Posted on Wednesday, March 26, 2008

EDITOR'S NOTE: It is the policy of the Tyler Morning Telegraph not to identify the victims of sexual assault to encourage the reporting of such crimes.

By CASEY KNAUPP
Staff Writer

Child Protective Services began investigating a reported case of drug abuse and child neglect. What they found was ongoing sexual abuse and exploitation of four young children.

Jamie Pittman, who is accused with five others in a "Mineola Swinger's Club" that charged a cover for people to watch children dance and perform sexual acts, was on trial Tuesday for committing aggravated sexual assault of a child - causing two siblings to have sex with each other - on Aug. 1, 2004. The 36-year-old Tyler man faces up to life in prison if convicted in 241st District Judge Jack Skeen Jr.'s court.

The alleged victims in the case include three siblings - who at the time of the outcries in 2005 were a 7-year-old girl, a 6-year-old boy and a 5-year-old girl. The sibling's aunt, who was 6, was also allegedly forced to dance and have sex with the other children.

Jamie Pittman is the first defendant to go to trial.

Amy McDonald, a CPS worker, testified that CPS began investigating Pittman and his girlfriend, Ms. Mayo, in March 2005 after a call came through their hotline reporting drug abuse and child neglect.

Ms. McDonald said allegations were made that the children were locked out of the home on numerous occasions while Ms. Mayo and Pittman used drugs and had sex with each other and other people inside.

When she visited the mobile home in Smith County on March 7, 2005, Ms. McDonald said Pittman was alone with the two children, a 7-year-old girl and 6-year-old boy. Pittman was not supposed to be alone with the children, but Ms. Mayo, whom she talked to on the phone, refused to come to the house. She said she decided to place the kids in foster care after the girl got in between two fighting pit bulls and the boy wandered off from the house while she was there. Ms. McDonald said there was no electricity in the house and very little food for the children. She said Pittman's criminal history and Ms. Mayo's drug use also factored into her decision to take the children away.

After one night with the first set of foster parents, the kids were moved to another foster home closer to Smith County, she said. The boy had extreme encopresis, or no control of his bowels, which she said is common for boys who have been sexually abused. She said every time the boy would began talking about Ms. Mayo or Pittman, the girl would tell him to be quiet or he would get them into more trouble, she said.

Within several days of being in the second foster home, the foster parents had concerns about the children, including the boy inappropriately touching another child living there, Ms. McDonald said.

OUTCRIES

Alexia Hunter, a CPS case worker, said the children began making outcries of sexual abuse. They gave graphic details of a building where they would dance and have sex with each other and adults, along with two other children.

Ms. Hunter said that in one foster home, the girl was over-sexualized toward the foster father and it made everyone uncomfortable.

When they were placed in the fourth foster home, where they remain today with their younger sister, who was 5 at the time of the outcries, they began telling the foster parents of specific instances of the sexual abuse, she said.

The 7-year-old girl said she and the other children would have to dance for money, which Pittman collected. The boy said he got food for what he did. The children also said Pittman made them watch "bad movies" with naked people.

When CPS found out Pittman showed the children pornographic videos, his visitation rights with the children were terminated. Ms. Mayo was no longer able to visit the children when the kids told their counselor they didn't want to see her, she said.

While passing by a building in Mineola, the girl told the foster parents it was where they used to dance. The foster parents immediately took them to the Mineola Police Department, she said.

Later, the girl also told the foster parents where the house, which belonged to Dennis Pittman, was where they went to get "silly pills," she said. The children reported having to take "silly pills" that made them dance better, Ms. Hunter said.

At the age of 5, the children would enter "kindergarten," where they learned sexual acts, first with dolls, then with themselves and other children, she said. Once they graduated kindergarten, the kids were allowed to dance at the club.

The 5-year-old girl was placed in the foster home with her two siblings after she told her grandmother she danced for people.

Ms. Hunter said the 7-year-old girl is now happy and able to be a child. She is involved in gymnastics and cheerleading. The boy hasn't had any problems soiling his pants in months, no longer has anger and violent outbursts or uses racial slurs like he did before. The youngest girl has also grown tremendously, she said.

Julie Baker, who fostered the two oldest children for a short time, testified that giving them up because she couldn't provide the attention they needed was one of the hardest decisions she's ever made. She said that when they lived with her, they were terrified of Pittman, who they feared would come get them. She described the problems the children had at home and in social settings.

THE INVESTIGATION

Texas Ranger Sgt. Phillip Kemp testified about his investigation of the case, in which he discovered the four victims and the six defendants were involved. He began investigating the "Mineola Swinger's Club" in November 2005. He said that when he interviewed the children, they never recanted their statements and they never contradicted each other's stories.

When the children, three siblings and their aunt, no longer had contact with the suspects, they began to divulge more information about what happened to them, he said.

The oldest girl gave details and drew an accurate diagram of the inside of the club, he said, adding that he found evidence that it was a swinger's club used for sex. The kids were made to dance, perform skits and have sex with each other. Then they collected money from the audience and turned it over to Pittman, he said. The defendants also videotaped the children performing sex acts, Kemp said.

The felony offenses the defendants have been charged with include aggravated sexual assault of a child, sexual assault of a child, indecency with a child, sexual performance by a child, injury to a child, tampering with evidence and engaging in organized criminal activity.

During opening statements, Assistant Smith County District Attorney Joe Murphy said the defendants rented the building used for the swinger's club. They told the owner it would be used to help disabled children, but, instead, it was used to disable children, he said.

Murphy told the jurors words would not describe what Pittman did to the children.

Defense attorney Jim Huggler asked the jurors to look and listen to all of the evidence and testimony and to keep an open mind during the trial.

Emphasis added by H4K Editor