Rape victim ordered to pay her abuser child support

[ZiprHead]

INVESTIGATIVE UNIT: Rape victim ordered to pay her abuser child support

INVESTIGATIVE UNIT: Rape victim ordered to pay her abuser child support

www.wbrz.com

PONCHATOULA- It's one of the most egregious cases victims' advocates tell the WBRZ Investigative Unit they have ever seen, after a judge awarded full custody to a woman's abuser and forced her to pay child support.

This story dates back decades and involves a woman who was raped at the age of 16 by a man almost twice her age.

Crysta Abelseth knows all too well about overcoming adversity. The now 32-year old is a mother of a teenager that WBRZ has made an editorial decision not to identify because she's a minor. Abelseth's daughter is the child of a rape.

Abelseth met John Barnes in the City of Hammond back in 2005. She says he offered to take her home after a night out at a local restaurant with friends.

"Instead of bringing me home, he brought me to his house," Abelseth recalled. "Once inside, he raped me on his living room couch."

Abelseth did not know Barnes before that night, but came away from it pregnant.

---

"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."

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.

Seven years ago, in July 2015, Abelseth pressed criminal charges against Barnes. A report she filed with the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office for simple rape details everything that was done to her. Abelseth said she waited to file the police report because she did not know the law.

"I thought if I didn't do it the next day, there was nothing I could do about it," Abelseth said. "I went to a trauma counselor, and he said, 'No, you have 30 years after you turn 18.'"

From 2015 until now, nothing has happened with the report. The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office says an investigation is still open.

"It was never assigned to a detective, and nothing was ever investigated," according to Abelseth.

A search of John Barnes shows he owns Gumbeaux Digital Branding, a web company in Ponchatoula. Barnes' website shows Ponchatoula Police as a client.

 

[Jarhyn]

INVESTIGATIVE UNIT: Rape victim ordered to pay her abuser child support

INVESTIGATIVE UNIT: Rape victim ordered to pay her abuser child support

www.wbrz.com

PONCHATOULA- It's one of the most egregious cases victims' advocates tell the WBRZ Investigative Unit they have ever seen, after a judge awarded full custody to a woman's abuser and forced her to pay child support.

This story dates back decades and involves a woman who was raped at the age of 16 by a man almost twice her age.

Crysta Abelseth knows all too well about overcoming adversity. The now 32-year old is a mother of a teenager that WBRZ has made an editorial decision not to identify because she's a minor. Abelseth's daughter is the child of a rape.

Abelseth met John Barnes in the City of Hammond back in 2005. She says he offered to take her home after a night out at a local restaurant with friends.

"Instead of bringing me home, he brought me to his house," Abelseth recalled. "Once inside, he raped me on his living room couch."

Abelseth did not know Barnes before that night, but came away from it pregnant.

---

"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."

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.

Seven years ago, in July 2015, Abelseth pressed criminal charges against Barnes. A report she filed with the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office for simple rape details everything that was done to her. Abelseth said she waited to file the police report because she did not know the law.

"I thought if I didn't do it the next day, there was nothing I could do about it," Abelseth said. "I went to a trauma counselor, and he said, 'No, you have 30 years after you turn 18.'"

From 2015 until now, nothing has happened with the report. The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office says an investigation is still open.

"It was never assigned to a detective, and nothing was ever investigated," according to Abelseth.

A search of John Barnes shows he owns Gumbeaux Digital Branding, a web company in Ponchatoula. Barnes' website shows Ponchatoula Police as a client.

How is the investigation still open?!? She was 16. He was older than 18.

There was a child.

He legally declared he was the father of that child.

It was unquestionably rape!

He is unquestionably a rapist.

He has admitted to it in court!

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

There has to be more to this story, because if there isn't, this is an abhorrent breach of justice. Of course, this is Louisiana.

 

[Gospel]

Yeah makes no sense. If he was 30 years old and she was 16 at the time that's a felony charge right there.

 

[TomC]

Yeah makes no sense. If he was 30 years old and she was 16 at the time that's a felony charge right there.

I don't think so.
If a 16y/o has sex with a 30y/o, I'll agree it's irresponsible on everybody's part. But not even a crime, much less a felony.

Now, the 16y/o child of that union wants to live with her father. And she's old enough to make such a decision.

There's more to this story. Unsavory, I'm sure. All the truth won't support anybody's political agenda, so much of it will be ignored. But there is more to this story, of that I'm certain.
Tom

 

[Hermit]

Yeah makes no sense. If he was 30 years old and she was 16 at the time that's a felony charge right there.

I don't think so.
If a 16y/o has sex with a 30y/o, I'll agree it's irresponsible on everybody's part. But not even a crime, much less a felony.

What particular orifice did you pull that assertion out of, TomC?

According to Title 14, section 80 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes, a person who is seventeen years of age or older may be charged with statutory rape if he or she engages in a sex act with a person between the ages of thirteen years of age and seventeen years of age. The difference between the ages of the alleged victim and the alleged perpetrator must be at least four years, and the alleged victim and alleged perpetrator cannot be married to each other.

There's more to this story. Unsavory, I'm sure. All the truth won't support anybody's political agenda, so much of it will be ignored. But there is more to this story, of that I'm certain.

I say.

From the article:

A search of John Barnes shows he owns Gumbeaux Digital Branding, a web company in Ponchatoula. Barnes' website shows Ponchatoula Police as a client.

This year, he was granted custody of that child even though a criminal complaint was filed in 2015. Mysteriously those records are under seal, hidden from public view.

"He's well connected," Abelseth said. "He's threatened me multiple times, saying he has connections in the justice system, so I better be careful and he can take her away anytime he wants to. I didn't believe him until it happened."

There probably is even more to the story than that, but all the articles Google finds just now refer back to the article ZiprHead linked to in the OP. So that's all we have until further notice.

 

[Gospel]

I don't think so.
If a 16y/o has sex with a 30y/o, I'll agree it's irresponsible on everybody's part. But not even a crime, much less a felony.

Ok Armchair lawyer.

Louisiana Laws - Louisiana State Legislature

www.legis.la.gov

§80. Felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile

A. Felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile is committed when:

(1) A person who is seventeen years of age or older has sexual intercourse, with consent, with a person who is thirteen years of age or older but less than seventeen years of age, when the victim is not the spouse of the offender and when the difference between the age of the victim and the age of the offender is four years or greater;

I don't think we need to look any further.

 

[Tigers!]

This is stuffed in so many ways.
The child and mother have suffered too much already.

 

[TomC]

I don't think we need to look any further.

A sixteen year old kid wants to live with their dad.
Mom files rape charges.

You don't think we need to look any further.

That's so Woke it makes me ill.
Tom

 

[Toni]

I don't think we need to look any further.

A sixteen year old kid wants to live with their dad.
Mom files rape charges.

You don't think we need to look any further.

That's so Woke it makes me ill.
Tom

WT actual Fuck.

You didn’t read it, did you?

She filed rape charges years ago. The police just sat on them.

 

[Toni]

Yeah makes no sense. If he was 30 years old and she was 16 at the time that's a felony charge right there.

I don't think so.
If a 16y/o has sex with a 30y/o, I'll agree it's irresponsible on everybody's part. But not even a crime, much less a felony.

Now, the 16y/o child of that union wants to live with her father. And she's old enough to make such a decision.

There's more to this story. Unsavory, I'm sure. All the truth won't support anybody's political agenda, so much of it will be ignored. But there is more to this story, of that I'm certain.
Tom

How is the 16 year old rape victim irresponsible?

Disgusting.

 

[Derec]

IP

A sixteen year old kid wants to live with their dad.
Mom files rape charges.

You don't think we need to look any further.

That's so Woke it makes me ill.
Tom

Indeed. The timing stinks.
Not that 30 year old having sex with a 16 year old is the greatest, but I do not think it should be a crime. And neither should a man be deprived of his child because his sex partner was barely below some arbitrary cutoff.
16, as is the age of consent in most of developed world and in much of US, is a perfectly reasonable and should be adopted nationwide.

 

[Derec]

How is the 16 year old rape victim irresponsible?

It has not been shown she was a "rape victim". Even the law in question acknowledges that sex with a person below 17 can be consensual.

Disgusting.

If she is making up the rape allegations now in order to avoid paying child support, then yes, that is very disgusting.

 

[Jarhyn]

I don't think we need to look any further.

A sixteen year old kid wants to live with their dad.
Mom files rape charges.

You don't think we need to look any further.

That's so Woke it makes me ill.
Tom

WT actual Fuck.

You didn’t read it, did you?

She filed rape charges years ago. The police just sat on them.

Apparently because he's well connected.

Sadly, not to a rocket bound for Putin's villa.

 

[Toni]

How is the 16 year old rape victim irresponsible?

It has not been shown she was a "rape victim". Even the law in question acknowledges that sex with a person below 17 can be consensual.

Disgusting.

If she is making up the rape allegations now in order to avoid paying child support, then yes, that is very disgusting.

You didn’t read the article either.

She filed charges years ago. Police have done nothing.

I realize that you don’t agree with statuatory rape laws but that’s your problem. There has been no ‘proof’ of forcible rape because there has never been an investigation. This is not at all unusual. It’s disgusting but not unusual.

 

[Toni]

IP

A sixteen year old kid wants to live with their dad.
Mom files rape charges.

You don't think we need to look any further.

That's so Woke it makes me ill.
Tom

Indeed. The timing stinks.
Not that 30 year old having sex with a 16 year old is the greatest, but I do not think it should be a crime. And neither should a man be deprived of his child because his sex partner was barely below some arbitrary cutoff.
16, as is the age of consent in most of developed world and in much of US, is a perfectly reasonable and should be adopted nationwide.

Your views on the right of 30+ year old men to engage in sex with underaged adolescents is well known. And disgusting.

 

[Derec]

Your views on the right of 30+ year old men to engage in sex with underaged adolescents is well known. And disgusting.

That right exists in most of the developed world and much of the US.

I guess you would prefer we have the same laws as Tunisia?

 

[Toni]

Your views on the right of 30+ year old men to engage in sex with underaged adolescents is well known. And disgusting.

That right exists in most of the developed world and much of the US.

I guess you would prefer we have the same laws as Tunisia?

I would prefer that kids be allowed to grow up and become adults before adults think they are fair game.

The fact that you do not says everything about you.

Most of the states (21) for which the age of consent is 16 have so called Romeo and Juliet clauses to allow sex between minors under the age of consent and partners who are near their age, typically allowing fir an age difference of 2-4 years. Even some states for which the age of consent is 17 or 18 still utilize age difference ranges. In NONE of those states which allow similar age partners would the 30 year old man to have consensual sex with a 16 year old. Not one.

 

[Derec]

You didn’t read the article either.

I did. As badly written and biased and horribly written as it is.

She filed charges years ago. Police have done nothing.

She filed the charges in 2015, 10 years after the sex, and four years after the dad found about the kid.

I realize that you don’t agree with statuatory rape laws but that’s your problem. There has been no ‘proof’ of forcible rape because there has never been an investigation. This is not at all unusual. It’s disgusting but not unusual.

What proof of forcible or otherwise non-consensual contact do you think could be found 10 years later?
And yes, I do not agree with these laws. Louisiana's is not as bad as some, but it still does not allow lack of knowledge of the girl's age as a defense. I do not think men should be held criminally or otherwise liable for having sex with somebody who lied about her age.

 

[ZiprHead]

What proof of forcible or otherwise non-consensual contact do you think could be found 10 years later?

Her age when the kid was born. What more do you need?