Brian and Ruth Christine before the state took
their babies (from left) Lydia, Bethany and Miriam.
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HISTORY, arranged chronologically, top down, Latest item to oldest |
"Without justice, all government is mere robbery." -St. Augustine
6-6-2002 Brian and Ruth Christine- Robbers??
5-28-2002- The Sentencing
5-28-2002- Mommy, Why Can't You Be With Us? by Edgar J. Steele
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A
Voice for Children |
What started as a happy family vacationing in Grants Pass ended as a nightmare of pain and trauma when Oregon children's "services" decided the vegetarian Christine children were too thin.
By Ginny Paseman, Culp Creek, Oregon
5-13-2002- The Trial
Media News Trial
Coverage Archives
(KATU, KPIC, KGW, KPTV)
5-12-2002- Christines Website back up!
PRIDE AND PROSECUTION: OREGON'S DESTRUCTION OF A FAMILY
By Paul Walter
May 13, 2002
NewsWithViews.com
The following characterizations of the events that subsequently lead to the arrest and conviction of Brian and Ruth Christine, were arrived at by my extensive interviews with Brian and Ruth. I also attended their entire trial.
May 10,2002- A dark day for Motherhood in Oregon
Brian and Ruth Christine have been found guilty of
the main charges against them--robbery, custodial interference and unlawful
use of a motor vehicle.
Guilty of Caring Edgar J. Steele May 11, 2002
Edgar J. Steel, Attorney for the Damned
For the latest Eye Witness COURT WATCHER accounts, see A Voice for Children's "News Wire" What a difference unbiased reporting makes!
And now, for your viewing pleasure, ladies and gentlemen, the old Character Assassination....
Date: Thursday, May 02, 2002 2:37 PM
Subject: UPDATE - DAY 3 - MAD HATTER COURT... JUDGE MAKES "LAW" FROM
THE BENCH (May 2, 2002)
(The following notes are from D. Michaels and W. Gaston, courtwatchers, from
the trial today in Roseburg. They heard this judge,
William Laswell, make decisions, made without a jury, making law from the
bench! The judge made all of these decisions without any credible
evidence whatsoever, without sworn testimony and is allowing this even though
the Christines have NOT been charged with anything to do with why the children
were removed, only charged relating to their taking their children back from
the state.
5-2-02
From Pamela Gaston's "A Voice
for Children" News Wire-
The STATE is proceeding in unconstitutional statutory PROCESS against Parents / Today's Oregonian article follows....
ROSEBURG,
OREGON - In 60 hours, Brian and Ruth Christine go on trial for allegedly
kidnapping their own children back from Oregon's Services to Children and
Families (SCF) agency.
Last minute negotiations with the Douglas County Assistant District Attorney
late on Friday failed to yield any progress on a plea bargain for either
parent. "He still wants them to go to prison for 7-1/2 years each for
what amounts to nothing more than misdemeanor custodial interference,"
said Edgar J. Steele, attorney for the Christines.
Ruth Christine will be in Portland on Monday, to do a live interview on KATU
TV, ABC's Portland affiliate. KATU will also tape an extended interview for
later use and have agreed to make copies of that tape available to all
members of the media, upon request, per Mrs. Christine's request, so as to
lessen the need for her to participate in pretrial media hoopla.
Steele noted, "We will be finished at KATU at about 12:30 pm. At 1:00
pm on Monday, April 29, Mrs. Christine and I will hold a press conference on
the sidewalk in front of KATU's Portland station to accommodate members of
the media who have requested an opportunity to meet with Ruth face to face.
We will take as long as necessary to satisfy those who come, up to two hours
in length, when we really must leave to prepare for trial the following
morning." The station is located at 2153 Sandy Blvd., Portland.
Ruth Christine and her attorney recently appeared on ABC's Good Morning
America and NBC's Today Show, to state their case directly to the American
public. "People have got to wake up and realize what is happening right
here in America," said Steele. "While they worry over noncitizens'
rights in Military Tribunal trials, far worse things are done to our friends
and neighbors in these secret child custody proceedings."
"Given the piling on of charges against the Christines, as evidenced by
the recent additional "Secret Indictment" of Ruth," said
Steele, "this case has become the poster child for why Measure 11
should be reversed in the fall elections this year."
At a hearing last month before William Lasswell, judge of the Douglas County
Circuit Court, bail for Ruth Christine was cut from $500,000 to $50,000. The
judge declined to reduce Brian Christine's bail of over $500,000. Ruth was
bailed out about two weeks ago.
Read the whole story at-
http://www.sierratimes.com/02/04/28/ares042802.htm
April 18, 2002
See the video of the Ruth Christine interview-
MSNBC Video Link:
** Couple accused of kidnapping own children **
"Today" host Matt Lauer reports on the trial of a couple accused
of kidnapping their own children at gunpoint.
http://www.msnbc.com/m/c/ctv_emailthis.asp?id=tdy_kidnap_020418&subid=&sk=msnbc&sl=&0mw=x92
4-18-2002
Hi everyone!
I wanted to write you really quick and tell you about a family we know that
is in dire need of help, and especially PRAYER! Their names are Brian and Ruth
Christine, they have five girls Bethany, Miriam, Lydia, Olivia and Abbey Rose.
Some of you who are from Oregon may have heard of this family as their case has received quite a lot of media coverage. For those of you receiving this who are unfamiliar with the Christine family, I will try to give you a brief account of their situation.
Brian and Ruth are a young married couple who, after meeting and marrying in Ruth's native England, moved to Indiana where Brian was born. As they began to have a family their desire for their children was to give them a Christian based homeschooled education. Brian had a lifelong dream of converting a bus and traveling around the United States, so the couple set to work customizing a home on wheels with all amenities. Their intention was to incorporate their travels into the children's education while they were still young, giving them a hands on experience. For example, while studying rock formations, visit Carlsbad Caverns... you get the idea. Brian had an internet based business which allowed him to work while they traveled the country for about a year, very happily, when they arrived in Grants Pass, Oregon. They made friends, got involved with the community and thought that they had found a place where they might want to stay for good when their traveling adventure was over.
Then the unthinkable happened.
Read the whole VERY INFORMATIVE letter
April 17, 2002
by Edgar J. Steele
As you may remember, Brian and Ruth Christine face life in prison
(adding up all the penalties for the laundry list of charges levied
against them) for having rescued their children from the snatch-n-sell
Nazis of the rogue Oregon State Department of Services to Children and
Families (SCF).
Please tune in to NBC's Today Show tomorrow
morning (April 18) for a live interview of Ruth Christine and myself
in the NBC studios in Manhattan. The show starts at 7:00 am
(taped replay in other time zones), but they haven't yet picked the
exact time slot. I notice that they tend to run these interviews
during the first hour, however. Matt Lauer is the scheduled
interviewer.
From: "Edgar J. Steele" <conspiracypenpal@topica.email-publisher.com>
Immediately upon Steele's reentry into the case, Oregon cut off all funding for public defenders, investigators and expert witnesses, without giving a reason. Steele is serving pro bono, meaning without pay.
ROSEBURG, OREGON - At a hearing this morning before William
Lasswell, judge of the Douglas County Circuit Court, bail for Ruth Christine
was cut from $500,000 to $50,000. The judge declined to reduce Brian
Christine's bail of over $500,000.
Ruth and her husband Brian have both been held under bail amounts set well
beyond their ability to raise for over six months, while they awaited trial on
a myriad of Class 1 felony charges for taking their own children back from
Oregon's child services agency last year and fleeing the state. Brian
allegedly used a revolver in forcing state employees to hand over his three
daughters.
In a related hearing two days ago, the court cited a heavy trial schedule in
pushing the Christines' criminal trial from March 19 over to April 30 of this
year.
Edgar J. Steele, an attorney with offices in Sandpoint, Idaho and San
Francisco, California, recently took over the handling of the Christines' case
from several public defenders, and vowed a vigorous defense at trial.
"They were conned into waiving their right to a speedy trial with the
promise of a reasonable plea agreement offer," said Steele, "then,
just last week, that offer turned out to be an invitation for both Brian and
Ruth to spend the next 7-1/2 years of their lives in prison - for rescuing
their own children from a rogue Oregon state agency."
2-28-2002- When Dreams Become Nightmares by Edgar J. Steele
Their lawyer is Edgar J. Steele. While Steele is providing his legal services pro bono (for free), he notes that there will be considerable costs to expended in the Christines' defense, nonetheless, and asks that donations be directed to the
Christine Defense Fund
PO Box 1255
Sagle, Idaho 83860
Please, won't you help focus the spotlight of justice into Oregon by telling everyone you know about the Christine's plight?
Their website is-http://www.governmentchildtheft.com
and- http://christines.donttakeourkids.com/
A really informative website is-http://www.eionews.addr.com/psyops/christinefamily.htm
October
26, 2001
MONTANA
JUDGE RULES AGAINST OREGON'S SCF
By Edgar Steele
October 26, 2001
NewsWithViews.com
Baby Abbey Rose Christine is on her way home to Indiana with grandmother Teri Christine. There she finally will meet her year-old sister, Olivia, who has been living with Teri since birth.
This stunning result issued from a Missoula courtroom yesterday following a hearing closed to the public. In a temporary custody ruling, Missoula County District Judge Ed McLean ruled that the best interests of Abbey would be served by placing her with her paternal grandmother and older sister. In passing, the judge noted that this would also be in Olivia's best interests, demonstrating a degree of compassion that has been singularly lacking in the way that Montana has treated the Christine family to date.
9-27-2001
State upheld in custody
case
Judge backs plan to end Christines' parental rights
By GILLIAN FLACCUS
The Associated Press
A Josephine County judge on Wednesday approved the state's plan to terminate the parental rights of a Grants Pass couple accused of kidnapping their children from welfare workers, according to the children's lawyer.
Brian and Ruth Christine have been held in different Montana jails since allegedly kidnapping their three oldest children from Oregon social workers at gunpoint nearly two months ago.
The decision removes an important hurdle for Oregon state welfare workers in a custody dispute that has dragged on for more than a year.
The girls were initially taken into state custody after state officials found them emaciated and dehydrated while living with their parents in a converted city bus in Grants Pass. One child had a 3-inch skull fracture, officials said.
The children - Bethany, 6, Lydia, 4, and Miriam, 3 - are living with their maternal grandparents in an undisclosed location "somewhere in the United States," said their lawyer, Pat Wolke.
A fourth child, 1-year-old Olivia, is living with her paternal grandmother in Indiana. A fifth child, born Monday in a Missoula hospital, is being cared for by Montana child welfare officials.
Josephine County Judge Allan Coon issued a statement Wednesday to all parties supporting the state's proposal.
"He said it is appropriate for the state to proceed to file a petition to terminate parental rights," Wolke said. "It is within his power to say the state is moving too quickly and they need to work with the parents more to reunite them - but he did not say that."
The Christines' attorney, Edgar Steele of Idaho, did not return phone messages left Wednesday at his office. Patricia Feeny, spokeswoman for the Oregon Services to Children and Families, also did not return requests for comment Wednesday.
Wolke said the judge's decision is in the children's best interest. He said he expected the judge to rule as he did.
"It's absolutely correct, and I don't see how he could have decided otherwise," he said.
Wolke said the state must still file the petition and prove their case in a termination trial. That could take place within four months, he said.
Read the Oregon Observer EXPOSE of alleged attorney Pat Wolke
September 26, 2001
Handcuffed
Ruth Christine gives birth
State immediately separates newborn from mother
by Edgar Steele
MISSOULA, Mont. -- Ruth Christine gave birth to her fifth child in Missoula, Montana . Before the mother's pain killers had even worn off, little Abbey Rose was seized by Montana authorities and is now being held at an undisclosed location. Ruth was shackled and handcuffed to the bed upon which she gave birth. Hospital attendants who witnessed the birth reportedly wept at the spectacle.
Story also at
American
Freepress.net
August 31, 2001
OREGON'S
SCF DICTATING TO MONTANA
By Edgar J. Steele
August 31, 2001
NewsWithViews.com
MISSOULA, MONTANA - First, they took her three young girls on an anonymous and unverifiable phone call that one looked kind of sick. Then they moved heaven and earth, trying desperately to take the baby she bore a month later, though it was several states out of their jurisdiction. Then they had her arrested and thrown in a Montana jail for "kidnapping" her own children. Now, she is about to give birth to her fifth child and they are trying to snatch it, too, after which they want to lock her and her husband away in prison for a long, long time.
Pretty serious stuff. Must be a modern Bonnie and Clyde. "How many people have they killed?" would be a logical question. Well....none, actually. What have they done wrong? Their most serious crime: they loved their children. Their biggest mistake: they trusted that truth would find a way.
August 25, 2001
Christines'
Story Not Your Ordinary Travesty
By Steve Trinward
AUGUST
22, 2001
YOUR GOVERNMENT AT WORK
State
to seize unborn baby?
Woman
jailed in alleged kidnap of own kids about to birth another
By Joe Kovacs
© 2001 WorldNetDaily.com
A woman jailed for allegedly kidnapping her own children from Oregon welfare authorities fears the state is eyeing her unborn child. Ruth Christine, who remains behind bars in Montana and is due to give birth within the next three weeks, wants to transfer her parental rights of the unborn child to family friend Aubrey Jessop.
"It's really sad what happened to this family," Jessop tells WorldNetDaily. "They were backed into a corner. It would run through my mind about taking the kids back forcefully. Wouldn't anyone think that? The Christines were told their parental rights were being taken away."
CONSCIENCE
TRUMPS
CONSTITUTION?
By Roger Fredinburg 2001 - NewsWithViews.com
August 7, 2002
Children reunited with foster mom
By the Associated Press, www.missoulian.com, 2001.08.07
Three children kidnapped at gunpoint from a state caseworker by their
father last week have been reunited with their Oregon foster mother, while their parents
and an accomplice were being held on felony kidnapping and robbery charges.
Ruth Christine, 28, and Matt Gerawan, 36, appeared briefly by closed-circuit television
on Monday before Missoula County Justice of the Peace Karen Orzech. They
were being held on a $500,000 bail.
Both face felony kidnapping and robbery charges in Oregon, where they are accused
of aiding Christine's husband, Brian Christine, in the kidnapping three
of the couple's four daughters. They also face charges of custodial interference
and unauthorized use of a vehicle, both felonies.
Brian Christine, 28, who was arrested Friday near Big Timber after being stopped
for speeding, made an initial appearance in Justice Court in Big Timber
on Monday evening. He faces the same charges as his wife. Sweet Grass County
Justice of the Peace Jessie McKenney ordered him held on $500,000 also.
In Missoula, deputy county attorney Dale Mrkich said Gerawan and Ruth Christine,
who is pregnant, both made it clear Monday they intend to fight extradition
to Oregon.
"The next step then is for Oregon prosecutors to file the paperwork to get them
back," Mrkich said.
County Attorney Fred Van Valkenburg said it could take up to three months
to complete the extradition process.
The girls - 6-year-old Bethany, 4-year-old Lydia and 3-year-old Miriam -
were found unharmed at a secluded home 30 miles west of Missoula on Sunday.
They were reunited with their foster mother, who has cared for them since the girls
were removed from their parents' custody on July 31, 2000. They will return
to Oregon later this week, Brink said.
"The girls were so happy to see their foster mom," said Shaun Brink, manager of
the Grants Pass office of the State Office for Services to Children and Families.
"They had the caseworker and the law enforcement people in tears."
The state took custody of the girls a year and a day before the kidnapping, while
the family was living in a bus parked next to the Josephine County
Library. A fourth daughter, 11-month-old Olivia, was born a few days later and
placed in her grandmother's care in Indiana.
That daughter has been missing since July 28. Authorities are searching for the
baby and the man her father sent to pick her up from the Noblesville home of
his mother, Teri Christine.
Brink said that when Olivia is found, Oregon child welfare officials hope
to unite her with her sisters in their Oregon foster home.
"At this point, we want to make sure they're with a foster family they know,"
Brink said. "They need to know the people around them are safe and that they can
trust them."
When Ruth Christine gives birth, that child will also become a ward of the state,
Brink said. SCF officials hope to place that child in foster care with its
siblings.
Last summer, the three older girls spent four days in a hospital recovering from
malnutrition and dehydration before being placed in foster care.
Oregon authorities say that last Wednesday, following a supervised visit
with the children, the couple and an unidentified man matching Gerawan's description
followed the van carrying the three older girls and state welfare workers
as the children were being returned to a foster home. When the welfare
workers stopped to use a restroom, Brian Christine allegedly put a gun
to one caseworker's head, then drove away in the state van with the girls.
Police say Ruth Christine and the unidentified man were in two other getaway
cars.
The kidnapping occurred as a Josephine County circuit judge was considering whether
to permanently end the couple's parental rights and turn over their three
daughters to Ruth Christine's parents in England for adoption.
Pat Wolke, a Grants Pass, Ore., attorney representing the three children, said
he anticipates a hearing scheduled to decide the termination issue will be
moved up. It was scheduled for Sept. 20.
State child welfare officials still plan to ask a judge to terminate the parental
rights.
Oregon State Police Lt. Kurt Barthel said investigators were looking for others
who may have conspired with the Christines
August 5, 2001
Children Kidnapped by Their Own Parents
|
© Christianmediadaily.com
Brian and Ruth Christine gave up the
standard American life, and took their three young children on the road, living
in a motor home. They were living a
free lifestyle, home schooling their kids, and enjoying each moment together as
a family, temporarily staying in Grants Pass, Oregon. Then the government of Oregon forced
its way into the Christine family- and split it up! Eleven months later, Brian and
Ruth Christine faced the permanent loss of their three daughters.
The State of Oregon had filed for permanent custody of the children after
nearly a year of forced separation of the three young girls from their natural
mom and dad. |
8/3/01
Police say father sent for fourth daughter
in Indiana before kidnapping
By JEFF BARNARD
The Associated Press
The Oregon State Police Press Releases
Brian and Ruth say Thank You to everyone who tried to help
Behind the Scenes in JoCo
January 5, 2001
Commentary by Peter Sparacino
[P]eter, this is Ruth Christine, bad news. cops
arrested [B]rian last night supposedly for resisting arrest. they have trumped
up 2 charges of a felony and 4 of a misdemeanor ,bail set at
40,000 dollars,so i am working on coming up with the $4000
(10%) they let me go. don't know why,accept for Gods grace. these guys are
nuts,and one of these days their house of cards will just fall down. they also
smashed the windows in our motor home.!!!and towed it away,so
i am trying to get that back too!!
Ruth Christine
Birthday In Court
November 27, 2000
By Ruth Christine
Peter,
I looked at the website, I read half of Brian Christine's statement. If what he says is only partly true it is an indictment of a gestapo mentality system that walks hand in hand to squelch individual liberties. It sounds like something out of a dictatorship. Absolute evil.
These apparent coincidents may be more than coincident -- they may be proof of what the courthouse demonstrators have been warning us of for months i.e., the need to reform JoCo's criminal justice system. In fact, many demonstrators have been specifically protesting the treatment of the Christine family for many weeks. Clearly, this newest, unfortunate incident will continue to keep our community embroiled until community leaders understand that positive dialogue must address these inflammatory issues before our much needed tourist industry is impacted. After all, who wants to vacation in a place where such turmoil exists ?
Brian and Ruth Christine's Affidavits and Motions of October, 2000
Here are several MP3 audio recordings of the 8/20/2000 City Council Meeting in Grants Pass, Oregon. Speakers include: Brian & Ruth Christine, Paul Walters, Alice Kitzman, Michael Seradzki, Pamela Hackett and Jackie Conrad. Over 50 Citizens attended the previous City Council meeting to voice their concern over the Christine Matter.
The
Eagle Scout and the Missionary
Get to know WHO Brian and Ruth REALLY ARE!
Brian and Ruth Christine- Where they were born- Went to school and
college- Their lives "before"