Saturday, February 9th, 2008I’m sure most all of you have heard (thanks to the media) about the horrible accusations that have been made against our family. Todd and I—and our poor children—keep waiting to wake up from what seems like the worst nightmare of our lives. I am writing to you today to let you know how we are doing but also to explain to you some of the actual facts (as opposed to what the media has said) as to how this awful thing has happened to us. I apologize for the length this letter— writing this is, for me, a type of therapy right now and a way for me to cope with a situation that seems so out of my control. So pour yourself a cup of coffee—or in the case of many of my friends—a glass of good red wine and read.
On Tuesday morning (Jan. 29th) 9:15 am Todd went into town to do some errands for me– because I have become so scared of driving since the terrible fatality accident of a family friend by our driveway a few weeks ago. At about 9:25—as I am trying to get kids ready for school—I get a message on our recorder from a neighbor that says “I don’t want to say anything, I just. . . I saw Todd, I saw Todd’s truck. . . I just want you to know that I am praying for your family.”
The kids and I listen to this message and Taylor and Colton are instantly hysterical. Actually, I am too. In my mind, I am seeing him smashed—and laying dead on the cold, snowy highway. The kids and I cry for a few minutes and I then I shakily try to figure out what to do next. I try his cell phone: No answer. I cry more hysterically—he’s only been gone 10 minutes and he always answers his phone. I call my Mom and tell her that I think Todd’s been in an accident. I hang up with her (and I find out later that she has packed a bag and is ready to drive to Spokane) and then I try to figure out what I should do. My kids are still crying hysterically. I try to call the person that left the message but I can’t get an answer on her phone. I put my boots and coat on. . . I decide I will drive the route I know he was taking into town and I will find him. I will help him.
Right before I walk out the door, the phone rings. It is my neighbor again. She tells me Todd was not in an accident, but that she saw him being arrested. I am so relieved that he is alive . . . but confused. My husband arrested? I don’t understand. The only thing that I can imagine is that he was pulled over for a traffic violation and got into a disagreement with the officer (all of you who know Todd well, know that he does have a bit of a temper). I can’t believe this would happen either . . . but why else would he be arrested?
I did not know who to call or what to do next . . . but I am so relieved that he is not hurt. I call my Mom again and she tells me that all I can do is wait by the phone. “He will call,” she tells me.
At 10:30 am I take my kids to school. When I return home, I can’t get all of the way down my driveway because of the 8-10 police vehicles parked in my driveway. They tell me to leave my cell phone and step out of my vehicle. I am numb with confusion. They tell me that my husband has been arrested and that they are serving a search warrant on our home for “computer crimes.” At this point, I actually laugh. “You can’t be serious?” I say “There must be some mistake.” I explain to them that Todd barely knows how to turn our computer on and that I’m so computer illiterate I don’t even know how to download songs to my daughter’s new MP3 player that I got her for Christmas. I tell them to “search our home as much as they want” – we have nothing to hide.
The officers tell me that I may not use my cell phone to call or talk to anyone—that I must wait outside (in the blizzard). I wait for 35-40 minutes until one of the officers feels so badly for me standing out in the cold that he radios inside and asks if I might be able to at least stand in my garage out of the storm. They agree to this. My garage is no warmer, but at least the snow is not falling on me there. I wait another 30 minutes in the garage. They tell me that they have locked Isabella (our Great Dane) in the master bedroom and that they need to move her so that they can search in there. They ask me to walk into my home, under police escort, and go directly to the master bedroom and bring Isabella outside. As I enter our home, I am instantly outraged by the mud and snow covering our hardwood floors and carpet. I am greeted by approximately 20 some officers (mostly men) in full gear—bulletproof vests, guns, etc. They are all wearing big, black work boots covered with snow, mud, and dirt. They are everywhere tromping through our home.
My friends, I cannot even put into words the terror and sense of violation that I felt. I thought these people protected people like me. I get poor Isabella—who is probably almost as scared as I am—and take her to the garage. I wait (supervised again by many police officers) for another 1 ½ hours in the cold garage.
Finally they tell me they would like to interview me and they ask that I walk through my home and into the basement (again under police escort). When I enter my home, I tell them that we have a safe in our bedroom and that I will give them the code. Since then, friends have asked me why I would be so cooperative. It’s easy—we had nothing to hide. My husband and I are law abiding citizens. I kept waiting for them to realize that they had invaded the wrong family.
Once they move me to our basement, they tell me that the “computer crimes” they are talking about are for purchases of child pornography. Obviously, I am in total dismay. They tell me that there were some purchases made on our Bank of America credit card in June listed for “Yahoo.” The charges were for $39.95 each. They ask me how well I look over my credit card statement. I tell them the truth: I really don’t look it over. I just pay it. They ask me how much Todd uses our computer. I tell them the truth: He uses it occasionally, but usually only to perform real estate searches for clients. They ask me why he didn’t catch these charges. Again, I tell them the truth: Todd never even looks at our bills. In our home he makes the money and I am responsible for managing all of the finances. I am the one who pays the bills. He typically has no idea what is even in our bank account. They ask me how much our daughter uses the computer. “A lot,” I say. “Could she possibly have been curious about such things and made these purchases?” They ask. Once again, I am outraged and horrified, “Not in a million years, would my 10 year old daughter have purchased anything without my permission—and she never would have purchased something of that nature.” I tell them. I am so outraged that they would even suggest such a thing.
During the interview, I can hear them opening cupboard doors and going through our things. “What are you looking for?” I ask them. They tell me thumb stick back-up memory devices, back up hard drives, etc. I don’t even know what these things are.
I explain to them that we have had to change our Bank of America credit card number 4 times within the last year due to fraud on our account. Fraud that the credit card company has caught—not me (because I don’t look over the bill). They are surprised at this. I tell them where to find the file in my file cabinet that has this Bank of America information. They go and get it, look at it, and take the fraud letter from the file. They show me on my card statement some of the Yahoo charges that that they are talking about. They tell me that they have them directly linked to our home computer. I point out that during one of the charges, (on Father’s Day) my husband was actually at the fire station on duty. It would have been impossible for him to have been on our home computer and to have done this. They are once again surprised.
At this point I am wondering to myself why they have arrested Todd when they haven’t even looked into such basic information as his work schedule. If they are linking these changes through our Bank of America card, how could they not have done the most basic of research and have known that this card number has had to be changed four times in the last year due to fraud. How could they not have looked into his fire department work schedule and realized he was on duty?
“Why are you not arresting me?” I ask. I secretly wish it had been me instead of Todd. I don’t have a career that will be destroyed. They tell me they are arresting Todd because his name is the one that the credit card bill comes to. I tell them that I have the exact same card and that the only reason his name is on the bill is because when I filled out the credit card application, I put his name down as the primary holder (since he is the income producer in our home). I put my name second on the application because I am a stay at home mom.
At 4:30 (thank God that my children had afterschool activities planned that day), as they finally get ready to leave my home they hand me a print out of what they have taken: Our family pictures, our family home videos, our computer, our camera cards, etc. They also tell me as they are leaving that they are scheduling a press conference for tomorrow. I begin to cry and I try to tell them how devastating this will be to my family—to my children. I ask them why they have to do this? They have no answer.
Once they are gone from my home, I try to pick up the mess. I realize—to myself—that the only thing we are guilty of is not checking our credit card statement diligently. Because of our numerous rental properties, on any given month, we run hundreds of charges through our Bank of America card. Most of these charges are in small amounts so it is not unusual for me to have a 3-4 page Bank of America credit card statement. Most of the time, I simply tear off the payment stub, write the check, and stick it in the mail. I always think that I am going to go back and look through each charge . . . but between running kids to school and activities, helping them with homework, taking care of all of our animals, doing yard work, and paying the enormous stack of other bills that we have, this review just doesn’t happen. Honestly, even if I had read down through the bill, it is unlikely that I would have paid much attention to a $39.00 Yahoo charge. I would have thought it was something I had purchased (Books, kids toys, etc.) that went through a yahoo account. It’s not like the charge was listed as “Child Pornography.”
Right before I go to pick up my kids from school (about 5:45 pm), I call my parents and tell them what has happened. They are as dismayed and horrified as I am. They tell me to get an attorney. I tell them that we don’t need an attorney—we have done nothing wrong.
When I pick up my kids at school, I don’t have the heart to tell them the truth. I instead tell them that Daddy is at the fire station. I keep thinking that at any minute, the police are going to realize what a mistake they have made.
About an hour later, Todd calls me—a collect call from the county jail—something that I’ve never had in my life. He is trying so hard not to cry, but can’t really control it. He tells me he has only 5 minutes to talk. “What the hell is going on?” He sobs. I don’t have any answers. I tell him that my parents said to get an attorney. He tells me not to— “We haven’t done anything wrong, Nic” he says. He tells me that they will not let him out of jail until tomorrow (Wednesday). He still can’t believe he is locked up like an animal for a crime he did not commit. He asks me to get his truck from the side of the highway so that it doesn’t get towed and then he asks me to make some real estate calls for him. Even though he is in jail, he is worried more about taking care of his real estate clients than he is himself.
My parents call again that evening. They have talked to their family attorney about what has happened. There attorney tells them to MAKE me get an attorney. They explain to me, “Innocence aside, this is way over your head. We will find you an attorney.” This has turned out to be literally life saving advice.
After a completely sleepless Tuesday night (for both Todd and myself), I meet with our “new” attorney at 1:00 pm Wednesday, approximately ½ hour before Todd’s scheduled arraignment. He has a copy of the charges and he says he simply can’t believe “how thin” they are. He passes the document to me and asks me to read over it. “You aren’t going to believe this.” He tells me.
I read through the two page document. This is the state’s “case” that has destroyed our lives. They have two Yahoo charges made to our credit card (a credit card we shut down due to fraud). For the first purchase the person who commited this crime opened up a Yahoo account with the name Mr. Nicole Chism and then entered in a completely fictitious birth date. He then entered our credit card number to purchase $39.95 worth of downloadable child pornography. The monster that did this didn’t, at this occasion, even have our home address. For the second purchase, the person who did this again had opened up a yahoo account and put in Mr. Nicole Chism but had gotten our home address. They put in another fictitious birth date (different from the first one but still not matching Todd’s or mine). And that’s it. That is the total of their case against my husband.
At this point in time, I have not talked to my poor husband other than the 5-minute call the previous night– and he has no idea he will have an attorney at his arraignment. I cannot even imagine what Todd’s state of mind is after having to spend the night in jail with a bunch of criminals and away from his family. Carl (our attorney) tells me to expect media coverage in the court room. I am so mortified. Even though I know we are innocent, I feel like I am watching everything that we have worked for our entire lives be flushed down the toilet. I tell myself that I cannot cry right now—that I have to be strong for Todd.
At the arraignment (which I watch on close-captioned television) from a court room, Carl points out to the judge the lack of information the police have. The judge—and even the prosecutor—agree they do not have enough evidence to charge my husband with these horrible crimes. The judge says that it is very apparent that this could be the result of identity theft. Because of this, they release him on his own recognizance (something that is almost unheard of in felony crimes).
Although I am so relieved that Todd is out of jail, I know that the damage to our lives is only just beginning. Wednesday night, the media—like vicious sharks–broadcasts his arrest for this most heinous and disgusting crime. The fact that it might be a case of identity theft is barely (if at all) mentioned. This news reaches the entire state of Washington and parts of Idaho. We feel so ashamed and humiliated—and we feel this about something that we didn’t even do. It is, without a doubt the most helpless feeling I have ever felt in my life. Although our good friends know Todd would never do something like this, we feel like our entire community—and everyone else in the state–is looking at us with disgust and suspicion. The brave men and women of the Spokane Fire Department—that so willingly risk their lives to save the lives of others—have once again been slandered in the process.
I don’t think we will ever be able to recover from this nightmare. Today is Saturday and this morning when I got on our scale, I see that I have lost 10 lbs since Monday. Between my weight loss and lack of sleep, I look and feel like skelator. I think I have aged 10 years in a matter of days. My poor husband is in even worse shape. He swings from moods of extreme anger to moments of complete anguish. He is so embarrassed, humiliated, and worst of all, helpless. His life and career will never be the same. We have cried so much. How can we be good parents to our wonderful children when we have been so destroyed? How can I ever again tell them to trust the police when we don’t?
I had to sit down on Thursday morning and explain to my beautiful, innocent daughter what child pornography is. I had to explain to her that her dad (who is the most wonderful, honest, and respectable man I have ever met) has been accused of such a thing. I had to explain to her that she is going to be teased and humiliated at school—but that she will need to hold her chin high. God? How can this happen to us? What have I done to make you so mad at my family?
Yesterday, Taylor’s best friend called to chat. She told Taylor that she had invited another friend over to her house to play but that the friend’s Mom had said only if Taylor was not there. Obviously, Taylor was crushed. The realtor that Todd co-lists with in Suncrest called and suggested that they remove Todd’s name from the signs—just until things “cool down.” I am crying so hard as I type this now, I honestly don’t think that we will ever recover from this. I guess we will just need to take each day as it comes and trust in God to make us stronger.
One of the main reasons I am writing this is to thank so many of you for your phone calls, cards, and prayers. You have truly been our saviors. Todd confided in me that, when he got home from jail Wednesday night, he felt such a sense of helplessness for being accused of something he didn’t do, that he thinks he would literally have killed himself had he not had so many calls from firemen and friends offering their love, prayers, support, and belief in him. For those of you who called and left messages; he cried when he heard your voices. You are what really held him up that night.
Thank you so much to those of you who have offered to take our kids to go do activities and to try to give them some sort of normalcy in a world that has been so turned upside down for them. Thank you for bringing food to our door, stuffed animals to our children, and for your flowers. Thank you for your offers to write to the press, picket the courthouse, and for just “dropping by” to keep us from losing our sanity. I honestly did not know that we had so many friends. I don’t know what we would do without you all—you are truly what has given us the strength to try to get through this. For all of those friends who have called, I am sorry that we have not returned each and every one of your calls. Right now we are just barely clinging on to our life and our days are so filled up just by trying to take care of our kids. We just haven’t had the time to call as many of you as we would like.
Since our computer was taken, I have very few e-mail addresses so please feel free to pass this letter on to all who know us– and even to those who don’t know us that well, but are questioning who we are. We’ve all heard about identity theft, but never could I have imagined something like this happening. Please beware.
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