How Could You? Hall of Shame-Fred Slota 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 Aberdeen, South Dakota, Fred Slota “was convicted by a jury of rape and sexual contact with a 7-year-old girl on Wednesday night.”
“Slota’s victim was his foster child in the 4-month period during which the incident took place.”
“Here’s a selection of tweets from the trial, as reported by the Aberdeen American News’ Scott Waltman:
“Jury of 14 selected in Frederick Slota trial. Of the jurors, 13 are women.”
“Defense attorney notes that charges stem from single alleged incident.”
“Alleged rape/sexual contact occurred in fall 2012 at an Aberdeen home. Judge clears courtroom of spectators while victim, now 8, testifies”
“On video recorded @ child advocacy center, girl says that. F. Slota touched her crotch under her pants & made her touch his over clothes.”
Can Aberdeen tell the difference between abusive foster parents?[Argus Leader 3/27/14 by John Hult]
REFORM Puzzle Piece
Update:”
An Aberdeen man raped and had improper sexual contact with a 7-year-old girl, a Brown County jury ruled Wednesday evening.
Frederick “Fred” B. Slota, 42, was not sentenced. The rape charge is punishable by life in prison. The sexual contact with a minor charge is punishable by as much as 15 years in prison.
As the verdict was read, Slota faced forward, a neutral expression not appearing to change. Roughly 20 people were in the courtroom at the time, supporters of the victim visibly emotional.
Slota testified in his defense Wednesday that he did not put his hand down the pants of a 7-year-old girl sometime between August 2012 and early December 2012. That countered what jurors heard from the girl, via video, on the previous day. In the video, she told a child advocate who was questioning her that Slota improperly touched her.
Chris White, chief deputy state’s attorney for Brown County, said during his closing argument the girl also personally testified to jurors Tuesday that Slota put his hand down her pants. The courtroom was cleared of all but only those most directly involved in the case when the victim testified, a step allowed by state law in such serious cases involving children.
White said that the victim’s story never changed from the time she accused Slota — not during a medical examination after she disclosed the incident to the child advocate, not when talking with White’s office, not during pre-trial hearings, not at trial. The girl had no reason to make up the story, White said.
But Henry Evans, Slota’s defense attorney, disagreed and said that others might have abused the girl.
And, Evans said, the girl only said that Slota improperly touched her after being pushed to and repeatedly questioned by the Sioux Falls child advocate who works in cases when there are allegations of sexual or physical child abuse.
Legally speaking, rape does not necessarily imply sexual intercourse, though it does imply genital penetration.
Unusual moments were scattered throughout the trial. White focused on some odd statements Slota made to a detective who was investigating the case. Some of Slota’s comments or partial comments included:
• “Memory is an unusual thing.”
• “I can’t recall any bleeding or prolonged contact.”
• “At this moment, I’m not having a recollection” about improper contact.
But, Evans said and Slota testified, some of the comments were taken out of context. And Slota said he felt the detective was trying to trick him. And, Slota said, he is aware that police officers don’t have to be truthful or share all the information they know when interviewing a suspect.
Slota also said he went to the police department voluntarily, when asked to, to talk to the detective and that they visited for nearly an hour before Slota realized he was a suspect.
In explaining Slota’s delayed denial of the sexual contact, Evans, during his closing argument, told jurors that Slota is analytical and compared him to the character Sheldon Cooper from the television show “The Big Bang Theory.”
Slota, his wife testified Tuesday, that he always wanted to collect as much information as possible before making a decision or expounding.
That’s fine when somebody’s buying a car, White said during his closing argument, but it doesn’t make any sense when somebody’s accused of raping a child.
Slota testified that he ultimately and adamantly, when talking to the detective, denied the girl’s accusations.
“‘Absolutely, positively no,’ And then, later, ‘Hell no,'” Slota said he told the detective in denying any wrong-doing.
Slota also denied sexually abusing the girl when questioned by his attorney.
He testified that he was surprised and shocked to learn he was a suspect, let alone the only suspect.
The reason he was the only suspect, White said, is because he was the only person the girl identified has having improperly touched her.
White and Slota agreed that it would be impossible for somebody to forget raping a 7-year-old girl. Then, White asked Slota whether somebody could forget not raping a 7-year-old.
“Um, how could someone forget something that did not happen?” Slota said.
The exchange came as White expressed cynicism about Slota telling the detective there were details he couldn’t recall.
Much of the Tuesday afternoon testimony seemed to ramble and not have direct ties to the allegations or a defense, though it did touch on how Slota and the girl interacted and some of the things he did for her.
Wednesday, Slota testified of his love for the girl. He and White butted heads on that matter, too, over a phrase that included the word “secret” that Slota said he often told the girl.
“I have a secret,” Slota said he would tell the girl. “We love you, but it’s not a secret, you can tell anybody.”
White noted that Slota, in talking to the detective, said he used the second second part of the phrase most of the time. That being the case, there could have been an implication that there was some type of secret love between Slota and the girl.
The improper contact was sometime between Aug. 28, 2012, and Dec. 8, 2012, in the bedroom of an Aberdeen home, according to court paperwork and testimony in the case. An investigation started after the girl, now 8, reported improper contact to a teacher on Dec. 6, 2012.
After a jury of 14 people was selected Monday afternoon, testimony began Tuesday. Wednesday morning, one of the jurors was excused because of a sickness. One other was an alternate, leaving 11 women and one man to decide Slota’s fate.
Jurors deliberated for about two and a half hours before arriving at a verdict. Delivery of the verdict was delayed temporarily when Judge Tony Portra was notified by the state attorney general’s office about one or two emails a juror sent during the trial. One was at least tangentially related to the case. Portra said it contained less-than-flattering comments about some attorneys, but didn’t specify which attorneys. He ruled the juror’s gaffe was not big enough to declare a mistrial.
Portra questioned the juror who admitted she sent the message, but said she based her verdict decision on the evidence presented and followed jury instructions.
An attorney for the defense did not request a mistrial, but said that there could be a future request that the verdict be set aside.
Slota was taken into custody pending sentencing. Portra ordered both pre-sentence and psychosexual investigations.”
Slota convicted of rape, sexual contact [Aberdeen News 3/27/14 by Scott Waltman]
“Fred B. Slota, of Aberdeen, convicted at trial of rape last month, has hired a new attorney, according to a court filing”
Scott Waltman’s Twitter
“■ Fred Slota, a former foster father from Aberdeen, will be sentenced next week for raping a child in his home”
First Star Foster Children Issues and News[First Star.org 5/4/14]
On 5/30/14 ,Fred Slota was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
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