LilMtnCbn
08-19-2004, 05:54 AM
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-pcrilya19aug19,0,3612
893.story?coll=sfla-news-palm
Rilya's caretakers arrested
By Megan O'Matz
Staff Writer
Posted August 19 2004
Miami · Authorities filed kidnapping and aggravated child abuse charges
Wednesday against Geralyn Graham, the caregiver for long-missing foster child
Rilya Wilson, contending she tied the girl to a bed and kept her in a cage in a
laundry room in the months before her disappearance.
Authorities emphasized that they have not found the child, who was 4 when
officials think she disappeared in late 2000. The Department of Children &
Families did not realize she had vanished until April 2002, when an adoption
worker went to the Graham household in southwest Miami-Dade County. The agency
said it appeared as though no caseworker had visited the girl in the previous
15 months, setting off a national scandal that toppled the department's
secretary.
Miami-Dade County police would not discuss the substance of the charges
Wednesday, saying the evidence against Graham would become clear when the case
proceeds to trial. The basis of the kidnapping count, according to an arrest
affidavit, appears to be an allegation that Graham "forcibly, secretly or by
threat" abducted or hid Rilya from DCF.
Pamela Graham, 39, who lived with Geralyn Graham and posed as her sister, is
cooperating with authorities. She told police in a sworn affidavit that Rilya
was tied to a bed and kept in an animal cage in the laundry room as a form of
punishment between August and December 2000. At the time, the pair lived at
10131 SW 145th Place in the Kendall area.
Geralyn Graham, who uses multiple aliases, is already serving a five-year
sentence on unrelated fraud charges. She could receive life in prison on the
new counts. Records put her age at between 51 and 58.
Pamela Graham was charged with two counts of a lesser degree of child abuse and
neglect for failing to protect Rilya, and she could face 10 years in prison.
She surrendered and was released Wednesday on her own recognizance. As a
condition of her release, Pamela Graham, who is also known as Pamela Lofton,
was ordered to relinquish her passport and to report weekly to Miami-Dade
homicide detectives working on the case.
The arrest papers say two other witnesses, identified only as "D. Coakley and
L. Smith," confirmed that Rilya had been abused.
Geralyn Graham's lawyer said police likely put pressure on Pamela Graham to
cooperate by telling her they had witnesses ready to testify against her on
more serious charges.
"I think Pamela got scared into thinking that she could be facing a life
sentence," said Brian Tannebaum, Geralyn Graham's attorney.
When the DCF discovered that Rilya was missing in April 2002, Geralyn Graham
said someone from the agency had taken the child in January 2001 for
psychological testing and later told Graham the girl would be relocated for a
longer period. The agency has been unable to find any record of the move.
On Wednesday, police said they now are certain Geralyn Graham's claims are
untrue.
"This was really a lie, and I emphasize it was a fabrication, a concoction by
Geralyn Graham, to cover up Rilya's disappearance," Robert Parker, director of
the Miami-Dade Police Department, told the news media outside the department's
headquarters.
While the case has been considered a homicide for some time, Parker said it was
turned over in March to the cold-case squad, which found corroborating evidence
of abuse.
Although authorities continue to hope the girl is alive, "in actuality we fear
that maybe she's not alive," Parker said.
He was joined at the news conference by Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine
Fernandez Rundle, who said: "We have tirelessly looked for her."
Investigators continue to insist Geralyn Graham knows where Rilya is and openly
acknowledge they hope the charges will bring fresh information about her
whereabouts.
Police brought out big posters bearing Rilya's picture at age 4 and an
age-enhanced image of what she might look like now. A $75,000 reward is being
offered for her recovery.
Geralyn Graham's lawyer said his client never abused Rilya and continues to
insist she had nothing to do with her disappearance.
"Since the day I met her she has categorically denied any abuse of Rilya
Wilson," Tannebaum said. "On the contrary, she has expressed her deep love for
this child."
Tannebaum scoffed at investigators' insistence they are sure the DCF did not
move the girl, saying the agency has a history of ineptness, poor
record-keeping and high turnover. In April, Rilya's DCF caseworker, DeBorah
Muskelly, was sentenced to five years' probation for official misconduct for
working as a substitute teacher during the hours she was supposed to be
visiting Rilya and other children.
"I wouldn't trust DCF if they told me what time it was unless they showed me a
watch," Tannebaum said.
Prosecutors will need more evidence than Pamela Graham's statements to convict
Geralyn Graham of kidnapping or abuse, he said.
"If the state's evidence is resting on Pamela Graham, they've got a big
problem," he said. "She has her own criminal history."
In August 2003, Pamela Graham accepted a plea deal that allowed her to avoid
prosecution on unrelated public assistance fraud charges, agreeing to two years
of probation and community service.
"The main goal in this entire case against Geralyn and Pamela is to find Rilya
Wilson," Tannebaum said. "I don't criticize the state's desire to find this
child. But what they're doing now is clearly trying to pressure both Pamela and
Geralyn Graham."
Staff Researchers William Lucey and Tracy Ahringer contributed to this report.
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
893.story?coll=sfla-news-palm
Rilya's caretakers arrested
By Megan O'Matz
Staff Writer
Posted August 19 2004
Miami · Authorities filed kidnapping and aggravated child abuse charges
Wednesday against Geralyn Graham, the caregiver for long-missing foster child
Rilya Wilson, contending she tied the girl to a bed and kept her in a cage in a
laundry room in the months before her disappearance.
Authorities emphasized that they have not found the child, who was 4 when
officials think she disappeared in late 2000. The Department of Children &
Families did not realize she had vanished until April 2002, when an adoption
worker went to the Graham household in southwest Miami-Dade County. The agency
said it appeared as though no caseworker had visited the girl in the previous
15 months, setting off a national scandal that toppled the department's
secretary.
Miami-Dade County police would not discuss the substance of the charges
Wednesday, saying the evidence against Graham would become clear when the case
proceeds to trial. The basis of the kidnapping count, according to an arrest
affidavit, appears to be an allegation that Graham "forcibly, secretly or by
threat" abducted or hid Rilya from DCF.
Pamela Graham, 39, who lived with Geralyn Graham and posed as her sister, is
cooperating with authorities. She told police in a sworn affidavit that Rilya
was tied to a bed and kept in an animal cage in the laundry room as a form of
punishment between August and December 2000. At the time, the pair lived at
10131 SW 145th Place in the Kendall area.
Geralyn Graham, who uses multiple aliases, is already serving a five-year
sentence on unrelated fraud charges. She could receive life in prison on the
new counts. Records put her age at between 51 and 58.
Pamela Graham was charged with two counts of a lesser degree of child abuse and
neglect for failing to protect Rilya, and she could face 10 years in prison.
She surrendered and was released Wednesday on her own recognizance. As a
condition of her release, Pamela Graham, who is also known as Pamela Lofton,
was ordered to relinquish her passport and to report weekly to Miami-Dade
homicide detectives working on the case.
The arrest papers say two other witnesses, identified only as "D. Coakley and
L. Smith," confirmed that Rilya had been abused.
Geralyn Graham's lawyer said police likely put pressure on Pamela Graham to
cooperate by telling her they had witnesses ready to testify against her on
more serious charges.
"I think Pamela got scared into thinking that she could be facing a life
sentence," said Brian Tannebaum, Geralyn Graham's attorney.
When the DCF discovered that Rilya was missing in April 2002, Geralyn Graham
said someone from the agency had taken the child in January 2001 for
psychological testing and later told Graham the girl would be relocated for a
longer period. The agency has been unable to find any record of the move.
On Wednesday, police said they now are certain Geralyn Graham's claims are
untrue.
"This was really a lie, and I emphasize it was a fabrication, a concoction by
Geralyn Graham, to cover up Rilya's disappearance," Robert Parker, director of
the Miami-Dade Police Department, told the news media outside the department's
headquarters.
While the case has been considered a homicide for some time, Parker said it was
turned over in March to the cold-case squad, which found corroborating evidence
of abuse.
Although authorities continue to hope the girl is alive, "in actuality we fear
that maybe she's not alive," Parker said.
He was joined at the news conference by Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine
Fernandez Rundle, who said: "We have tirelessly looked for her."
Investigators continue to insist Geralyn Graham knows where Rilya is and openly
acknowledge they hope the charges will bring fresh information about her
whereabouts.
Police brought out big posters bearing Rilya's picture at age 4 and an
age-enhanced image of what she might look like now. A $75,000 reward is being
offered for her recovery.
Geralyn Graham's lawyer said his client never abused Rilya and continues to
insist she had nothing to do with her disappearance.
"Since the day I met her she has categorically denied any abuse of Rilya
Wilson," Tannebaum said. "On the contrary, she has expressed her deep love for
this child."
Tannebaum scoffed at investigators' insistence they are sure the DCF did not
move the girl, saying the agency has a history of ineptness, poor
record-keeping and high turnover. In April, Rilya's DCF caseworker, DeBorah
Muskelly, was sentenced to five years' probation for official misconduct for
working as a substitute teacher during the hours she was supposed to be
visiting Rilya and other children.
"I wouldn't trust DCF if they told me what time it was unless they showed me a
watch," Tannebaum said.
Prosecutors will need more evidence than Pamela Graham's statements to convict
Geralyn Graham of kidnapping or abuse, he said.
"If the state's evidence is resting on Pamela Graham, they've got a big
problem," he said. "She has her own criminal history."
In August 2003, Pamela Graham accepted a plea deal that allowed her to avoid
prosecution on unrelated public assistance fraud charges, agreeing to two years
of probation and community service.
"The main goal in this entire case against Geralyn and Pamela is to find Rilya
Wilson," Tannebaum said. "I don't criticize the state's desire to find this
child. But what they're doing now is clearly trying to pressure both Pamela and
Geralyn Graham."
Staff Researchers William Lucey and Tracy Ahringer contributed to this report.
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
