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Nancy Grace
Police Hunt Minnesota Pastor for Sex Crimes
Aired April 21, 2014 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Breaking news tonight. We go live to Minnesota for an incredible story that`s almost too hard to believe. A mainstream Christian church with a huge following caught in the mix of parents, churchgoers and the police. A charismatic pastor calls on the church to mimic biblical scripture and hand over their firstborn. Only in this case, churchgoers actually hand over their firstborn girls as young as 12.
Bombshell tonight. Manhunt tonight for Pastor Victor Barnard after he secludes at least 10 young girls he calls "the maidens" in an obscure campsite where he repeatedly molests them all every single day for 10 long years, most of them never knowing a normal life with Mom and Dad. And what is so amazing to me, the parents went along with this, convinced it`s the word of God. Well, tonight, Barnard on the run, and legal eagles think the parents should go to jail right along with him!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Victor Barnard built a religious camp he called River Road Fellowship. According to investigators, Barnard began having sex with girls as young as 13, and not to tell anyone. One of the girls told her story to investigators.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight, the new phenomenon mixed martial arts taking over the country. But tonight, MMA star Charles Rowan (ph), "the freight train" -- did he fake his own death to cover up a vicious, bloody attack and armed robbery at a gun shop?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: MMA fighter Charles "freight train" Rowan dies after a terrible car crash!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody`s pretty shocked at this time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we`re talking about the same Charles Rowan who is in jail right now...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He robs a gun store weeks after his death!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of his family members showed up, said that he had passed away in a car accident.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But in a shocking twist, the MMA fighter is alive!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were lied to so much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And live to Arkansas, a well-respected established gynecologist under scrutiny, police claiming he photographed scores of patients during gynecological exams without their knowledge. Talk about a pervert! Now women across Arkansas left wondering if they`re in doctor creepy`s private photo album!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s been practicing for 30 years, but now he`s facing multiple counts of voyeurism. A patient claims she sees Becton (ph) use his cell phone during her exam to take pictures of her private area and buttocks. Dr. Paul Becton was allegedly taking pictures of women...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And live to Disneyland, the happiest place on earth. But not for this Marine, who comes home from deployment, takes his family on a celebration trip to Disney. When they get there, his wife -- take a look at her right here -- allegedly humiliated and berated by Disney staff, who take issue with Mommy`s cleavage?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It can get pretty hot walking around Disneyland parks in California, but be careful what you wear. According to the mom of three, an employee approached her at the front gate and told her she needed to pull up her top because she was exposing too much at the family park.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.
Bombshell tonight. We go live to Minnesota for an incredible story that`s almost too hard to believe, that this could happen in our country. Manhunt for Pastor Victor Barnard after he secludes at least 10 young girls he called "the maidens" in an obscure campsite where he repeatedly molests them all every single day for 10 long years, most of them, as you will hear from them tonight, never knowing a normal life, growing up with their mother and father.
And what`s so amazing to many of us is the parents went right along with it, thinking that it`s the word of God. Well, tonight, he`s on the run, and many legal eagles think the parents should go to jail right along with the so-called pastor once he`s caught.
Straight out to Jack Tomczak. He`s the host of "Up and At `Em," KTLK. It`s almost too hard for me to believe that this was a mainstream Christian church, and this charismatic pastor, Barnard, actually convinced the church to hand -- the churchgoers to hand over their firstborn, and in this case, these 10 firstborn girls.
These are not the -- this is not a fringe group of the FDL, these are mainstream, Christian, in a Christian church, Jack.
JACK TOMCZAK, KTLK AM 1130 (via telephone): Yes, it`s certainly unbelievable. This group with 150 members was located in the small town of Finlayson, Minnesota, led by this lunatic. It`s about 100 miles north of Minneapolis. And you`re right, the group made no attempt to hide themselves. They existed out in open as a legit -- legit faith.
GRACE: Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... was able to use, you know, spiritual coercion, spiritual intimidation, and creating a very large dependence on him as the adult of the group, and he took advantage of that. These 59 counts are all individual acts against these two victims, and we`re hoping other victims will come forward because we believe there are more acts to charge.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) no idea anything like that was taking place, not at all. But they did stay by themselves. They didn`t mingle with the rest of the township, or with the rest of the people in the territory. As far as I knew, they lived as families. And I had no idea that anything else was taking place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Frank Morano, talk show host on "The Answer" -- Frank, how did this happen?
FRANK MORANO, AM 970 "THE ANSWER" (via telephone): Well, there`s so many remarkable aspects of this story, Nancy, not the least of which that it took two years to bring charges after all the evidence was known.
How did this happen? This is what happens when you`re in a cult. And this is what happens when this satanic cult-like leader gets his followers to think that he`s God. Where are the parents saying, No you can`t have my 12-year-old girl and have sex with them?
GRACE: Joining me right now, one of Victor Barnard`s victims, Lindsay, is joining us from Beltsville (ph). Lindsay, thank you for being with us.
LINDSAY TORNAMBE, SAYS SHE`S A VICTIM (via telephone): Yes. Thank you.
GRACE: What I`m having such a hard time understanding, Lindsay, is how did Victor Barnard convince your parents to just hand you over to him? How old were you when you started living with him?
TORNAMBE: I was 13 years old when my parents gave me away. I know that he had meetings with my parents that I wasn`t involved in before they handed me over. But he did give a teaching to the whole church that summer saying in the bible, the firstborn children were to be sacrificed to God, and that it was supposed to be a dedication and holy.
I don`t know, really, what was going through my parents` head at the time. I didn`t realize that it was going to be permanent. I thought maybe I was just going there for the summer with 10 other girls to help out.
GRACE: With me is Lindsay Tornambe, and we are taking your calls. Everybody, I don`t know how this happens in America. I don`t know. It sounds like some horrible event that takes place far, far away, and we read about it. But no, this happened right here in Minnesota, a mainstream church, a fairly large church under the grip of this man, charismatic pastor Victor Barnard, who convinces many of the churchgoers that they should hand over their firstborn. In this case, all were girls. He called them "the maidens."
With me is Lindsay Tornambe, who lived through this ordeal. Lindsay, you were 13 when you were handed over to him, thinking you were going to some sort of a girls` summer camp. What happened when you got there, Lindsay?
TORNAMBE: We worked every day. It was summer, so we worked in the garden. We had lots of meetings. We celebrated a Jewish feast called the Feast of Tabernacles every end of summer with the whole church, so we helped with that.
But then as it got near school year, I realized that I wouldn`t be going home anymore. And the end of August is the first time that Victor had ever raped me, and it became apparent that I wouldn`t be allowed to go home.
We were told when to get up in the morning, when to go to bed, when to pray, how long we had to pray for, when we were going to make our own clothes, work in the gardens. (INAUDIBLE) We had no contact with any of the outside world.
GRACE: When would you see your parents, Lindsay?
TORNAMBE: What was that?
GRACE: When would you get to see your parents?
TORNAMBE: I saw them sometimes once a month at the big church gatherings. The whole church would come to the Shepherds Camp, and Victor would do a teaching. Sometimes, I wouldn`t see them for months. If I did see them, I normally had one of the other girls with me. I rarely ever got to see my parents on my own.
GRACE: Did you ever confide in your parents that Victor Barnard was raping you and the other young girls he had?
TORNAMBE: No, I never told them. Victor threatened me that I would receive damnation from God and that nobody would understand that it was spiritual and natural for him to take care of me in that manner, and it was his way of showing me God`s love, and that we were spiritually married to him.
GRACE: Everyone, for those of you just joining us, a story that`s almost too hard to believe, but I believe it. And I`ll tell you why I believe it. It`s not just the word of this now grown lady, Lindsay Tornambe. According to her and others, this pastor, Victor Barnard, now on the nation`s most wanted, told the church they were to give up their firstborn child -- in this case, all young girls. And for the next 10 years, a decade, he raped the young girls, one or more, every single night.
Joining me in addition to Lindsay Tornambe, who was brave enough to speak out tonight, is Chief Deputy Steven Blackwell from the Pine County sheriff`s office. Chief, late in the night last night, I listened to what you had to say about this. And I`m just overwhelmed that parents could willingly hand over their girls to a pastor, and you know, leave them at this compound for 10 years. I mean, there was no reason sheriffs or police should be suspicious. They never got a phone call from parents their children had been kidnapped or had been molested, nothing. How did you find out about it?
CHIEF DEPUTY STEVEN BLACKWELL, PINE COUNTY SHERIFF`S OFFICE (via telephone): Well, Nancy, first I want to say that -- to point out to everybody how brave these victims were to come forward and resilient they`ve been through this process. We -- we have another sheriff`s administration here that has changed over the course of this 10-year process here.
About 2008 were reports coming out of the compound started coming out about unlawful sexual acts with adult women, adultery, complaints about wives. He was sleeping with other members` wives.
GRACE: So it only came out when the same pastor was not only raping these little girls that he had on this ridiculous compound -- and last night, Sheriff, I heard one of the girls telling her -- that she said to her parents, Why did you do this? You handed me over to a preacher that raped me for 10 years. And the mother actually said, I don`t want to hear it. The blood of the lamb forgives everything.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: A story that`s almost too hard to believe happens in our country, in Minnesota. A charismatic Christian preacher with a fairly large following convinces the churchgoers to hand over their firstborn, all of them, coincidentally, young girls. Let`s see the photo of the young girls. Once he takes them there, they begin to dress in unusual clothes. The parents do nothing, rarely even seeing their girls for 10 years.
Joining me right now, in addition to Chief Deputy Steven Blackwell, is Lindsay Tornambe, one of Victor Barnard`s victims. Lindsay, I hate to even bring up these memories. As a crime victim myself, I know what it feels like. I think that many viewers are not going to believe this really happened, but I`m convinced that it did.
Do you recall the first time that Victor attacked you, Victor Barnard, your pastor, sexually assaulted you?
TORNAMBE: Yes, I do remember the first time it happened.
GRACE: And afterwards -- I mean, how did the whole thing happen? Did all the other girls just sit by and no one complain, no one tried to escape, nothing?
TORNAMBE: I tried to leave a couple times. When I was 15, I went ahead and told Victor I didn`t want to live there anymore and I wanted to eventually get married and have my own family some day. And he -- he sent me home for about a week, and my mom cried every single day, saying how disappointed she was in me. My dad barely talked to me.
But then Victor gathered the 10 girls and all our parents and the clergy together, and basically did another teaching from the bible and said that if any of the youth in the ministry wanted to not be cast out in the sea of damnation from God, they needed to ask Victor what he wanted us to do with our lives. So...
GRACE: So your parents tell you how disappointed they are in you when you try to leave. And then all the parents are told they`ll go, basically, to eternal damnation, to hell, if their daughters leave him. Is that correct?
TORNAMBE: Yes, that`s correct.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Along a dead end road west of Finlayson, Victor Barnard built a religious camp he called River Road Fellowship. Neighbor Dale Reid (ph) says the group was self-sufficient, butchering its own meat, growing food, and they kept largely to themselves.
But according to investigators, Barnard told the cult members he represented Christ, convincing them to give up their teenage daughters, where they lived separately with Barnard at what he called Shepherds` Camp. The girls saw their parents only occasionally.
According to investigators, Barnard began having sex with girls as young as 13, telling them he represented God`s flesh, that it was OK and not to tell anyone. After 12 years of abuse, one of the girls told her story to investigators. Victor Barnard fled the camp with some of his religious followers, and with police in pursuit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: With me, the chief deputy sheriff, Steven Blackwell, who had no complaints. He had no idea that these girls had been kidnapped because their parents were going along with it, the girls held on an isolated ranch by a charismatic Christian pastor, Victor Barnard, now the subject of a nationwide manhunt. Rick Ross with me, cult expert, founder of Cult Education Institute.
Rick, it`s almost too hard for me to take in. The parents went along with this, Rick.
RICK ROSS, CULT EXPERT: Well, I think that they, like many of the parents that I`ve dealt with in groups called cults, were under the sway of that charismatic preacher. And they pretty much went along with him because for a very long time, they gave up their critical thinking, their independent ability to, you know, make their own decisions. And so whatever this man wanted, they went along with him.
And like many other groups, the demands became pretty horrible, and the children suffered for it. And all the children did was have the bad luck to be born into this particular group. And they had no one to defend them. Unfortunately, Nancy, this is not a new thing.
GRACE: Right. I know this is not the first time it`s ever happened.
With me, in addition to Rick Ross, is Lindsay Tornambe, a victim of the pastor, Victor Barnard. Lindsay, when you look back on the 10 years that you were forced to live there, what do you have to say? What are your thoughts on it?
TORNAMBE: I feel like I was robbed of my childhood, my teenage years, you know, experiences I should have had with my mom, my dad, my siblings. My siblings and I were so close before all this happened. I -- I have regret. I mean, I feel -- I don`t know, for a long time, I felt very ashamed of everything that had happened. I felt guilty, like somehow, I had deserved all of this, this kind of life.
I have a lot of anger towards my parents, you know, how they could, you know, just leave their daughter.
GRACE: Lindsay, what do they say now? Now that you`ve confronted them with what happened, what do they say?
TORNAMBE: My mom, the last time I talked with her was July of 2012. And I was trying to go over some specific incidents that happened with Victor, and the last thing she ever said to me was, Well, I know some mistakes were made, but I still believe Victor is a man of God and I`m going to follow him. And she doesn`t want anything to do with me.
And my dad, it`s been very difficult dealing with him because it`s, like, he wants to pretend nothing happened and just, you know, pretend that I`m still his little girl from when I was, like, 5 years old. And you know, he`s denied to me that he knew anything that was going on and that he felt pressured to leave me there because, you know, Victor had so much authority over everyone. So it`s really hard -- it`s really hard for me to deal with him.
GRACE: You know what, Lindsay Tornambe? As hard as this is, as difficult as this is for you, speaking out right now, and as you have done to police, it`s a wake-up call to people across the country to protect their children.
Everyone, the tip line in the search for Victor Barnard is on the screen now, 320-629-8342. He poses as a pastor, but he is a monster. Please, help us put him behind bars.
When we come back, a well respected, established gynecologist tonight under scrutiny, police claiming he photographed scores of female patients during gynecological exams without their knowledge. Talk about a perv!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s been practicing for 30 years, but a patient claims she sees Becton use his cell phone during her exam to take pictures of her private area and buttocks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Live, Arkansas, a well respected, established gynecologist under scrutiny. Police claiming he photographed scores of female patients during gynecological exams without their knowledge. Talk about a pervert. This one has a medical degree. Now women across Arkansas left wondering if they are in Dr. Creepy`s private photo album.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dr. Paul Becton Jr. practicing gynecology for 30 years, he`s taking private pictures of women with his cell phone in the office. A woman who alerts authorities is able to allegedly I.D. five pics of herself. Authorities search the doctor`s phone and find images of women in the deleted files.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: It`s almost unheard of that a gynecologist or O.B. performs an exam without someone else in the room with him, a nurse, or a physician`s assistant. I don`t understand how this whole thing happened. Kyle Garner, news director KYHN, joining me from Arkansas. Now there must be hundreds, if not thousands, of women in Arkansas wondering if they`re in Doctor Creepy`s private photo album. What happened, kyle?
KYLE GARNER: Well, Nancy, I`ve covered stories all over Arkansas, and this is one of the most outrageous I`ve ever seen in my career. An Arkansas gynecologist, Dr. Paul Becton, was allegedly using his cell phone to take upskirt photos of patients during personal exams without consent or knowledge.
GRACE: How did it -- how did it get uncovered, Kyle? With me Kyle Garner, KYHN. For those of you just joining us, a well-respected doctor, take a look at this guy, Dr. Paul Becton Jr., accused of taking photos, we think with his iPhone, of female patients during OBGYN exams. Now women all over Arkansas and beyond afraid they`re in his private photo album. So, how did it get found out, Kyle?
GARNER: What happened was the Arkansas state police along with the local police department began investigating after a woman contacted them saying she was concerned after Becton took out his cell phone during a recent appointment and used it to photograph her quote, pubic region and buttocks.
GRACE: Okay. All right. What I don`t get also, Clark Goldband, is isn`t it the law that you have to have -- a doctor has to have an assistant in there with him or her?
GOLDBAND: Well, Nancy, from everything that I`ve read, it appears there always should be a second person in the room. We have a gynecologist on the show who may be able to speak to that. But, Nancy, here`s what`s interesting. Law enforcement when they obtain the cell phone, which we think may be an iPhone, they found the images not saved just on the phone. But in the deleted files. Take a look at the arrest affidavit. You see it there on your screen. Law enforcement says that it appears these were taken in a medical office during medical examinations, but, they were found in the deleted images section of the hard drive. Law enforcement was able to match up five of these images, according to the female who filed the complaint, with her. However, there are more than five images, and law enforcement is asking the public, Nancy, to call them if they have any information on this doctor.
GRACE: Okay. You know, just looking at him makes me sick. Look at this guy. This is a well-respected, and established, OBGYN. Ladies out there, you`re on alert. Dr. Paul Becton is now accused of taking pictures of ladies during OBGYN exams, hundreds of thousands -- hundreds, maybe thousands of women in Arkansas now concerned. And remember, everyone, these are just charges. He has not been found guilty yet. Let`s wait on a jury for that. Kyle, KYHN, what I don`t understand is, how long did this go on? And is he in jail tonight?
GARNER: Well, Nancy, that`s a great question. While I don`t have any information about the time period, I can tell you that he is right now awaiting a judge`s ruling in the Green County detention center in Paragould, Arkansas.
GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. Alex Sanchez, Randy Kessler. Okay, Alex, I can`t wait to hear your defense on this.
SANCHEZ: Look, I`ve never been examined by a gynecologist and I have no expectation to be examined by a gynecologist, but I think this is --
GRACE: Don`t waste my time.
SANCHEZ: This is much ado about nothing. Doctors use x-ray equipment, mammograms, C.A.T. scans, other types of equipment to record information.
GRACE: All right, stop right there.
SANCHEZ: A camera -- no excuse me -- Nancy--
GRACE: Did you say just much ado about nothing? Shakespeare would roll over in his grave.
SANCHEZ: The camera is a tool. He may have been recording that information so when he`s taking notes to see if there`s some sores or there is cancer. He deleted the photographs. What`s the crime? You`re accusing him of being a pervert. What grounds are you making those accusations?
GRACE: I am. I certainly am, and so is the district attorney.
SANCHEZ: Right. But was he doing it for sexual gratification or was he doing it for legitimate medical purposes? You have no information about that. You`re making baseless allegations at the present time.
GRACE: I think you are saying baseless allegations.
SANCHEZ: That`s right.
GRACE: But it came out just a crazy frothy mix of anger. Randy Kessler, so, are you going to jump on the bandwagon with Alex Sanchez, much ado about nothing? You are?
KESSLER: You bet, Alex is exactly right, there is a reasonable, plausible explanation. This guy sees naked women every day, so to take a picture is sort of like saying oh, I want to see this again. He`s going to see it again the next day and the next day. There might have been a medical reason. We need to know more before you accuse him.
GRACE: Dr. Sujatha Reddy, gynecologist, joining us, you know, Dr. Reddy I`ve never heard of a doctor whipping out their iPhone and taking close-up pictures of ladies` vaginas during -- during a regular exam.
DR. SUJATHA REDDY: Yes, I`ve been in practice 16 years and I can assure you I have never done that. But most importantly here, it was done without the patient knowing. You know, there could be medical reasons to take a photograph, maybe to monitor the progress of a lesion or monitor an infection, but you absolutely have to clear it with the patient. If you don`t ask the patient, that`s absolutely disgusting, because it does seem a little perverted.
GRACE: Dr. Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst, author of "Deal Breakers," Bethany, is it a little disturbing to you that our male defense attorneys are saying this is much ado about nothing?
MARSHALL: Well, would they want their private parts photographed, not only with an iPhone, but a hidden iPhone? I mean this guy, if these allegations are true, he has thousands of victims, and Nancy, they didn`t know, many of them, that they were being photographed. So, that means he concealed the phone in some way on his person in order to take the pictures.
GRACE: Everyone, when we come back, did mixed martial arts star Charles Rowan, known as the Freight Train, fake his own death to cover up a vicious bloody attack and an armed robbery at a gun shop?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Charles "Freight Train" Rowan dies after a terrible car crash.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody`s pretty shocked at this time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He robs a gun store weeks after his death.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: The new phenomenon, mixed martial arts, taking over the country. But tonight, MMA star Charles Rowan, known as the Freight Train, did he fake his own death to cover up a vicious, bloody attack, and an armed robbery at a gun shop?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An MMA fighter dies on the way to a fight. Promoters and fighters rally to raise money for the funeral. But as days go by, no obituary, no death certificate. What happens? Could a dead MMA fighter actually mysteriously come back to life?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Dan O`Donnell, anchor with WIFN, what do we know? Fake his own death? Didn`t -- you know, many people thought he died in a crash, in fact, didn`t his girlfriend call in? I mean, is she part of this?
O`DONNELL: Yes, in fact, she was charged with the attack at this gun store, this robbery right along with him. The only evidence any of his family or friends actually had was the girlfriend saying, oh, by the way, he got into a car crash and died on the way to his fight. There was no death certificate. No funeral. No evidence. No body. There was a makeshift memorial. It turns out that this guy was upstairs in a child`s bedroom listening.
GRACE: Whoa. So, Clark, Dan O`Donnell says that he attended his own memorial?
GOLDBAND: Well, I think -- if that`s how you want to phrase it, he did. He was dead, as far as his friends and family knew. But listening upstairs. He says in an interview with the New York times he was surprised at how upset people were that he passed away. He was hiding. He was afraid to move. He heard the whole thing from upstairs. But Nancy, here`s where it takes a turn. Apparently, this gentleman may have owed some drug dealers quite a large chunk of change and still had to pay up. He thought he was going to steal some guns from a gun store, only the robbery then goes awry.
GRACE: Okay, this is crazy. With me, special guest from Gaylord, John Eubanks, MMA promoter, who held a benefit for Rowan`s family. John, thank you so much for being with us. I mean, mixed martial arts has taken over the whole country. People are fascinated with it. Did you know, how do you know Charlie Rowan?
EUBANKS: Well, Nancy, I`ve known Charlie for a couple of years. He signed up, he was just a local street fighter that signed up at a mixed martial arts event in northern Michigan. In fact, the MMA community has been obviously outraged by Charlie Rowan.
GRACE: Well, let me ask you this. You helped raise money at the Rowan benefit. What happened to the money that you raised, and what did you do, how did you feel when you found out he wasn`t dead at all?
EUBANKS: Oh, we were -- we were -- like I said, we were enraged by this whole thing. We were looking for Mr. Rowan before the police. You see, when we found out about this, we obviously were feeling like we were taken. We were -- we felt like we were robbed. We were under the impression that this gentleman died in a car accident on his way up to a show that he was supposed to compete in. And then about a month and a half later, I seen him on the news that he had robbed a gun store. So of course I was shocked --
GRACE: This is incredible to me. Everybody, mixed martial arts star Charles "Freight Train" Rowan allegedly fakes his own death so he can rob a gun store, a bloody assault ensues. He`s busted. When we come back, a Marine comes home from deployment, takes his family on a celebration trip to Disney, and when they get there, his wife allegedly humiliated by Disney staff who take issue with mommy`s cleavage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- who was wearing a cheetah print tank top with a black lace top over it, says the comment ruined the family vacation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: And now to Disneyland, the happiest place on earth but not for this Marine, who comes home from deployment, takes his family on a celebration trip to Disney, but when he gets there, his wife allegedly humiliated, berated by Disney staff, who take issue with mommy`s cleavage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Disneyland calls itself the happiest place on earth. But be careful what you wear. One California mom says she didn`t have such a happy day there. Benkin (ph), who was wearing a cheetah print tank top with a black lace top over it, says her visit was ruined because of an employee`s comments about her clothing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Those photos of Melissa Benkin, what she claims she was wearing at Disney during the incident. Cliff Albert, KOGO, what the hay? We practically lived at Disney. When I was out in California on "Dancing with the Stars" and in Orlando on various trials. And I never had a problem with Disney. I had a blast at Disney. I want to live at Disney. But do they really attack this mom about her shirt? What`s wrong with her shirt?
ALBERT: Apparently the park employee that confronted her and her husband and their three kids when they walked into the California, Disney`s California adventure park, which is a theme park right next to the Disneyland park there in Anaheim, he apparently told her just flat-out, just out of nowhere, as he walked up to her and told Melissa that, again, you need to pull up your top. He says we have certain dress code here. And you are exposing too much.
GRACE: Oh, no, he did not. Oh. Okay. This is hard for me to take in that this happened at the magical kingdom. Alex Sanchez, Randy, what`s your defense? There`s nothing wrong with her top. Kessler?
KESSLER: We don`t know what prompted them to do that. Disney makes everybody happy. Maybe there were other customers there who were upset or offended. So we got a balancing act. Is it somebody else that`s offended?
GRACE: Upset or offended? What are they, the clothes judge? Is she going to land on the best dressed list? That`s not what Disney is about. It`s hot. She`s there with her children. There is -- you know what, Kessler, I`m going to start attacking you for your clothes.
KESSLER: That`s fine. We`ll go at it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: The magical kingdom not so happy and not so magical when mommy`s cleavage was attacked by Disney employee. Says mommy. Stacey Newman, I find it hard to believe this happened at Disney.
NEWMAN: Oh, no, this went down in Disney. And Nancy, Disney says once they got light of this story, they reached out to Ms. Benkin and have apologized, and taken the appropriate action against this employee.
GRACE: Put Stacey up. Stacey, that`s not enough. Look, I love Disney. I want to move in to Disney because we`ve had nothing but great times there, but this lady needs a lifetime pass to Disney. That`s what I`m saying, that`s what I`m screaming, Stacey. You do not attack a mom about her cleavage in front of her children at Disney, Stacey?
NEWMAN: Yes, but Nancy, remember, they do have a dress code and said if you`re wearing clothing deemed inappropriate for the family-friendly environment, they could tell you to change your clothes or even kick you out of the park.
GRACE: Stacey, I can`t believe you`re even saying that. You know, Bethany Marshall, take a look at this lady`s top. There`s nothing wrong with that. To do that in front of her children, I`m disturbed because I love Disney so much and they did this.
MARSHALL: According to the wires, it was an older employee, he was very upset. One wonders what was going on in his mind. But most importantly, now the children have been frightened. They went to the friendliest place on earth, and now there was a scuffle in front of them, their mother was basically depicted as being overly sexualized. What are they going to think about their mother, about Disneyland, about authority figures? Children are very fragile and vulnerable and they are in a position of trust with society.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Alex Sanchez, what`s your defense?
SANCHEZ: You know, first of all, before we can come to any type of fair evaluation about what happened, I think we need to examine the photographic evidence. And we should look at it from all angles to determine the quality and quantity of the evidence.
GRACE: Okay, you know what, Sanchez, spoken like a true defense attorney. But mommy`s top is fine. And, Disney, if you`re listening tonight, her family needs a lifelong free pass to Disney. That`s what I`m saying.
Let`s stop and remember American hero, Army Sergeant First Class Christopher Shaw, 37, Markham, Illinois. Bronze Star, Purple Heart. Left a track and field scholarship to serve his country. Loved motorcycle sports and his parents, Tanelle (ph) and Walter. Stepfather Willie, two brothers and two sisters. Widow Atina (ph). Five children. Christopher Shaw, American hero.
And tonight, happy birthday to a beautiful lady in Milton, Florida. Ruth Brown turns 97. Isn`t she gorgeous? Dr. Drew up next, everyone. I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern, and until then, good night, friend.
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