could impact your performance of official duties.

Corruption: Again, from Wikipedia: “Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one’s personal gain.”

I’ll start the next post with a lying liar from way back when. Gerald S. Richards, pedophile and creator and purveyor of child sexual abuse materials (CSAM), known back in the day as “child pornography.” Friend of and assistant to Francis (Frank) Shelden, Grosse Pointe scion and the backbone behind the monstrous “boys nature camp” on N. Fox Island, which was classified by the State of Michigan as a charitable trust instead of the original Pedophile Island. It turns out Frank Shelden’s entire life was a lie, but Gerald Richards’ words are on the record so it is much easier to parse.