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Nancy Grace
Girl Nine Months a Captive in a Shipping Container; Inside Alleged House of Horrors; Sex Offender Poses as Santa Claus; Connecticut Girl Missing
Aired December 18, 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, live, New Hampshire. A school girl walks home from school, vanishes without a trace. After Mommy gets a
curious letter from her girl, she`s found, pale, emaciated, but alive, held prisoner in this shipping container nine long months on the property of 34-
year-old white male Nathaniel Kibby. Investigators dismantling it find three separate rooms soundproofed.
Bombshell tonight. Inside the investigation, reveals details -- shock collars, tasers, eyes duct-taped shut, torture, threats. Tonight, we want
justice!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Kibby has been indicted.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kidnapping.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Held against her will.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Robbery.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Criminal threatening, use of an electronic defense weapon, and felonious use of a firearm, aggravated felonious sexual
assault, indecent exposure, 205 charges against Mr. Kibby.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And live, Baytown (ph), Texas, where a registered sex offender convicted of sexual assault on a 12-year-old little boy caught red-handed
posing as Santa at a local McDonald`s, the pervy Santa Claus spotted with little boys on his lap, snapping photos.
Now, that`s certainly a stocking stuffer! I think I`d rather have a lump of coal!
Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.
Bombshell tonight, live to New Hampshire. A school girl is walking home from school, like all of our children do every day, but this little girl
vanishes without a trace. Then her mother receives a very curious letter from her child herself. The school girl then shows up pale, emaciated, but
alive. Was this little girl held prisoner in this shipping container nine long months, the storage box on the alleged kidnapper`s property, 34-year-
old white male Nathaniel Kibby? Surrounded by crime scene tape, investigators tear it apart and find three separate rooms all soundproofed.
Bombshell tonight. We go inside the investigation and learn horrific details, including the use of a choke collar, an electric choke collar,
tasers, duct-taping eyes shut, complete torture of this child.
And now Kibby wants a bond? He wants to walk free? No! And not only that, lawyers argue that all of the counts against him for all of the evil
that he performed on this school girl should all be run consecutively at the same time?
Could he get a sentence as light as 15 years and be out in 7 years, holding a child, a little school girl, in a storage container in his back yard --
none of the neighbors had any idea what was going on -- going to the effort to soundproof each of the three rooms he built himself to hold this child,
putting on her, according to the details we learn tonight, one of those bark collars you put on a dog that shocks the dog whenever it barks,
tasering her feet, and he actually thinks in these United States he can get a bond? Tonight, we want justice!
And now straight out to Candace Trunzo, senior news editor with DailyMail.com. Candace Trunzo, if I have to leave this studio and go there
myself and make a cameo appearance, I would fight him tooth and nail that he will never get a bond!
CANDACE TRUNZO, DAILYMAIL.COM (via telephone): I don`t think he will. I think that Kibby could go to prison for 1,644 years, which, if all of these
charges hold, and I`m pretty sure they will, that`s exactly what`s going to happen to...
GRACE: Well, Candace, you know, you`re trying to apply logic to an illogical situation because I can assure you, his fleet of defense
attorneys are arguing that all of his counts, since they arose from the same incident that lasted nine months -- that they should be run
concurrent, or at the same time. So if you give 15 years on each count, when you add them up, yes, but when you run them concurrently, which is
what his lawyers want, to all run at the same time, that`s the equivalent of a 15 to 20-year sentence. And if he gets out for good time, he could be
out in 7 to 10 years for all of the pain and anguish he has caused.
We are learning that this little school girl, who was snatched on her way home from school, walking home, was held in this storage container -- and
we are learning this from investigative documents that we have obtained -- for nine months.
It was divided into three soundproof rooms built by Nathaniel Kibby himself, according to police. He would, according to these documents, put
a T-shirt over her face, duct tape her eyes closed under the T-shirt, and then put a motorcycle helmet over her head. She could hardly breathe. And
he would keep her this way for days on end.
Candace Trunzo, what are the allegations that we are learning from the documents we have obtained?
TRUNZO: Well, there are many. There are about 80 allegations of aggravated felonious sexual assault, another 80 of felonious sexual
assault. Felonious sexual assault, as you know, Nancy, but maybe your audience doesn`t, is actual penetration of this child. In addition,
criminal use of an electronic defense, which is probably something like cattle prod, criminal...
GRACE: Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait! Let`s -- I don`t want to go (INAUDIBLE) with that. Unleash the lawyers. Joining me, Robert Schalk out of New
York, Mike Gottlieb, defense attorney out of Fort Lauderdale.
All right, Gottlieb, let`s start with you. Did you hear Candace Trunzo from DailyMail?
MIKE GOTTLIEB, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I did hear her. I didn`t hear anything...
GRACE: A cattle prod on a school girl.
GOTTLIEB: I didn`t hear anything about a cattle prod. I heard about...
GRACE: Well, you know now.
GOTTLIEB: ... stun guns. It`s obviously horrific. It`s obviously horrific. But you know, those are the facts of the case. They still need
to be proven, Nancy, and those facts have not yet been proven. They`re allegations...
GRACE: Why should he get bond before trial?
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Give me one reason, one reason he should get bond.
GOTTLIEB: Easy. It`s because the United States Constitution says that we are innocent unless until proven guilty beyond...
GRACE: That may be true, but he should...
GOTTLIEB: ... to the exclusion of every reasonable doubt.
GRACE: ... sit behind bars and be innocent, according to you.
GOTTLIEB: Well, that...
GRACE: Why should he get out and walk free?
GOTTLIEB: That`s an opinion. Because he is innocent until proven guilty. You have to weigh the evidence, and we have to weigh the evidence and
determine...
GRACE: OK, can we just get real for a moment?
GOTTLIEB: ... whether or not there`s enough evidence to incarcerate him.
GRACE: Can we just get real for a moment, all right? Our viewers are legal eagles. They know about bond, Schalk and Gottlieb, so don`t try to
pull the wool over their eyes. They know that you are entitled to a bond hearing, but not necessarily entitled to a bond. What about that, Schalk?
ROBERT SCHALK, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, there`s a process, Nancy. You have a prosecutor, a defense attorney and a judge, and the defense attorney`s
going to make the argument that he`s not a flight risk, he`s got ties in the community, and they`re going to...
GRACE: What ties?
SCHALK: Listen, the bond right now -- the bond right now`s a million dollars, if he hasn`t made it...
GRACE: Put him up! And what about the fact that the lawyers want a bond reduction? They want him out walking free on bond.
SCHALK: They`re entitled to make that application!
GRACE: This guy held a school girl for nine months and used a choke collar and a cattle prod on her!
SCHALK: So this person should have his rights taken away for his lawyers to make an application? Is that what you`re saying?
GRACE: I`m saying very plainly, however the two of you want to misconstrue it, is that he should not get a bond. He should not have a bond reduction.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s a judge`s decision, Nancy, not yours. It`s the judge`s decision.
GRACE: Well, I know that! I know, of course, it`s a judge`s decision. It`s neither yours nor mine decision.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right!
GRACE: But I am arguing against it, and you two have made the suggestion that he should have a bond lowered.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, the judge is going to make the decision based upon all the facts. I -- again, the facts are horrific. Again, it`s
currently a million dollars. Do I think it`s going to be...
GRACE: Then why should he...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... successful? Probably not, but...
GRACE: ... have a bond reduction?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... he`s entitled to make the application.
GRACE: Why should he get out?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because, Nancy, bond...
GRACE: Mike Gottlieb, just give me one reason why he should get out.
GOTTLIEB: He should get out because he`s innocent until proven guilty. What`s the -- what are -- what`s the evidence? Right now, you have an
allegation. Let`s talk -- let`s hear about DNA. Let`s hear about fingerprints. Let`s hear about proof. I haven`t heard anything other than
allegations, and that`s why he should be entitled to a bond.
GRACE: Well, could you explain, then -- could you explain, Mr. Gottlieb, why it is that there are so many people sitting in jail waiting for their
trial? It`s because they don`t get bond.
GOTTLIEB: Because they can`t afford it!
GRACE: The crimes are so heinous, they can`t get a bond!
GOTTLIEB: Well, maybe it`s because the system of justice isn`t always fair, Nancy. Isn`t that possible...
GRACE: OK, you know what?
GOTTLIEB: ... that we`ve wrongfully -- we have wrongful -- we have exonerations every single day in the United States, people who have been
wrongfully convicted.
GRACE: The girl identifies him, even though -- Candace Trunzo, isn`t it true that according to these police documents, he told her he would kill
her, her family, her pet dog if she ever revealed who he was?
TRUNZO: Absolutely. He threatened her life and he threatened her with a firearm, as well. And of course, she was -- what else could she do? I
mean, she tried to -- she wrote to her mom at one point and she tried to scribble a secret message with her fingernail to let her mom know where she
was. But he knew.
I mean, he was -- he was not a stupid guy. He knew she was trying to get free, and he ripped up the letter, and she wrote another one. So at least
at some point in these nine months, her mom knew that she was alive. But I mean, can you imagine the torture of her, of the girl, of her mother, her
family? Unbelievable!
GRACE: Well, everybody, you are seeing photos from DailyMail.com. And that is the storage container, according to police, the red one, where
Nathaniel Kibby held a school girl for nine months -- nine months!
Now, the lawyers tonight, Mike Gottlieb out of Fort Lauderdale and Robert Schalk out of New York, argue that this guy, Nathaniel Kibby, should get a
bond reduction and walk free in order to help his lawyer prepare for trial.
I absolutely oppose any bond reduction. I mean, to get a bond, there are several -- several things the judge considers. One, are you a flight risk?
Two, are you a danger to yourself or others? Three, will you intimidate witnesses? Will you repeat your crime again? Those are four of the
several things the judge considers.
OK, number one, look at this indictment. Liz, can you let me show this? Look at this thing! Just pages and pages and pages, 200-plus counts of
charges. Will he repeat offend again? He`s already done it 200 times, Gottlieb, according to police! If you don`t know a horse, look at his
track record. What makes you think he won`t do it again?
GOTTLIEB: Oftentimes, the prosecution will come out with a weighty indictment because when you look at the charges, they`re so voluminous, it
looks like it`s hard to fight, and that`s oftentimes a signal that they really don`t have a lot of evidence. It`s used to intimidate defendants
not to take...
GRACE: Don`t...
GOTTLIEB: ... the case to trial and instead to enter into a plea bargain.
GRACE: Don`t have a lot of evidence. Michael Christian, let`s talk about the evidence, what we know happened to this school girl on her way home,
walking home off the school bus.
MICHAEL CHRISTIAN, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER (via telephone): Nancy...
GRACE: In that container, that he had soundproofed into three rooms -- believe me, that shipping container did not come with three separate rooms,
each one soundproofed. He did that specifically to hold this girl and sexually torture her.
What is the evidence that was found, Michael Christian, that corroborates the school girl`s story?
CHRISTIAN: Well, she -- I (ph) was able to identify him, Nancy, Nathaniel Kibby, because she told police that he had handed her a cookbook at one
point, and she saw his name, Nate Kibby, inside. Police were able to find that cookbook. She was also able to tell the police that she remembered a
framed Declaration of Independence on the wall, and a leopard print blanket on a bed...
GRACE: The Declaration of Independence? Well, I hope he remembers you have a right to remain silent!
Michael, what I`m asking for is -- the girl says he duct taped her eyes, put a T-shirt over her head, made her wear a motorcycle helmet over that,
sexually molested her, put a bark collar on her neck that would zap her, electrocute her, if she made a sound, tasered her.
Were any of those items found on the premises.
CHRISTIAN: Police have not revealed that, Nancy, but they are charges in the indictment, so we can only assume police have evidence to back that up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A house of horrors on this Gorham, New Hampshire, property. Kibby used a dog shock collar on the girl in order to keep her
quiet, and raped her multiple times. He fed her water through an aquarium tube. He taped her eyes shut for an extended period of time, and strangled
her by placing a gag in her mouth, covering her head and face with a shirt and placing a motorcycle helmet on her head.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And now he wants a bond reduction. He wants to walk free and assist his lawyer from outside prison walls in his upcoming trial. We
oppose that.
This school girl was snatched on her way home from school after she got off the school bus. She was held, according to police, in that storage
container. It had been divided into three separate rooms, each one soundproofed -- choke collars, cattle prods, tasers, some of the items
alleged in the indictment used on this little girl. Tonight, we want justice! That community should be up in arms at the thought this guy will
ever walk out on bond.
With me right now, Katie Beers, a kidnapping victim held in an underground dungeon, author of "Buried Memories." Katie, I know that when you heard
about this story -- we`re showing the dungeon where Katie was held captive -- that you had a very strong reaction.
Katie, what would lure a school girl on her way home from school? Why would she go up to a car or a truck and speak to someone?
KATIE BEERS, KIDNAPPING VICTIM (via telephone): Maybe they were asking directions. Maybe it was somebody that she had seen in the community and,
Oh, I`ve seen him around sporting events, or something like that. I wouldn`t think that a 14-year-old girl would go up to somebody that
appeared to have ill intentions. I don`t think she would go up to somebody who she didn`t maybe recognize or didn`t look like a good citizen.
But apparently, that`s what ended up happening. She went to this man. He had such ill intentions of kidnapping her and assaulting her. And God only
knows what else he had in store for her before she was released.
GRACE: Well, you know, Katie, I`ve gone over it and over it and over it with my two children, and they`re 7, about stranger danger. And then I`ll
be with them, of course, at a playground or a park. If somebody walks up to them, they`ll just walk off right after I told them about stranger
danger. I think that a child`s mind cannot comprehend the danger out there. And just -- they hear you talking, and they go, Yes, but then they
don`t comprehend it. They don`t understand it.
Katie -- with me is Katie Beers, who was kidnapped, held in an underground dungeon. Katie, how were you kidnapped? How were you lured?
BEERS: The man that kidnapped me -- not even the man, the monster that kidnapped me was somebody that I had known for literally my entire life.
It was somebody that was known to me.
He actually, for about six months before actually being able to kidnap me, tried luring me away from my godmother`s house for months and months. He`d
buy me a toy. He`d buy me ice cream. He`d take me somewhere fun that a kid would want to go. And each time, I was just too scared to go. And
thank God because nobody would have ever known that he was the last person with me.
On the day that he actually had abducted me, it was two days before my 10th birthday, and I was with my godmother and she told me that I can go with
Esposito (ph), even though my biological mother had given me no reason, but she told me that I was not allowed to be with him. And Inghilleri said, Go
ahead, go, you`re fine, you`re fine -- and then the next thing I know, he has me in an underground dungeon, restraining me against my will, and
basically no view of the outside world at all.
GRACE: Did you think when you were in that dungeon that you would ever get out alive? What kept you going?
BEERS: The one thing that kept me going was I did have a television in the smaller coffin-size box, so I was able to see the news reports and media
reports of people in the community looking out for me and holding out hope that I was still alive. And then I saw my godmother and my biological
mother praying for me to come home and hoping that I`d come home. So the fact that I knew that people were still looking for me, that kept me --
that kept my energy alive.
GRACE: With me, taking your calls, Katie Beers, held in an underground dungeon. At this hour, we understand that Nathaniel Kibby, a 34-year-old
white male who, according to police, held a school girl against her will in a storage container in his back yard, soundproofed, molesting her, tasering
her, using a cattle prod on her, a bark collar on her neck -- now wants a bond reduction.
Straight out to the lines. Hi, Michelle. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can I please ask the question, could this crazy guy have maybe followed her or stalked her, and now just suddenly out of the
blue, he kidnapped her?
GRACE: You know, Michelle, I`ve been wondering that myself.
Too Candace Trunzo, senior news editor, DailyMail.com. Candace, how did he identify, how did he target this school girl? We`re not saying her name or
showing her photo. How did he identify or target her?
TRUNZO: Look, there`s no evidence, Nancy, at this point, that he had any prior knowledge of the girl or that she knew him. So it is very possible
that he was just stalking the school where she went to school and that, you know, she`s a pretty girl and that she struck his sick fancy, and that`s
how -- that`s how it happened.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did not return home after school.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Investigators searched Nathaniel Kibby`s home and a shipping container on his property.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Held against her will.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And raped her multiple times.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Tonight, we learn that the man charged with snatching a little school girl as she was on her way home from school and holding her prisoner
for nine months -- molesting her, assaulting her, keeping her with her eyes duct-taped shut, a T-shirt over her head, a motorcycle helmet over that,
bound, using a bark collar on her, whenever she would speak, it would zap her -- he wants a bond reduction. He wants to get out of jail while he
awaits trail. We are absolutely opposed to that.
We are also opposed to his counts running concurrently or at the same time. If he gets 20 years, maxing out on each count but they all run at the same
time, that means he`s got a 20-year sentence. He could be out in 7 to 10 years. For what he did to this girl? No way!
Straight out to special guest Katie Beers, kidnapped, a child victim, kidnapped at age 10, held in an underground dungeon, author of "Buried
Memories." Katie, again, thank you for being with us. For our viewers that can`t really absorb what has been done to this school girl, please
take us into your mind. When you had been held in that underground dungeon for so long, what were you thinking? What were you feeling? Did you give
up hope?
BEERS: I don`t think I ever gave up hope. I kept hope alive because I was really hoping that eventually Esposito would come to his senses and let me
go. The thing that kept me going was I just wanted to get home. I endured daily torture by Esposito. I was sexually assaulted. I was raped. I was
physically abused. Anything that you can imagine, I was restrained by my neck by a chain.
It`s just I can sympathize with this young victim so well and it`s so sad that there is more than one person that has ever had to go through the hell
that I had gone through. Hers is just elongated and so much more severe. It`s just -- it`s devastating to think about.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Kibby has been indicted. Kidnapping.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Held against her well.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Robbery. Criminal threatening. Use of an electronic defense weapon. Felonious use of a firearm. Aggravated felonious sexual
assault. Indecent exposure. Two hundred and five charges against Mr. Kibby.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Welcome back.
According to police documents that we have managed to get our hands on, this guy built from a storage container three separate rooms and sound
proofed them so nobody in his neighborhood could ever hear the school girl that he snatched on her way off the school bus, holding her for nine
horrible months, torturing her with a cattle prod, a taser, a bark collar that would electrocute her if she made a sound.
Possibly the worst thing aside from the sex assaults on the girl, duck taping her eyes, then putting a T-shirt over her head and a motorcycle
helmet over that.
Can you imagine that existence for nine months?
Of course, the miracle is that the girl is alive, but she is in such a disturbed state and upset state now.
Can you imagine what this will do to her for the rest of her life? And he dares to want a bond reduction? A bond modification? And walk free while
he awaits trial? No way.
With me is special guest Katie Beers, a child kidnapping victim that was held in an underground dungeon. The author of "Buried Memories."
Katie, again, thank you for being with us. I mean, I prosecuted many, many kidnapping cases, many, many child assault, molestation cases, but never a
child that was held for this extended period of time.
Can you imagine your ordeal for nine months, nearly a year, Katie?
BEERS: Oh, my gosh, it would just be absolutely devastating is the only word that I can use to describe it. Just absolutely horrible, horrible.
GRACE: What was the worst part, Katie?
BEERS: The worst part was being held in a room without sunlight. I had no sunlight for 17 days. The first nine and a half, 10 years of my life were
hellish in it and of themselves but just to be held without sunlight and have these simple necessities held from you, getting a drink whenever you
want, going to the restroom whenever you want, being held from you, you can`t do it.
GRACE: So you would say, Katie, that looking back as a child kidnap victim that the worst thing compared to being away from your family, compared to
daily sex assaults, compared to what the little bit you were given to eat and drink, the worst thing was being closed up away from the sunlight?
BEERS: Yes, there was literally no way to get out. There was no way to get out. At least when I was a child being sexually abused, I could get
out. I could see the outside. I know that there was a world out there but for me, for 17 days, my world literally stopped.
GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. Robert Schalk and Mike Gottlieb -- Gottlieb out of Fort Lauderdale, Schalk out of New York.
All right, Mike Gottlieb, you have heard what a child goes through and this schoolgirl was held for nine months and you still think he deserves a bond
modification? That he, Nathaniel Kibby, should walk free until he goes to trial?
GOTTLIEB: Nancy, again, a bond modification is based on, you know, one of the criteria of whether or not the offender can afford the bond. The bond
is set at a million dollars. Then we weigh the evidence. There is evidence, there`s allegations in this case that haven`t yet been proven.
We don`t know the -- the police are holding them back. Yes, it is appropriate for the court to revisit the bond. He`s innocent until proven
guilty, and the prosecution and the judge need to -- the judge needs to make an appropriate decision based on the weight of the evidence that the
prosecutor can offer if they have any.
GRACE: Schalk?
SCHALK: Yes, Nancy, I mean, let`s just say it`s $1 million. He needs 100 grand in premium then he needs $900,000 in collateral. But if the judge
wanted --
GRACE: Are you trying to make me care?
SCHALK: No, I`m just saying, it`s a substantial sum of money that most Americans, 99 percent of Americans can`t make.
GRACE: Well, most Americans do not hold a schoolgirl prisoner for nine months.
SCHALK: Secondarily to that if the judge is in fear --
GRACE: And sexually torture her.
SCHALK: If the judge is in fear of him leaving, I -- if I was his attorney I would submit a GPS tracking system on his ankle to ensure that they know
his whereabouts at all time. There are ways to ensure that --
GRACE: I would suggest a bark collar around his neck just like he did to this little girl. That`s what I would suggest.
To Dr. Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst, author of "Dealbreakers."
Bethany, I can`t get into the mindset, he was doing this hiding her in plain sight. She was right there in his backyard.
BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST, AUTHOR OF "DEALBREAKERS": Right.
GRACE: That was the very close knit neighborhood. They could see the storage container back there. They didn`t like the storage container out
on the property. There is really nothing they could do about it. They had no idea he was holding a little girl in there.
MARSHALL: And you know, when you think about storage containers, this guy is a sexual sadist, right? And so he organizes his whole life around the
compulsion, the sexual sadism which he hangs out near school, that`s where he abducted her, has this big locker, it`s all outfitted. But it`s easy to
sexual sadism but what does that mean to the victim?
Nancy, when she had duck tape on her closed eyes, it ripped off all her eyelashes when he was pulling that off most likely. The bark collar, he
probably inflicted severe pain and then when she would cry out in pain, she would be shocked.
And these are the cattle prod, these are only the things we know of. Can you imagine what we don`t know? Because for this perpetrator inflicting
pain was a way to increase his sexual satisfaction. It was a way to stimulate sexual arousal. So that`s what this whole nine-month period was
about for him, and chances are the sexual torture or the torture to achieve his sexual satisfaction escalated over that nine-month period and then we
don`t even know about the psychological torture.
He may have told her, Nancy, that the family was dead, the dog was dead, no one was looking for her. Unlike Katie, who thank God had a television in
her little coffin, I think this female victim had no way to know what was going on in the outside world. What she really needs now is a very stable
environment, nutrition, a safe surrounding and support from her family.
GRACE: To Dr. Joye M. Carter, chief forensic pathologist, Marion County, author of "I Speak for the Dead."
Dr. Carter, this little schoolgirl has sustained permanent scarring on her neck we believe from the bark collar, why?
DR. JOYE M. CARTER, CHIEF FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST, MARION COUNTY: Well, she has received burns. These are small electrical burns emitted with a lot of
pain that can break the skin. Chronic scars.
GRACE: To Candace Trunzo, senior news editor, dailymail.com.
Candace, when is this going to trial? I mean, if he does get a bond modification, he gets out on bond, when is he supposed to go to trial?
TRUNZO: This is supposed to go to trial in a few months. So it could be that long.
But, Nancy, I don`t see how that`s going to happen, I really don`t. I mean, these counts are serious. This is a small community. Everybody
knows what this girl went through. They are not going to let this guy out and, you know, he`s going to be in jail for a long, long time.
GRACE: Candace, Candace Trunzo, I hope you`re right.
Everyone, case alert. Social media makes a difference. Two suspects tonight booked on the assault of a 16-year-old Texas girl. It goes viral
when attack photos are posted under hashtag jadapose. The 16-year-old girl Jada bravely choosing to come forward.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: And now live to Baytown, Texas. A registered sex offender convicted of sex assault on a 12-year-old little boy, busted, caught red
handed, posing as Santa at the local McDonald`s. The pervey Santa Claus spotted with little boys on his lap snapping photos. Now that certainly is
a stocking stuffer. I think I would rather get a lump of coal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: They handcuffed Burbank and began to question him. It turns out he wasn`t breaking the law.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Had them children on his lap. However unsettling it is for parents to hear that, it`s not a violation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very, very scary.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m kind of thinking better keep an eye on Santa.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: OK. So now I`ve got to worry about Santa Claus, too? Look at this guy, convicted, not just charged. Convicted of sex molest on a 12-year-old
little boy, and now he`s spotted, busted, caught red handed at a local McDonald`s posing as Santa, snapping photos, holding little boys up in his
lap.
Brett Larson, investigative reporter, please tell me I`m wrong.
BRETT LARSON, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Nancy, I wish you were wrong. But the sex offending Santa was apparently on the menu. Please received this
anonymous tip and that`s what led them to the trail of the -- I guess we say Sneaky Santa? I mean, this is terrible. Noticeably parents are
outraged by this.
GRACE: But Justin Freiman, I`m hearing that it`s not a crime. If he`s a registered sex offender then how is he allowed to pose as Santa and put
little boys -- after he molested a 12-year-old boy.
JUSTIN FREIMAN, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Nancy, there`s --
GRACE: Then why does he have little boys up in his lap taking photos? Why is that? What`s going on in Texas?
FREIMAN: In Texas, there`s actually very few jobs that he couldn`t have. He couldn`t operate a bus, a taxi cab, he can`t operate rides at an
amusement park or work in a person`s home if there`s nobody else supervising him. So being Santa, it`s OK.
GRACE: But Robert Schalk and Mike Gottlieb, he can`t work in an amusement park running a machine, but he can sit with little boys up in his lap and
take photos dressed as Santa, Mike Gottlieb?
GOTTLIEB: Well, Clearly McDonald`s or whoever he was working for should have screened him a little better for this job.
GRACE: It`s their fault?
GOTTLIEB: But the reason the police -- well, no, but the reason the police released him --
GRACE: But are you trying to say it`s McDonald`s fault? That this guy is --
(CROSSTALK)
GOTTLIEB: I`m suggesting they should have screened him better for the job. But the reason the police let him go was there was no evidence that he did
anything wrong while in the Santa costume. There`s no evidence he improperly touched any child.
The question is, was Santa naughty or nice? And in this case, Santa was nice, Nancy.
GRACE: I don`t think it`s nice, Robert Schalk, for a registered sex offender and he knows darn well if McDonald`s knew about his history. He
would not be Santa, bouncing little boys on his lap. Think about it, Schalk.
SCHALK: Well, he wasn`t -- he wasn`t breaking the law because he wasn`t on parole or probation.
GRACE: I blame this guy. He is the sex offender. He is the one dressing up as Santa, putting little boys up in his lap.
SCHALK: He -- it`s not illegal for him to have this job. It`s not illegal for him to do what he did. He was not on probation, he was not on parole.
I mean, if you want to be mad at someone, be mad at Texas.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: You know, very quickly I want to tell you about a little Connecticut girl missing. So many times when we try to find a missing
child, nobody cares outside of the child`s family. But tonight, a TV superstar cares.
Joining me is Rosie O`Donnell.
Rosie, thank you so much for being with us. How did you become involved in helping to find Carolyn?
ROSIE O`DONNELL, CO-HOST, "THE VIEW": Carolyn is a family friend. I know her parents, and our children knew each other or know each other. And when
I heard that she was missing, you know, it is every parent`s worst fear and they reached out to me and asked if I would help in any way by publicizing
her disappearance.
And so I did so on "The View." And when I saw you, Nancy, and I asked you if you could help, you said yes right away. So I want to thank you for
that.
GRACE: You know, Rosie, I`m so worried about her at this point. What do you think?
O`DONNELL: You know, I`m very worried, too, as are her parents. And needless to say they`re distraught as any parent would be. You know,
Carolyn is in need of medication that she left at the house along with her cell phone and any form of identification. And, you know, she is a girl
who is a lot younger than her chronological age. She`s a kind girl, but she doesn`t often make decisions in her best interest.
So, you know, the family is concerned for her safety and also for the fact that, you know, she`s been without her medication that she needs for now
for a few months. And every day that goes by, you know, it`s endless for all of those who love her.
GRACE: Rosie O`Donnell, I`m curious, do you think her being labeled a runaway at the beginning has hurt the search for Carolyn?
O`DONNELL: You know, I think that the fact that people don`t understand the case maybe as well as they could. You know, I think Carolyn`s family,
they`re comfortable with us -- with me telling you that, you know, she has some psychological issues, and many teens do, as many teens need help and
guidance during those years before they become an adult. You know, and, you know, listen, it`s not a typical runaway.
This is a child who is in need of care, of care for her mental health, and of care for her physical well-being, as well. So, you know, to label this
a runaway case is really inaccurate. It doesn`t tell the whole story. And so I`m so grateful to you, Nancy, for telling people that this is not a
typical case, and this girl has been missing for so long that it`s hard not to fear the worst.
I would just tell Carolyn that her family loves her, that she`s not in any trouble. That we just -- you know, all want her to come home safe and to
be protected and get the help that she needs.
And I think sometimes for teenagers, Nancy, they get so confused. They sometimes act impulsively and then think that there`s no coming back.
Well, there`s coming back. Her parents are waiting with open arms and all the people that are in her life are prepared and ready to help in any way
that she needs once we get her safely home.
So, Carolyn, please reach out, call your mom, call your dad, call one of your friends, just let us know that you`re alive and that you`re -- you
know, believe that you`re welcome home because you are.
GRACE: You know what, let`s stop and remember, American hero Army Private David Dietrich, 21, Marysville, Pennsylvania. Bronze Star, a Life scout
and fire department volunteer. Parents Rose and William, sister Stacy.
David Dietrich, American hero.
Again this year, thank you to Sean for the best waffles in the world at Waffle House. And for this Christmas mug that she gave the twins.
And everybody, I wanted to share with all of you who helped me through my pregnancy and shared the last seven Christmases with me and the twins.
This is their Christmas picture with Santa. And here they are, with a special treat for you, from piano recital.
And for all of us who still seek the Prince of Peace, Merry Christmas, and Happy Hanukkah to so many of you.
Drew up next. I`ll see you tomorrow night 8:00 sharp eastern. And until then, good night, friend.
END
