Times were very different.
As a teen in the late 60’s most of us were largely unsupervised for much of the time.
I was never abused or assaulted as a teen and I don’t know anyone who was but I suspect our lack of supervision would shock current parents and child welfare authorities.
In many ways I feel sorry for some of today’s generation.
Bob and Debbie have made their statement:
Time’s up, BOBBIE
Plaintiffs involved in civil suits related to childhood (and adult) sexual abuse/assault cases routinely make use of Jane Doe to protect their privacy.
I find it distasteful to attack that particular aspect of the situation. What about other childhood victims of sexual assault in any number of other cases going on all over the country right now, who are suing their abusers, and using ‘Jane Doe’ in order to protect their identities and privacy? Are all of those ladies also ‘hiding behind Jane Doe’? 
A note of interest… the lawyer representing Morris in the suit brought by one of his victims also tried to oppose the use of “John Doe” by that victim in his court filing.
Well, based on that joint statement, she’s not distancing herself from her husband.
“It’s starting to seem like big name male hunter/jumper trainers that didn’t have sex with their adolescent students back in the 60s-80s were the exception rather than the rule. And unfortunately it is still going on today. So gross.”
Just an observation…there seems to be no discussion of this lawsuit on the H/J forum.
You are being very kind. It’s beyond distasteful, it is despicable and an overt power play.
There are already two threads about it. Do we need one in the HJ forum too? To me the lack of a thread there does not mean anymore than there is already a discussion so why start another thread.
There is a thread on the H/J forum titled People Attempting to Undermine Safe Sport. The discussion about this case is there.
Agree, it’s ridiculous to attack the filing based on the anonymity in the press release.
Also: left field? Surely they knew this case was not dead.
Also: I can’t imagine they don’t know who the accusers are by now. Plus, the timeline and ages would probably be enough to identify them to anyone within the program, or at least narrow it down to very few people.
In my mind this statement (as well as the last one) is disingenuous and they would have been better off saying nothing. When facts come out that contradict their statement, as seems to inevitably happen, it hastens the unraveling.
Completely agree with everything you said.
The OC Register article came out in February of 2021. The reporter involved called Bob for comment on that article. Bob and Debbie had to know these allegations weren’t going away back then. That article also included multiple comments from one of the Jane Does about her story, the fact that her initials are K.D., and she provided photos of Bob riding the horse she owned back in the 70’s. Lots of details.
They certainly know who the accusers are. And they knew the two Jane Does were upset in the wake of the 1st ill advised statement the McDonald’s put out immediately following the August 2020 SafeSport administrative closure.
And about that. Back in August of 2020, the McDonald’s clearly stated that Bob had submitted additional evidence to SafeSport and “proven” the allegations are false. They stated he was “cleared.” But in the most recent statement, they claim they wanted to confront the accusers during the scheduled arbitration proceeding. Hmmmm…
Thank you. I didn’t think to look there.
I tried to restrain myself so as not to engage in unnecessary hyperbole… but my gut reaction to that portion of their statement was immediate and visceral.
I started that thread two years ago - at least I think it was two years - when much of the HJ community was freaking out about the George Morris ban, and the group Athletes For Equity was 1st created. The thread tracked public statements many people who have opposed SafeSport have made since then. But it’s also tracked a variety of different bans, and the reactions to the bans…
Sorry, I didn’t know there are already two threads about it. I know now that that the topic is buried in the Safe Sport thread on the H/J forum.
And about that whole move by George Morris’ lawyer to oppose the use of a “Doe” pseudonym for one of his accusers…
Does anyone know if Howard Jacobs is also representing George Morris in that case? The same plaintiffs attorney- Mike Reck - is involved in both cases. Here’s the comments he gave to COTH for their November 2020 article:
The court must approve the use of the pseudonym AG1 Doe in New York. Both USEF and Topping Riding Club have agreed, but Morris’ lawyers oppose the John Doe status and are trying to force that survivor to publically reveal his identity. Attorney Mike Reck of Anderson Advocates, who represents Soresi and AG1 Doe, opposed the request, and both sides are waiting for the judge to rule.
Reck said the move was shocking. According to Reck when New York’s Child Victims Act first came into existence some of the first heavily litigated cases involved the Catholic Church. The Archdiocese of New York fought against allowing alleged survivors of child sexual assault to use John Doe status, and Judge George Silver in New York County Court quelled that tactic, ruling that survivors could proceed as John Doe.
“That issue was pretty well settled pretty quickly,” said Reck. “At this point most institutional defendants realize [forbidding survivors to proceed as John Doe] does nothing but cause more harm and act as an intimidation factor to not allow child victims, at any point in their life, to come forward, for whatever those reasons may be. The thought of forcing survivors to publicly talk about this and have their name be out there would have a chilling effect.”
Reck said it’s common for survivors of child sexual assault to file under John Doe status.
“A lot of people who still suffer shame and embarrassment may not want friends, family, or co-workers to know,” he said. “They didn’t have a choice when they were children. The law generally gives them the choice. They didn’t choose to be abused as kids. Now they get the control to see how their story is publicly known.”
a little bit of me wonders if some of this old behavior is when they upped sticks and left SoCal for the dressage hub of Idaho
Interesting question, but I assume it was just that Parry & Peggy Thomas were in Idaho and that was where they wanted to be but they wanted a top class trainer and they had the bankroll to provide salary and amazing horses for Debbie to ride. Debbie frequently came to California to show.
Ahhh yes I had forgotten about the Thomas connections
Maybe. One can only hope.
I know nothing about these specific people or this specific case. But I wouldn’t be surprised if there were some dirtbag types who were doing this kind of thing to a lot of minors at the same time. How many gymnasts did Nassau abuse?
For some of these abusers, the picture of the horse in question would probably narrow it down more than anything else.
Go to H/J and start a new thread. There aren’t ever going to be too many of them.
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