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Nancy Grace
Child Beating Caught on Video. Aired 8-9:00p ET
Aired June 30, 2015 - 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. A little boy in a seemingly quiet suburban neighborhood gets the beating of a lifetime from a
stranger, no less, as grown men stand around watching, laughing, even videoing this brutality on a child. Bombshell tonight. We want to know,
who is this man?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You ever going to steal again?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Never in my life!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You ever going to steal again? I didn`t even hit you hard. Turn around. Turn around.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ow! Please!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got about three more licks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And live Tennessee, fears mounting for a school girl who goes missing with a convicted child molester.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fourteen-year-old Hailey Wilson (ph) showing up in these surveillance pictures from a store in Marion (ph), North Carolina.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody knows this man, so he`s -- he`s just a total stranger.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Which is why they`re worried sick.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) I`ll just ask you to be man enough to bring her home safe.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A heartbreaking sight for the Wilson family, who hasn`t seen their daughter in days.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.
Bombshell tonight. A little boy in a seemingly quiet suburban neighborhood gets the beating of a lifetime from a stranger, no less, as
grown men stand around watching and laughing, egging it on, even videoing the brutality on a child. We want to know, who is this man?
I want to warn you this is very disturbing. Try to focus on the perpetrator. Play it, Liz.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That hurts!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Turn around. Don`t move your hand. It`s a whupping.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It hurts!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Turn around.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m sorry!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know you`re sorry. Tell them. You ever going to steal again?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Never in my life!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You ever going to steal gain?
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ow! Ow!
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ow!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got about three more licks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That hurts. I`m sorry! I`m so sorry. I`m sorry! I`m sorry!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: To Dan O`Donnell, anchor with WISN. Dan, extremely upsetting. I want to know who this man is. It`s not the boy`s father. It`s not his
uncle. It`s not a relative. Take a look at this perpetrator, Dan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ow!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want you to go ahead, bro.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m sorry. It hurts!
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Move your hand. It`s a whupping.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ow!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s a whupping. Turn around, brother. It`s a whupping.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He stole his (EXPLETIVE DELETED), too.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m sorry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know you`re sorry, brother.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You ever going to steal again?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Never in my life!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You ever going to steal again? I didn`t even hit you hard. Turn around.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ow! Ow! Please!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got about three more licks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It hurts! Oh!
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m sorry. I`m so sorry. I`m sorry!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tell them you`re sorry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m sorry! I`m sorry!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: OK, what we`re trying to do is identify the man who was beating this child. I want to go straight out to Ben Levitan,
telecommunications expert and security expert.
This was actually posted on Facebook. Look at the guy`s hat . From what I can see, he`s either got long dreads or long braids because in the
video, I could see them swinging around. He looks to be between 5-7 and 5- 10. That`s all I can tell for now. I know that he`s an African-American. I know he`s got long dreads or braids. He wears (ph) this hat frequently.
Look at the background. You see a blue house, a white house, another blue house, fences, a suburban setting with a back yard and front yard.
OK, where did this happen? Who is this guy? And then I`ll get to the beating.
Ben Levitan, help me find this guy. What can you tell me?
BEN LEVITAN, TELECOMMUNICATIONS EXPERT (via telephone): Nancy, this is not going to be difficult. This is a pretty horrible video. The way
we`re going to catch this guy is what you don`t see on this video. (INAUDIBLE) three places where we`ve got the location to where this video
was taken. And this is pretty easy.
[20:05:09]Number one, Facebook knows the computer, the specific computer that uploaded that video. They can get it down to a house
address. They also know who the user is who uploaded it.
GRACE: Hold on just a second. Hold on, Ben. Dr. Vincent DiMaio, forensic pathologist joining me out of San Antonio. Dr. DiMaio, the school
boy keeps grabbing his front end, his crotch. And I`m wondering if the belt is coming through his legs and hitting his scrotum or penis because he
keeps grabbing the front side instead of his rear end.
I mean, I know his skin is going to be lacerated. I know his skin is going to be cut open. And I know he`s going to be covered in horrible
bruises. But why is he grabbing his front end, as well? Is the belt coming through between his legs?
DR. VINCENT DIMAIO, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST (via telephone): I don`t think so. But I think what`s happening is the buttocks are being jammed
against his scrotum. So you know, it`s protecting the scrotum to a certain degree. But he`s still getting blows to the scrotum, but not directly by
the belt.
GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. Joining me, Kirby Clements out of Atlanta, Misty Marris out of New York. Also joining me out of Colorado
Springs, director of counseling services, Focus on the Family, Jared Pingleton. To all of you, thank you for being with us.
First of all, to you, Jared. Let`s talk about spanking. You think it`s OK, right?
JARED PINGLETON, FOCUS ON THE FAMILY: Well, what this video depicts and what spanking is could not be more diametrically opposed.
GRACE: So what does that mean ? Yes, no, maybe?
PINGLETON: Well, spanking lovingly administered and properly understood and carefully and thoughtfully carried out can be an effective
tool in the parents` toolbox, yes.
GRACE: OK. I got spanked by my grandmother with a switch that I had to go pick. My mother and my father, however, no spanking. So why do you
say, Jared Pingleton of Focus on the family -- why do you say this is not a spanking? I don`t think it`s a spanking, either. I think it`s a beating.
I think it`s child abuse. And I want this man behind bars.
PINGLETON: Absolutely. Absolutely.
GRACE: I want the people behind bars to give him the same kind of beating that he`s giving this little boy! This is not even his relative,
which really doesn`t matter, Jared Pingleton. If somebody did this to my child, even if my child had done something wrong -- now, he`s accusing this
little boy of stealing his pants. He was out somewhere and he said -- the grown man says he had his wallet or his driver`s license or his watch or
something in his pants and that the boy stole it, ran off with it.
And this is what happens? So explain to me, Jared Pingleton, why so many people say, Oh, it was for the boy`s own good if he stole the pants.
PINGLETON: Well, thank you, Nancy, for inviting me to be a guest on your program. And I very much commend and support you for your advocacy of
and protection to children, which I fully support and agree. This violent vigilante kind of episode has nothing to do with spanking, and yes, should
be fully prosecuted to the extent of the law. But it`s not associated with spanking.
GRACE: So you don`t think this is spanking. You -- what would you call this then?
PINGLETON: No, ma`am. I would call this a horrible physical assault that is filled with violence and punitive anger. It has nothing to do with
spanking.
GRACE: With me, Jared Pingleton, Focus on the Family. To Kirby Clements and Misty Marris. All right, Kirby Clements, let`s hear your
defense.
KIRBY CLEMENTS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, my defense is, number one, let`s put this thing in context. You have no medical records to suggest
that this child has welts or tears or lacerations. That`s pure guesswork on your part.
GRACE: Oh, so I should believe you and not my lying eyes. OK. Go ahead.
CLEMENTS: Show me the blood on that video. You don`t see it. That`s number one. Number two, this little boy had a problem with stealing.
That`s the reality. His mother didn`t want him in some home.
GRACE: I don`t know that. I don`t know that! I don`t know anything about that!
CLEMENTS: It`s just as credible as your belief that this little boy had blood on his pants.
GRACE: Because I can see what`s happening to him!
CLEMENTS: No! You know, let me tell you something. Spanking doesn`t look good, doesn`t sound good...
GRACE: That`s not spanking! That is beating.
CLEMENTS: Show me a spanking that meets your definition, Nancy. You`re not going to find one.
GRACE: Yes, I...
CLEMENTS: Show me one!
GRACE: Yes, I have spanked Lucy and John David on their booties...
(CROSSTALK)
CLEMENTS: Were they 14? They`re not 14. This is a big kid.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: I don`t know this boy`s age. You`re pulling that out of a hat.
(CROSSTALK)
CLEMENTS: Well, he`s not 6, unless he`s a giant.
GRACE: ... the beating! The beating!
[20:10:03]CLEMENTS: He gave this boy a whipping. There`s no injury there. We don`t like how it looks. But I would suggest to you, barring
some medical testimony that this child was injured, in which case it would have gone across the board...
GRACE: No. No.
CLEMENTS: ... we don`t have that here.
GRACE: No. No.
CLEMENTS: You can say no, but...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Let`s go to the doctor, Kirby Clements! Because there was a day, before you left prosecuting to go make all that money as a defense
lawyer, you would have taken this to court and you would have prosecuted it for child abuse, degree one!
CLEMENTS: No.
GRACE: Oh, yes, you would.
CLEMENTS: No. No, I wouldn`t have.
GRACE: Oh, yes...
CLEMENTS: You know I wouldn`t have.
GRACE: You know what? I`m getting ill. Dr. DiMaio, this is a serious beating. There is no way you can rear back with a belt like that
and hit that child -- look at those thin white pants he`s got on -- and not lacerate that child`s skin and leave him covered in bruises, DiMaio!
DIMAIO: (INAUDIBLE) No, this is assault. This is not a kid (INAUDIBLE) I wouldn`t even say being hit with a belt. You know, when I
was a kid, people hit the kids all the time with a belt, but not like that.
GRACE: Well, not anybody that I know!
DIMAIO: (INAUDIBLE) so violent!
GRACE: I`m not down with beating somebody with a belt! Why don`t we just get out a cat o` nine tails? Is that OK, too?
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: My question to you, DiMaio, is would this beating leave lacerations, would it break the skin or leave bruises? Simple question.
Yes, no.
DIMAIO: Can`t say. But I think I see metal on the thing. If that has metal studs, yes, it can (INAUDIBLE)
GRACE: All right, Kirby Clements, it`s a belt. It`s a belt. Did you hear the doctor? You want to argue with him, too? You got a J.D., my man.
He`s got the M.D.
CLEMENTS: Yes, but he`s saying -- he didn`t see -- I think I see metal. And now. You got to listen to what he said, Nancy. He supported
what I said, not what you said. Thank you!
GRACE: That`s not true. That`s not true.
CLEMENTS: Yes, it is.
GRACE: Let me go -- OK, back to DiMaio. Let`s just see. So Dr. DiMaio, have you are seen the video?
DIMAIO: Yes, I have.
GRACE: All right. You`ve seen the little boy`s pants that he`s wearing. They are extremely thin.
DIMAIO: Right. Right.
GRACE: All right. Are you telling me that you do not think a beating that goes on and on and on would not leave bruises and/or lacerate the
child`s skin?
DIMAIO: The way this kid is hit, he`s definitely got bruises. This is not just being hit with a belt. This is an assault with a belt.
(INAUDIBLE) different. I mean, the force he`s using -- you can hear him, you know, cracking against the skin. This kid (INAUDIBLE) his butt was
hurt.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ow! I`m sorry! I`m so sorry! I`m sorry!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:17:04]UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Disturbing video posted on Facebook.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why are you stealing from people?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shows a man striking a boy 14 times.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ow! Please!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got about three more licks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It hurts! Ow!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Tonight, we want answers. Who is this man beating this schoolboy? We know he`s not a relative. We are trying to figure out who
he is so he can be prosecuted.
Unleash the lawyers, Kirby Clements, Misty Marris. Also joining us, Jared Pingleton of Focus on the Family. Misty Marris, are you suggesting
that because the boy may have stolen the guy`s pants when he was, I guess, exercising at the park that he deserved this or this is an OK punishment.
MISTY MARRIS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: No, Nancy, that`s not what I`m saying at all. What I`m saying is that for this gentleman to be prosecuted for a
crime, there`s a necessary element of intent. And that`s the intent to cause serious physical injury to the boy. We can see from this video...
GRACE: Actually, that`s not the law.
MARRIS: ... that is not his intent. His intent is to help this boy - - to help this boy and to try to teach him a lesson.
GRACE: Put her up, please!
MARRIS: His intent is not serious physical injury.
GRACE: Put her up! OK, number one, the intent required under the criminal law is to intend to do the act, all right? It does not mean that
you intend to cause serious damage or serious fear because how often -- you can shake your head all you want to, but the law is the law.
People pull guns on each other all the time. You know, Oh, I was just playing. Well, that`s not a defense because you cause fear of serious
bodily harm. His intent is to beat the child. Does he intend to hold the belt and beat the child? Clearly, the law presumes you intend the natural
consequence of your act. Do you disagree with that, Ms. Marris?
MARRIS: I do. You know, I do disagree...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: ... the natural consequences of your act.
MARRIS: He has to have that intent. He has to intend to cause harm. In this case, he`s not. Even still, Nancy -- still, there`s no evidence of
the serious physical injury element. Substantial pain...
GRACE: That`s because I haven`t gotten to examine the child. And I want to clarify one thing, Misty. Are you saying -- and you`re a criminal
lawyer, right?
MARRIS: Yes.
GRACE: And you have tried cases in court, right?
MARRIS: I`ve tried cases in court, correct.
GRACE: Criminal cases?
MARRIS: I have not tried a criminal case in court.
GRACE: Oh, OK. Now, that`s really explaining a lot. Kirby Clements, do you agree that the criminal law code says that the law presumes that you
intend the natural consequence of your act?
For instance, if I hold up a piece of fine china and I throw it to a cement floor, the law presumes I meant to break it. That`s all that means,
right?
[20:20:04]CLEMENTS: Well, I think you`re merging those concepts, Nancy, and not correctly.
GRACE: Are you saying that that is not the law?
CLEMENTS: No, I`m saying the way that you have illustrated it is not the law. The law -- there is a presumption that you presume the natural
and probable consequences of your act.
GRACE: Right.
CLEMENTS: But there`s also intent. Under your definition, if you spanked your child lovingly, as the other gentleman said and you suggested
you`ve done, then you would still be guilty of a crime.
As my co-counsel was suggesting to you, there is an intent element that you intend to commit some harm. If you spank a child lovingly and
gently and that child gets injured, the law is going to consider the intent that was there. Indeed, in Georgia, there is a defense to this act that
you were administering discipline. And so you have to factor those things in, as well.
GRACE: OK, so after your recitation, I think what I heard at the get- go was you do agree the law presumes you intend the natural consequence of your -- because I`m quoting directly out of the penal code, all right? So
the two of you can say whatever you want, but when you take a belt with a buckle like this and you beat a child until it`s screaming and crying and
grabbing its scrotum and his penis, the law presumes you intend the natural consequence of that.
I`m going to go to Terry Lyles, psychologist, stress and crisis management coach. Terry Lyles, what do -- you`re the shrink. We`re all
just lawyers fighting about this video. And I`m trying to find the guy that beat that child.
What do you think an adult intends when they beat a child with a belt while the child is screaming in pain?
TERRY LYLES, PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, as you mentioned, Nancy -- thanks for having me, first of all -- I`m not an attorney or a legal expert, but I
can tell...
GRACE: Thank God!
LYLES: ... by what he`s doing he`s obviously trying to get a point across. The point is, he`s crossed the line. And there`s always a need
for discipline. There`s never merit for abuse. And he`s crossed that line, and he`s actually enjoying the process. Now, whether he means to do
well, which he might be saying in his own mind, it`s still an act of abuse. And that`s where the problem lies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So I don`t want to take you home. I want you to (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ow! Ow!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:26:22]UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t want to take you home. I want you to go to the boys home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ow!
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m sorry!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fourteen blows to the child`s behind, all the while him screaming, "It hurts," and "I`m sorry".
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know you`re sorry, brother. You going to steal again?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Never in my life!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: So bottom line, what I`m hearing is several people on our panel tonight believe that this beating is for the schoolboy`s, quote, "own
good."
OK, Kirby Clements, what can you tell me about that? Because I could not disagree more.
CLEMENTS: Look, Nancy, I understand that it`s difficult to grasp, but corporal punishment is actually effective. And in this situation right
here, this young man, this man administered a whipping to the child that is going to keep him on the straight and narrow. Bottom line is this. As he
said, "You ever going to steal again?" "Never in my life." So that`s one thing we know.
GRACE: Yes, he might beat somebody to a pulp, like that guy`s doing to him, though.
CLEMENTS: No, no.
GRACE: No, no, why? What -- when did you become a psychologist, Kirby Clements? How do you know what he`s going to do?
CLEMENTS: Well, you suggested the little child -- this child`s been injured horribly and disfigured.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: I didn`t say disfigured.
CLEMENTS: He just got spanked with a belt through his pants.
GRACE: No, he got beat!
CLEMENTS: Well, you know what? He got beat for stealing, and now he`s going to know not to steal again. He`s going to be on the straight
and narrow. He`s learned his lesson. He learned it the hard way, but he learned it.
GRACE: You know what? Somebody touches my twins that way, I`m going to end up on the NANCY GRACE show, OK, because this is not a spanking.
This is not the way to teach a lesson.
Back to you, Misty Marris. I see you shaking your head. I mean, do you have children?
MARRIS: I don`t have children, but Nancy...
GRACE: Oh, OK.
MARRIS: ... whether or not you agree with the this gentleman`s actions -- whether or not you agree with this...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: What do you know about spanking then?
MARRIS: Just because I don`t have children doesn`t mean that I don`t have compassion for children. I do.
GRACE: Have you ever spanked anybody?
MARRIS: But just because this gentleman -- some people disagree with this gentleman`s actions doesn`t mean...
GRACE: Gentleman?
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Whoa! Gentleman?
MARRIS: He was trying to keep this boy out of the criminal justice system.
GRACE: Well, what tells you that this boy -- put her up, please! What, Misty Marris, suggests to you that this little boy is going to end up
in the criminal justice system, as you call it? Because I don`t know that. Because he runs off with the guy`s pants, if he does one thing, and you`ve
already got the boy sentenced to the criminal justice...
(CROSSTALK)
MARRIS: No, Nancy, that`s not what I mean. He`s...
GRACE: That`s what you said.
(CROSSTALK)
MARRIS: ... about going into a boys` home.
GRACE: That is what you said. No, that`s what that perpetrator said.
Hold on. Dan O`Donnell joining me from WISN, to suggest that this child, this little boy, is so awful and that he`s somehow -- we`ve already
decided he`s a criminal? He`s a little boy? He`s maybe 6th, 7th grade!
Do you have any suggestion, Dan O`Donnell from WISN? Do you know something we don`t know, that this boy has a criminal record?
DAN O`DONNELL, WISN (via telephone): Well, no, because as a juvenile, his record would be sealed. And to my knowledge, the punishment even for
theft is not getting beaten with a belt 14 times.
GRACE: You know, good point, Dan O`Donnell. Good point. The punishment for running off with this guy`s pants he leaves laying out is
not getting beaten until you`re bleeding, until your behind is bleeding.
Can you please put up the 800 number for Child Help, Liz? I need everybody to see that number. So if you know this guy, you can call 1-800-
4-a-child.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:35:00]
GRACE: Live, Tennessee. Fears mounting for a schoolgirl who goes missing with a convicted child molester.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A heartbreaking sight for the Wilson family who hasn`t seen their daughter in days.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want my baby home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The little girl, 14-year-old Hayleigh Wilson, showing up in these surveillance pictures from a store in Marian, North
Carolina.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody knows this man. He`s just a total stranger.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: This little girl is an honor roll girl, straight A`s. She had just donated half of her baby sitting money she had been saving for the
food bank. She was saving her money to go on a church mission trip to help the needy. She is so advanced. She had just won an award at her school
for reading the most advanced books. She wants to become a chemistry major. She`s never run away. She`s never been in trouble before. She
doesn`t even know about makeup. Look at this girl.
With me Mike Howard, morning show host out of Knoxville. I am beside myself. This girl -- we know because they have been spotted, I think it
was on Walmart video, is with a registered six offender, a convicted child predator. We have been digging deep to find out more about this guy.
Take a look at him. Mike Howard, what`s the latest in the search for missing Hayleigh?
MIKE HOWARD, MORNING SHOW HOST: Unfortunately it`s been a week since anyone has caught them on video. They were seen last, of course, as you
mentioned in the Walmart surveillance video in Marian, North Carolina. Later on that Tuesday they were seen about 115 miles northeast up in
southwestern Virginia. Sadly what we are seeing now, the only information we are finding out right now is we are finding more about this Benjamin
Shook character. This 41-year-old convicted six offender. Apparently there`s been more information that`s come out about his prior felony
records. His prior criminal records. He has an extensive criminal history. Apparently he had pled guilty to child molestation, enticing a
child for indecent purposes. Basically the same, almost the same type of situation that`s going on right now. He had solicited a girl under the age
of 16 through a computer almost in the exact same fashion we are seeing now. He was sentenced to 1 to 20 years in prison. Up to 100,000 dollar
fine. Not even a month later after that incident, he was then charged with more child six crimes just across the county line in Banks County, Georgia.
In 2004, he was caught with sexually explicit images of someone under the age of 18 on his computer. Seven counts of sexual exploitation of children
is what the pled guilty to. A year later he was sentenced to 20 years behind bars, ten of which he would spend on probation as long as he
complied with the six offender registration laws. He`s now absconded.
GRACE: Wait. I think we are missing a step, Mike Howard, morning show host from Knoxville. You said he was sentenced to 20 years. Okay.
Why isn`t he in jail?
HOWARD: For some odd reason, for some strange reason, Nancy, they went ahead and gave him ten years to spend on probation. Ten years prior
to the ten years he would spend behind bars.
GRACE: Guys, look at this guy. 41-year-old Benjamin Shook. He`s 6`3. He weighs about 175 pounds. Blue eyes, brown hair. Multiple
tattoos, wearing a blue shirt with the letters Ford on it, and dark shorts and camouflage baseball hat. That`s what he had on the last time we`d seen
him. Look at all the pictures. I think he`s probably altered his appearance by now. Tip line, 800-tbi-find. 1-800-Tennessee bureau of
investigation-find. There is a $5,000 reward. I want to go back to Stacey Newman joining us. Stacey, what more do we know?
NEWMAN: This search right now is focused on the Jefferson National Park. That`s along the Appalachian trail. And what we need people to do
tonight, if you have a cabin on your property across Virginia that is near the Appalachian trail, we need you to look in that cabin. The last thing
we know along the way, clues they have left behind, it`s camping gear they may be using to go across the Appalachian area. So we need people to focus
on that.
GRACE: That`s a good point. Guys, look at this dense growth. It takes seasoned, veteran hikers to make it to the Appalachian trail. They
may be on it.
[20:40:00]
He may have this girl with him taking her on the Appalachian trail. Matt Zarrell, I`m trying to figure out how many brushes with the law, let me say
euphemistically, has this guy had? How many times has he been accused of child molestation or enticing a child?
ZARRELL: Three times he has been accused. 2002, aggravated child molestation. 2004, child molestation. 2005, sexual exploitation of
children. One thing to note, Nancy, is he got ten years, not 20. He got ten years in prison and ten years probation as long as he registered as a
sex offender when he got out. The problem is, he never registered. He disappeared when he got out of prison.
GRACE: Wait, if you get ten years in jail and ten years of probation, that`s 20 years. What am I missing?
ZARRELL: Ten years of prison only. And ten years of probation. He got two separate counts. There were two separate cases where he got ten
years for each charge.
GRACE: I get it. So he had ten years probation on one case. Ten years behind bars on another case. I don`t understand why he`s out walking
around right now. Hold on, guys. I`m being joined by Hayleigh`s father, Eddie Wilson is with us. Mr. Wilson, thank you very much for being with
us.
EDDIE WILSON, FATHER: Thank you.
GRACE: Mr. Wilson, I know you told me when you first learned Hayleigh was missing you didn`t believe it. Why?
WILSON: That`s not her character. That`s just not Hayleigh to get up and run off. In her mind and my mind, she was just a small child in a 14-
year-old body. She would get out and play with 6 and 7-year-old kids like she was 6 or 7 years old. She never gave me an inclination whatsoever she
was capable of doing anything like this.
GRACE: We say she would never do anything like this. I don`t find that this schoolgirl has done anything wrong.
WILSON: Yes. I didn`t mean she did anything wrong.
GRACE: You mean disappear.
WILSON: She has done nothing wrong. In my mind she`s just made a little mistake that any of us could have made. And not thinking nothing
about it until -- you know, we don`t know we are in trouble until after we make the mistake. Or we don`t know that we made a mistake until after we
made it.
GRACE: Well put. Well put, Mr. Wilson. The way I see it -- unleash the lawyers. Kirby Clements and Misty Marris, she was online. She is
enticed online by a website called Kik. She is talking back and forth with this person, probably not even realizing who he was or his real age. So
right now, Kirby, what would be your defense of this guy?
CLEMENTS: Well, quite honestly my defense at this point would be the only thing he`s guilty of is failure to register as a sex offender. That`s
the only crime he has. Under the sex offender law he`s not prohibited from being around children. As near as I can tell, he can`t loiter in places.
And as long as they don`t have any proof of any sexual contact with this child, then he has not committed those offenses. Granted, those are his
past offenses. But right now I would go for he failed to register. That`s all he`s done. That`s it. This little girl ran away. That`s it. It
wasn`t kidnapping. He didn`t abscond with her--
GRACE: So you think the little girl still wants to be with him? That leads me to my next topic. Misty Marris, a child cannot consent to a six
relationship with a 41-year-old man. All right? That`s called statutory rape. Under the law she cannot consent.
MARRIS: That`s true. To Kirby`s point, he`s exactly right. We have no indication right now that that`s occurred. We can`t condemn this man
based on his prior acts. We don`t know what`s happened under these particular circumstances. I hope this girl is safe. And that the only
crime that`s been committed is he violated by not registering as a sex offender in his home state.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:48:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 14-year-old Hayleigh Wilson showing up in surveillance pictures from a store in Marian, North Carolina.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody knows this man. He`s a total stranger.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Which is why they are worried sick.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For Hayleigh`s sake, I just ask you to be man enough to bring her home safe.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A heartbreaking sight for the Wilson family who hasn`t seen their daughter in days.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. Joining me, Kirby Clements and Misty Marris. Let me understand this from the two of you. You are saying he has
not committed a crime yet because we don`t know that he took the child for sexual purposes. But let me suggest to you two when you don`t know a
horse, look at his track record. He`s already got, I believe I heard Matt and Stacey tell me, either three or four child molestation, statutory rape,
enticing a child for lewd purposes. Even when he`s on probation, he`s got child porn on his computer. So what do you think -- he`s baby sitting her,
Misty?
MARRIS: No. I just think that everyone is innocent until they are proven guilty. Just because somebody has prior bad acts, prior convictions
doesn`t necessarily mean they are committing a crime now. Again, I hope this girl is safe. But I`m not going to condemn somebody before I know a
crime is committed.
GRACE: Okay. Kirby, what about taking a child across state lines without permission of their parents? Is that OK too?
[20:50:00]
CLEMENTS: No, actually I was going to come back and tell you, Nancy.
GRACE: Oh, you were? When were you going to tell me that?
CLEMENTS: Just now, thank you for the opportunity.
GRACE: What, when the show is over?
CLEMENTS: I wanted to say it would be interference with custody.
GRACE: Now that I bring it up, oh, yeah.
CLEMENTS: But that`s all there is because a child is with him. There is no indication he took the child across state lines for sexual purposes.
There`s only interference with custody and failure to register.
GRACE: Can I suggest to you kidnapping?
CLEMENTS: You have to take them against their will. And forcibly aspertate (ph) them. You don`t have that.
GRACE: Oh. You think she wants to be going up the Appalachian trail right now.
CLEMENTS: She drove from her house with her daddy`s truck, so, yes.
GRACE: Let me remind the both of you that a child cannot consent.
CLEMENTS: To sex. They cannot consent to sex.
GRACE: That`s whey they can`t get married. That`s why they can`t buy liquor or cigarettes, because the law protects them.
CLEMENTS: No, those contracts are voidable contracts when they`re done by a child. A child cannot consent to sex -- I agree with that, and
that is how it should be.
GRACE: Or contract, or buy liquor or cigarettes.
CLEMENTS: A child can enter into a contract, it`s just a voidable contract. In this situation--
GRACE: Which means there is no contract, which means the consent was invalid. That`s what that means. But if you want to do another non
sequitur with me, I`ll be happy to go through it with you again.
Mike Howard, morning show host out of Knoxville, explain to me what the latest is. Where do they think the girl is? My fear is the worst
because I`ve seen it go bad so many times where the girl wants to leave, the girl wants to go home to her mom and dad, he won`t let her, and he ends
up killing her. That`s my fear.
HOWARD: Unfortunately, that`s the fear that a lot of people around here have. All we know, the last time they were seen, there`s a
possibility they were picked up by a driver there and given a ride in southwestern Virginia. They were given a ride to Racoon Branch campground
in Sugar Grove, Virginia. It`s right there above the border. They`re hanging out right around the border of what we call the tri-cities here.
Where you have Tennessee, you have North Carolina, you have Virginia, all right there in this one area, and apparently, the police there are looking
very intently in the Jefferson National Forest along the Appalachian trail. They think they -- last Friday, they think they found some camping gear and
a camp site that they may have used. So that`s where they`re looking right now, in southwestern Virginia. But there`s a chance because they are so
close in that area, they could drop back down to North Carolina, they could drop back down to Tennessee. And of course Kentucky not too far away.
West Virginia not too far away.
GRACE: What`s disturbing me about that Walmart video, Mike Howard, the photos that I remember, Shasta Grenie (ph). Her and her little brother
were victims of a home invasion and the perpetrator took them and repeatedly molested the children before he killed the little brother,
Dylan. They were caught on video at like a 7-Eleven. And if you didn`t know, you would just think it was a little girl following along with her
father or a family member. She wasn`t saying anything. She wasn`t complaining. She wasn`t crying out in fear. Looks a lot like that right
there. Now, look at this. Walking in, doesn`t say anything. You can tell, if you know what to look for, how she`s got her arms crossed and
she`s hunched over, that something is wrong, but you don`t know what. Look, there is Shasta. Her brother was repeatedly molested in front of her
before he was killed. And there the perp is walking around inside a grocery store. And she`s saying nothing. Why is that, Dr. Lyles? Explain
why the child says nothing. Why Hayleigh may not be crying or screaming at Walmart.
LYLES: I mean, the first thing, you know, she`s a child, as you`ve mentioned several times. Second of all, fear has a major control over
people. Obviously this 41-year-old perpetrator has her afraid. The only other way it could be is if she believes there`s something else out there,
maybe how he lured her, we don`t really know I don`t think at this point, Nancy, how he lured her in, other than online. So I don`t really know what
he did. But obviously he`s very good at his perpetration. But he`s definitely got her in a state of fear. And many times, psychologically, we
just shut down, we kind of just shut go into a shell to protect ourselves.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:59:00]
GRACE: Let`s remember American hero, Idaho Sergeant Greg Moore, 43, killed in the line of duty, served Couer d`Alene (ph) police 14 years. His
most special moments was his baby girl sleeping on his chest and coaching his son`s soccer team. He loved the outdoors and the Boston Red Sox.
Parents Whit and Sherry, brothers, Fred and Christopher. Widow, Wendy, children, Dylan and Gemma. Greg Moore, American hero. I`ll see you
tomorrow night 8:00 sharp Eastern. Until then, good night, friend.
END
