I'm VERY proud of the progress my daughter has made in the last year and a half. Through tremendous effort and perseverance, I was able to get a judge to order her into a lock-down health care facility out of state. My daughter was able to turn herself around at that facility and graduated with the highest marks ever recorded there. She has been released and is living in Colorado, working in clothing sales for Harley Davidson and has been accepted at the University of Colorado.
We had lunch together when she visited California a couple months ago. We call and text each other regularly. I have helped her arrange for residency at the university for next semester... but in the mean time, she has lost her job and is about to be evicted. It's three months before she's safely in school.
I have a couple of things to say about this.
My daughter is ALWAYS going to suffer over the criminal record she acquired last year. After securing a restraining order on me, my daughter's mother Angela was supposed to have temporary physical custody of my daughter. Despite many attempts by me to secure a therapist for my daughter during this time, Angela ensured no therapist could be found that suited her. Two years went by - during which I continually tried to go through the courts to get the bogus restraining order removed.
Angela, a nursery teacher at Highland Hall, has been living with head administrator of Highland Hall, Jim Pedroja, almost since our divorce began - around 2001. They were, of course, living together during the time my daughter was in Angela's custody. By this time, and after years of abuse by her teachers, my daughter was finally out of Highland Hall - thanks to my efforts and the strong support of her therapist. But with the restraining order in place, and no therapist available to reconcile our relationship (something the court ORDERED) - my daughter had no father in her life.
With no parental guidance, my daughter ended up moving in with a 30 year old meth dealer and pedophile... and not a PEEP out of her mother or Jim Pedroja. In fact, it appears they supported this relationship - or at the very least, gave up completely on my daughter. The meth dealer was seen many times, coming in and out of Angela's home at all hours. The only times Angela showed concern for her daughter was in front of a judge.
So... the inevitable happened... My daughter started overdosing on crystal meth... and ended up in the emergency room - several times. Her mother tried to cover it up. MANY people from Highland Hall assisted them in trying to hide my daughter - even tearing down Missing Child posters. This is all in the court documents elsewhere in this blog so I won't restate everything here... but suffice to say - the responsibility for what happened to my daughter lies clearly on the shoulders of her mother Angela and her boyfriend Jim Pedroja - and indirectly Highland Hall. There is NO doubt of this.
So - when my daughter calls me now and says she cannot find work... I have to think about that criminal record and who is ultimately responsible for it? This will follow my daughter around for the rest of her life. That's something that can be quantified.
Negligence of a child is a terrible thing when it happens in society. That SCHOOL TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS are guilty of this type of negligence is a travesty. That they seek to cover it up is a crime.
The abuse of my daughter at Highland Hall led to her eventual brush with the law. The trail is clear - and the reasons for covering up abuse are OBVIOUS! This is just ONE MORE THING I hold the monsters at Highland Hall accountable for.
When the jury hands down a reward, I know they will take this into consideration.
