Pet-Abuse.Com - Animal Abuse Case Details: 18 dogs starved, children sexually abused

18 dogs starved, children sexually abused
Lakehills, TX (US)

Incident Date: Friday, Apr 21, 2006
County: Bandera
Local Map: available
Disposition: Alleged
Charges: Felony CTA, Felony Non-CTA

Alleged:
» John Francis Robben
» Tara C. Robben

Case Updates: 2 update(s) available

Case ID: 8312

Classification: Neglect / Abandonment

Animal: dog (non pit-bull)

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Child or elder neglect

A Bandera County father's parental rights were terminated on after he was suspected of sexually abusing at least six children, including two of his own, police said.

A wife and grandmother were also accused.

Bandera County authorities told local news that the incidents were some of the worst cases of child abuse they've seen in years.

Down an isolated road and behind a metal gate, police said they found a home in deplorable conditions.

"I don't have the words for it," said Deputy Laura Morris, with the Bandera County Sheriff's Office. "There's no place you stepped without stepping in something."

The accused include John Francis Robben, 32; his wife, Tara, 31; and his mother, Ann, 62.

Inside the house, authorities found and seized 18 starving dogs, three of which did not survive.

The couple's two children, aged 6 and 7, were placed in protective custody.

Authorities said Robben admitted to sexually abusing his children along with a handful of other children.

"He has confessed to several, but says he can't remember the names of at least two other ones," said Lt. Allen Tucker, with the sheriff's office.

Robben was being held on a $1.5 million bond, and his wife and grandmother were free on bond. They might face additional charges for failing to report the crimes, deputies said.

Neighbors, who did not want to be identified, told local news that they've tried to do something for years, and even tried forcing the family out of the area.

Police were tipped off when a 7-year-old girl told her mother about Robben's alleged sexual abuse.

Case Updates

A status hearing held May 26 maintained the status quo for accused sex offender John Francis Robben, Sr. and his wife Tara. Robben remains incarcerated while Tara is pushed through the court system as she answers various charges of her own.

Robben was arrested April 7, after an unrelated child reported being sexually abused by him. He confessed to the abuse in a polygraph exam, and gave a written description of how he also abused his daughter and son, ages 5 and 7. He said that both his wife and mother had been aware of what he was doing. Robben was charged with three counts of aggravated sexual assault and four counts of indecency with a child. Both females were arrested for failure to report the aggravated sexual assault of a child.

Now in the custody of the state, the young children are reported as doing well with their studies and social settings. Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) state that the children appear to feel secure in their current environment, and recommendations have been made to keep the children placed together.

Tara, who is represented by Pipe Creek Attorney Marsha Anthony, has stated that she will fulfill the terms as stipulated by CASA and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services in order to regain custody of her children. She said that she disagrees with the long-range goals for permanency, but that she will comply.

According to court documents, Tara routinely takes several prescribed medicines including anti-depressants and painkillers. She has been ordered by the court to undergo various medical and psychological evaluations in her quest to regain custody of the children.

Initially, a parent or guardian is given 12 months to establish a safe environment after a child is removed from their care before parental termination is considered. In some cases, said Region 8 CPS Public Information Director Mary Walker, that timeframe can be expanded to 18 months.

Tara has temporarily moved out of Bandera County, and has reported to CASA that she intends to permanently move out state once she and the children are reunited. She does maintain, however, that her husband is innocent. Walker said that while it is premature to say definitively whether the court will mandate Tara divorce her husband as a stipulation of getting her children back, there is no way she will be granted custody if they are at risk.

"When you've got a spouse as a perpetrator, that is certainly a major consideration," Walker said.

Robben will likely be placed on a fast track, and his parental rights will be terminated in the absence of a long-term plan of compliance, Walker said. The next hearing scheduled is Friday, Aug. 4, at 1 p.m., at Mansfield Park.

ANIMAL CRUELTY

In addition to facing three charges of failure to report, Tara was also charged with one count of cruelty to animals. Investigators seized 17 dogs that were malnourished, filled with parasites and covered in feces from the Robben's Pipe Creek residence. According to Triple Kucurek, former Bandera County animal control officer, this was not the first time animals in neglected condition were removed from the home. In 1996, shortly after Tara reportedly rolled over and smothered her 4-day-old infant, Kucurek was called out on suspicion of animal cruelty.

"At the time that we went out there, it was right after her baby passed away," Kucurek said. "When I walked up, there were dead rabbits in cages. The rabbits' bodies oozed through the bottom of the cage. It was horrible."

Kucurek also said that Tara had hung kittens in handmade yarn harnesses from cup hooks screwed into the wall.

"She said she did that to keep them out of trouble because they were too rambunctious," Kucurek said.

A report was filed with then Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace Bonnie Towers, who purportedly deemed Tara mentally unstable. In an alleged plea agreement, Robben agreed to monitor his wife to ensure the situation would not be repeated.

"She agreed not to have any more animals and they agreed not to pursue it," Kucurek said.

Beverly Schmidt of Precinct 1 Justice Hershel Moore's office required a formal open records request to search for the case file. As of press time, the request had not been granted.

Source: The Bandera Bulletin - June 13, 2006
Update posted on Jun 14, 2006 - 2:47PM

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Three indictments for aggravated sexual assault of a child were returned Monday against a Pipe Creek man whose wife and mother also are charged with failing to report the alleged abuses, District Attorney Bruce Curry said.

The suspect, John Robben Sr., 32, was arrested April 8 after admitting to deputies that he'd assaulted three youngsters in incidents dating to last year.

Robben, a heavy-equipment operator, was held Monday in Bandera County Jail on $1.5 million bond, officials said.

"It's a pretty heinous fact situation and it deserves some pretty serious prosecution," said Curry after the grand jury issued the indictments.

Defense attorney Marsha Anthony expressed doubt about the allegations. "We'll see when we go to trial," she said.

She also represents the suspect's wife, Tara C. Robben, 31, and his mother, Ann Sternberg Robben, 62, who were arrested last month on misdemeanor charges of failing to report the sexual assault of a child, records show.

Free on bond, both women declined comment.

Tara Robben also faces an animal cruelty charge arising from conditions in which numerous dachshunds and two Great Danes were kept at the family's home on Candy Lane.

"We went out to run a search warrant and found she had like 17 dogs in unkempt cages," sheriff's Chief Deputy Don Berger said. "All of the dogs were impounded."

Tara Robben surrendered custody of the dogs April 12 to the Cowboy Capital Pet League, but the Great Danes were stolen within a day from the group's shelter on Texas 16.

Berger said both the alleged assaults and the theft of the dogs are still under investigation.

Source: MySanAntonio - May 2, 2006
Update posted on May 2, 2006 - 4:00PM

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KSAT - April 21, 2006

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18 dogs starved, children sexually abusedLakehills, TX (US)

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18 dogs starved, children sexually abused
Lakehills, TX (US)