How Could You? Hall of Shame-William Leon Bardin UPDATED
This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.
From Cotter, Arkansas, foster-adoptive parent William Leon Bardin, 62, “was arrested at approximately 9:45 AM this morning [September 23, 2013] at his residence after investigators obtained a bench warrant for the felony crime of Rape. The arrest follows a two week long investigation by the Arkansas State Police and the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office.
The investigation came about after a young female adult contacted Arkansas State Police Investigator Becky Vacco and alleged she had been molested by Bardin since she was 5 or 6 years old. The victim alleged this continued over a period of years and the conduct occurred at the home and in the ice cream truck that BARDIN drives in neighborhoods throughout the area.
The Arkansas State Police and the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office began the investigation into the allegations. During the course of the investigation, Investigators arranged for the victim to wear a miniature recording device and meet with Bardin. During the meeting Bardin admitted to Deviate Sexual Activity with the victim when she was a child and promised it would never happen again.
On Monday, September 23, 2013 at approximately 9:30 AM, Investigators and Sheriff’s Deputies with the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office, Arkansas State Police, Crimes Against Children’s Division (CACD) and the Department of Human Services (DHS) went to the residence on CR174, Cotter Arkansas and took William Bardin into custody without incident. Interviews were conducted on Bardin’s wife, Robin and ten (10) children who lived in the home. Robin Bardin admitted to investigators that the victim had come to her with the allegations approximately 2 years earlier but stated she did not believe the victim and did not report the allegation to law enforcement or to the Child Abuse Hot Line.
The investigation is continuing with more interviews scheduled. Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office at 425-7000.
William Leon Bardin, age 62 is charged with:
Rape Class Y Felony
Bond was set by the Persecutor’s Office at $50,000 and he is currently being held in the Baxter County Detention Center pending his appearance in Baxter County Circuit Court on September 26th at 9 AM.”
62 Year Old Rural Cotter Area Man Arrested For Rape
[Baxter County Sheriff press release 9/23/13]
“A 62-year-old Cotter resident, well-known as an adoptive parent, child advocate and ice cream truck driver, was arrested Monday after being caught on tape admitting to the rape of a young girl, according to Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery.
The charge against William Leon Bardin stems from alleged incidents that occurred over the course of several years. Bardin was charged with the alleged rape of a victim under 14 years of age and taken to the county jail where he was held in lieu of a $50,000 bond, according to jail records.
The alleged victim contacted authorities approximately two weeks ago and said Bardin began molesting her when she was five or six years old, with the abuse continuing over the course of several years.
The assaults occurred in Bardin’s home and the ice cream truck he drove in towns throughout the Twin Lakes Area, according to what the victim told authorities.
As the investigation continued, the alleged victim agreed to wear a miniature recording device. The victim then met with Bardin, who allegedly admitted to having deviate sex with her when she was a child, and promising to the victim it would “never happen again,” according to Montgomery.
Authorities went to Bardin’s home where he was with his wife, Robin, and their 10 children. Bardin was arrested without incident, according to authorities.
Bardin’s wife was interviewed and told investigators the victim told her about the allegations approximately two years ago. Robin Bardin reportedly told authorities she did not believe the victim and therefore did not report the accusations to authorities.
Workers with the Department of Human Services also responded to the Bardin home, Montgomery said. Whether any children were removed from the home is unknown. Montgomery said no children were removed while his investigators were on scene.
The alleged victim no longer lives at the home, Montgomery said.
Several people have been interviewed as part of the investigation, according to Montgomery, who said the investigation was continuing, and that Bardin could face more charges depending on the outcome of the investigation.
“The investigation is going to have to continue,” Montgomery said. “We’re far from this investigation being done.”
In a Facebook post, Bardin discussed how children should be cherished. Bardin’s Facebook page makes numerous religious references and references to people searching for missing children.
“Children are a blessing from God,” Bardin wrote on Facebook. “He puts them on loan for us to teach & care for threw (sic) thick & thin.”
Bond conditions for people accused of violent crimes generally require suspects have no contact with the victims. Suspects accused of sexual violence against children are generally required as a condition of bond not to reside in a home where children are present.
Authorities have asked anyone with information about the case to contact the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office at 425-7000.”
Arkansas ice cream truck driver arrested for child rape
[News=Leader 9/23/13 by Josh Dooley]
REFORM Puzzle Pieces
Update:“A jury trial date has been set for Robin B. Bardin, the wife of the accused “ice cream truck rapist,” William Leon Bardin. Robin will make a court appearance on July, 31 and go to trial on a charge of interfering with custody at 9 a.m. Oct. 31, 2014.
Her husband, who had been scheduled to go to trial on a rape charge, is now set for a court appearance on May 1.
William Bardin has been accused of rape of a minor child and was arrested last year after the alleged victim wore a wire and with authorities present, Bardin admitted to the offense. He has driven an ice cream truck, selling ice cream to children, in the Twin Lakes area for many years.
The couple have 16 children, five of their own and the rest adopted.
Robin Bardin was arrested this year after Arkansas Department of Human Services workers tried to remove six of the minor children from the home and she refused to turn them over and withheld them from school. This was after she had been turned into the Arkansas Abuse Hot line as a sex offender.
Robin Bardin is currently free on her own recognizance, and her husband is free on $50,000 bond.”
Trial set for Robin Bardin; her husband William Leon Bardin goes back to court May 1[Hilln Holler 4/9/14]
“The lawyer for accused child rapist William Leon Bardin said Thursday in Baxter County Circuit Court that the case is in the final stages of a plea agreement.
With Bardin on the docket for an appearance before Judge Gordon Webb, attorney Johnnie Copeland asked for more time to finish the plea agreement with prosecutors and then present it to the court.
Prosecuting Attorney Ron Kincade confirmed work on the plea agreement to Webb, and also agreed to additional time being given in the case. ”
Accused child rapist, William Leon Bardin, in final stages of plea deal[Baxter Bulletin 5/1/14]
Update 2:”Circuit Judge Gordon Webb announced in Baxter County Circuit Court today that the court will not prosecute Robin Bardin, 56, a Cotter woman who faced a charge of interference with custody after a child-abuse hotline allegation she is a sexual offender.
Bardin was arrested in March for allegedly interfering with Arkansas Department of Human Service workers, when they attempted to pick up six children who had been placed into her household last fall.
According to the information and an affidavit from ASP Special Agent Becky Vacco, the interference case stemmed from DHS attempting to remove the six children when the Arkansas Child Abuse Hotline received a call on Feb. 19, that Robin Bardin was “an alleged sexual offender.” That afternoon, two Division of Family Services workers were dispatched to the Bardin residence to serve a 72-hour hold on the two oldest children and remove the other four from a trial home placement. The children were placed in Bardin’s custody between Sept. 30, 2013 and Nov. 22, 2013.
No one was home when the DHS workers arrived, according to the court papers, and one of the workers called Bardin’s phone and left a message that they were waiting for her. About an hour later, Bardin arrived at the home and, still in her vehicle, asked one of the DHS worker what was happening, according to the paperwork.
The worker said he told Bardin there were “new allegations that have resulted in health and safety concerns,” and she drove away. They then contacted the Baxter County Sheriff’s office.
According to the affidavit, other attempts were made that night to contact Bardin, all unsuccessful. A check of her home the next morning showed no indication she was there, and when the Cotter Public School was contacted, DHS was advised that the children were absent. Vacco filed for a warrant that day. It was issued Feb. 21 and served on Monday. She turned the children over to DHS.
Bardin’s husband, 62-year-old William Leon Bardin, is serving a 20-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to rape of a victim younger than 14. He acknowledged engaging in sexual activity with a child starting when she was 5 or 6 and continuing it for several years. The girl was 18 when she reported the abuse to authorities”
Charge against Robin Bardin dropped[Baxter Bulletin 9/25/14 ]
shame on you for condemning a man before he has been found guilty! last time I checked our country had a policy of innocent until proven guilty.
Name,
Re: “…our country had a policy of innocent until proven guilty…”
That applies to trial in a court of law, not to 1) reporting the story of the arrest in the media 2) reporting the media coverage on an Adoption Reform website 3) expressing opinions on whether any given defendant is innocent or guilty– as you just did, in fact.
Of course, to maintain Bardin is innocent, you have to simultaneously maintain that his accuser is lying about the abuse AND local law enforcement is lying about Bardin’s recorded confession to the events. If “innocent until proven guilty” worked like you seem to think, YOU wouldn’t be allowed to accuse the Arkansas State Police and the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office of lying to a judge to get a warrant to arrest Bardin. Consider that.
Freedom of speech– it’s how America works.
He admitted to doing the crime and his wife is as guilty as he is..
SOME MAY CHOOSE TO BLAME THE FOSTER FAMILY(BARDINS) AND I MUST ADMIT THE MOTHER SHOULD HAVE SPOKE UP AND DONE SOMTHING,ANYTHING REALLY. BUT, THEIR IS ALSO BLAME THAT GOES INTO THE COMMUNITY. BECAUSE, WE PUT THE DEVIL ON A PEDESTAL,IN THE MIDDLE OF HIS OWN HEAVEN. WHILE CHIDREN OR CHILD LIVED IN A HELL. NOONE THOUGHT TO ASK OR EVEN TAKE ASIDE THE CHILDREN AND TALK TO THEM. WE ALL ACCEPTED THEM “BARDINS”, TO BE CHRISTIAN ,TO BE GOOD. WHY? BECAUSE, THEY TOLD US THEY WHERE? THEIR IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH OUR DHS, IF WE TAKE WHAT THE DEVIL SAYS, “AS THE TRUTH!”
The rape of a child is an everlasting pain on that child and for them to have so many children in their care makes this even more disturbing. It’s well know that other children in the household were raped an that the wife overlooked it, maybe for the check recieved for fostering the children; only God knows, but she had to know.
I personally know the Bardins and they are Christian. Christisn doesnt mean you dont sin anymore because if that was true, you would be Jesus. Cast the first stone. Are you sinless? Have compassion for the victim and he who admits and repents.
I have compassion for the victim, but I don’t have any for “he who admits and repents.” I would be more than pleased to “Cast the first stone.”
Sexual predators are notorious for “repenting”… and when forgiven, going back out and repeating the same crimes with new victims.
That’s how it was for Catholic priests before the Boston Globe blew the lid off, and that’s how it was in the Mormon Church before the Quorum saw that they’d have to take proactive steps before they started hemorrhaging tithing members. Protestant Evangelical and mainline denominations are now facing the same scandal.
Sexual predators are great at mastering the lingo of religious groups and using it to their advantage to avoid accountability for their actions. Sociopaths are slick that way.
Matthew 7:15
Sandy, please go tell your Christian friends that there is a special circle of hell waiting for them, and Satan is coming to come and steal the remainder of their greedy, gutless, disgusting, inhuman souls and they will spend the rest of their miserable lives in torment and suffering. They are the lowest of the low and frankly, Sandy, all you Christians defending other Christians solely because they cry crocodile tears on their Bibles is sick. You hear me, SICK. Why don’t you pray for the victims instead of these pigs who abused and raped little children. Having any faith of any kind is NO excuse for criminal behavior. There are so many rotten adoption agencies out there that blame all their problems on Satan and whine and cry that non-believers are out to get them when they are busy stealing children and committing horrible crimes but oh no in your world they couldn’t possibly do that because they’re Christian. Sure they are.