CHAPTER ONE - LIVING THE DREAM

  Toward the end of Jimmy Carters's term of office Vice President Mondale landed at the Nashville airport on two separate occasions. One of these times was to watch his daughter perform in a horse show at M.T.S.U. Whenever Air Force One, or Air Force Two, landed in Nashville the planes were parked on the Air National Guard side of the airport. We were tasked to guard both planes, along with augmenting the Secret Service and local law enforcement. There was only one problem. We were carrying empty weapons. National Guard troops had shot 13 Kent State University students, killing four of them, during an anti-war riot on May 4, 1970 while I was home leave before going to Turkey. The state of Ohio did not insure their Guard troops and they were held personally liable in civil court. Since Tennessee also did not insure it's troops against personal liability we were not allowed to carry loaded weapons after the Kent State fiasco. Regardless, our commander wanted us to carry empty weapons anyway in order to remain familiar with them.

 Personally, I did not like this. If the bad guy saw us with a weapon they would have to assume that our weapons were loaded. We would be a target with no way to fight back. On one occasion when we were guarding Air Force Two, a Secret Service agent walked up to me and asked if my weapon was loaded. I sheepishly said no. He chuckled and shook his head as he walked away. This ridiculous policy continued throughout Carter's presidency, but almost from the moment that Ronald Reagan took office, in January 1981, our weapons policy changed. We were notified that all Guardsmen were insured by the Federal government and from 1981 on we were allowed to carry a full load of ammunition at all times. For the first time our training also began to improve. We trained in Air Base Ground Defense tactics, which is infantry training. Our unit was also trained in NBC or nuclear, biological and chemical warfare training. We also received some good law enforcement and weapons training and for the first time we were actually earning our money.

 Reagan pushed the Total Force Concept. The mechanics of Total Force Concept moved most of the combat support and combat service support functions of the Army — the units required for sustained operations — into the Reserve Components: the United States Army and Air Force Reserve, the Army National Guard and Air National Guard. This set the stage for Guard units being heavily relied on during Operation Desert Storm in 1991 and later during military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq after September 11, 2001. We would never again have to guard a Vice President, President, or anything else with empty weapons. Over my almost seventeen year career in the Air Guard I was involved in the security of not only Mondale, but Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Dan Quayle and Al Gore. In my opinion, Ronald Reagan was the greatest president in my lifetime, until Donald Trump came along, and it was an honor to serve under him for the full eight years of his presidency. Harry Truman was a great president and was president when I was born but I don't remember him as president because he left office when I was only 2 years old. Truman was very much in the public eye, however; during my youth, and did not die until I was 22 years old in 1972. I also liked president Eisenhower. He was the first president that I can actually remember.

 Robbie played football in the Fall of 1979 for a team called the Steelers. It was becoming apparent, even at the age of 10, that Robbie was a good athlete. He would be a running back for the Steelers and a wide receiver for the Vols in 1981. One assistant coach gave him the nickname "Allstate" because of his sure hands when it came to catching the ball. In 1982 he was a quarterback for a while. Because of his small size he took a pounding. Robbie didn't start his growth spurt until he was in his late teens. Now he is taller than I am and is pretty buff. This comes from lifting weights in the Navy and in the years since. Robbie was tough and never cried unless he was hurt. The coach of the Steelers was a man named Cecil (Steve) Ikemire. Over time Debbie and I became friends with Steve and his wife. I liked Steve but there was something about him that was odd. Debbie and I would go over to their house to visit or play games. He was a veteran and I encouraged him to join my Security Police unit. After a while we invited him and his wife to visit our church and they began attending regularly. On the surface he seemed to be a giving man. Steve worked with wood and was always giving us gifts. He also had a dark room where he developed his own photos but it wasn't until later that I understood the sinister side of this.

 We began carpooling on Guard weekends. One month I would drive and the next month he would drive. On one Guard weekend it was snowing heavily and was freezing cold. I was riding in the passenger seat of Steve's car and there were no seat belts. We approached the Stewart's Creek bridge on the Old Nashville Pike. This was before it was widened and it was just a narrow two lane bridge then. I cringed as I noticed an oncoming car on the bridge that was fish tailing out of control. The car barely missed hitting us head on as it sideswiped Steve's car. The Lord was with us because without seat belts we could have died or been seriously injured if that car had hit us head on. Steve's car suffered some pretty serious damage. The man was willing to share insurance information and file a police report but Steve told the man not to worry about it. At the time I thought Steve's behavior was very generous but in lieu of later events I now regard his behavior as suspicious. He probably had outstanding warrants or a police record that he wanted to remain hidden from view.

 The house next door to us was a rental we had had more than our share of sketchy people living there since we moved in. The house was soon to be placed up for rent and knowing that the Ikemire's were looking for a bigger place I told Steve about it. In our ignorance we were jumping out of the skillet into the fire. They jumped at the chance to rent the place and one night we helped them move in. I hauled several loads over to the new house in my car. After they moved the Ikemire's would be at our house or we would be at theirs. I worked 2nd shift and sometimes Debbie would go shopping with Steve's wife. Debbie would leave our kids with Steve and his step son Kurt while they were out shopping. Steve had two step children that belonged to his wife from a previous marriage. A girl that was 17 and and a boy named Kurt that was Robbie's age. His relationship with his step daughter was strange, however. Once when she began dating a boy he climbed up into the attic and stayed there for hours pouting. Immediately after she turned 18 the step daughter left home. We just didn't see the red flags until it was too late. One thing that I have come to realize over the years is that the bad guy will usually always leave clues or red flags that they are evil monsters just waiting for their opportunities to do strike. Being that most people are not evil they are not inclined to look for evil or to look for the worst in people. This is why we are susceptible to scams, muggings, abusive husbands, abusive boyfriends, abusive parents and sexual predators, just to name a few examples.

 One Sunday night, while I was at work, Debbie called me from church. She was crying as she told me that Misty had been molested by Steve. I felt like someone had punched me in the gut. Debbie said that she and the pastor were waiting to talk to me in his office. I left work but I didn't know what to do. This came straight out of left field. By this time, Jenny and Butch, old friends of ours from Joann Ct. had moved to a new house in Antioch. I needed some good advice and Butch, who was a Nashville Police officer, should be able to advise me on how to proceed. In addition I was so upset I needed to compose myself before I got to the church. Lucky for me Butch and Jenny were home when I got there. They asked what was wrong but every time I tried to tell them the words just wouldn't come. It was a long time before I could speak and when I finally could speak I told them what had happened. I asked Butch what he would do if he was in my situation. He told me to have a doctor check her and see if there was any evidence of molestation. He also said that I should report this to the Rutherford County Sheriff Department and let them start an investigation. Before leaving I asked Butch if he had a gun that I could borrow. At that time I didn't own a gun. He must have trusted my judgment because he loaned me a 22 caliber pistol without any questions.

 When I arrived at the church the pastor and Debbie were waiting for me in his study. Debbie began to tell me what had happened. She said that she was watching television with Misty on the couch when all of a sudden Misty burst into tears. Debbie held her and asked what was wrong. Sobbing, she said that she didn't want Steve to go to jail. Slowly but surely Debbie was able to pry enough information out of Misty to realize that she had been molested. He had used threats and enticement by offering her gifts to buy her silence. Like so many other sexual predators he preyed on her fears by telling her that he would hurt us if she told anybody. He also told her that he would go to jail if she told anyone, playing on her sense of guilt. Over time we found out more and more details. The molestation had started when we were helping Steve move. Misty would ride in the truck with him to help unload and apparently some of the molestation was happening during these times. It continued after the Ikemire's moved into the house next door and on those occasions when he would babysit for Debbie and his wife's shopping trips. Misty was victimized the most but we were all victimized by this man. He violated our trust and robbed Misty of her childhood innocence far too young in life.

  It was a Sunday when Misty opened up to Debbie about what had happened to her. She went to our pastor for advice but incredibly the first thing he suggested that I do was to talk to Steve instead of going to the police. According to him, I should tell Steve that if anything like this ever happened again, I would then go to the police. I knew immediately that this was bad advice. We would follow Butch's advice and take her to be checked out by a doctor. After that, then I would go to the police. I told our pastor that even if I didn't involve the police the doctor would be bound by law to report this to the authorities.  It would be much later that I realized what a conniving snake we had for a pastor. He was more worried about a potential scandal in his church than he was about Misty. After the doctor confirmed that she had been molested I called the Rutherford County Sheriffs Department. They referred me to an officer who headed up their sex crimes unit. The deputy was also an M.T.S.U. professor. He was a nice guy and very sensitive to the situation. Unfortunately he would be dead just a few months later from a kidney disease.

  The Deputy quickly brought me up to speed on pedophiles. They were usually someone that you knew and not some derelict off of the street. Someone like your preacher, a coach, a teacher, a businessman, Boy Scout leaders, your father, brothers, uncles, friends and neighbors. Some females were pedophiles but pedophiles were usually male. Many times they worked in an occupation that guaranteed close contact with children. The deputy brought in a female officer to question Misty. It was tough to hear the things that this 33 year old monster had done to my 7 year old daughter. Misty had revealed things in bits and pieces to both of us over the first few hours. I held her close to me and tried to reassure her that she had done nothing wrong. As parents we both had guilt feelings about not picking up on what was going on sooner.

 After Misty was questioned the deputy told us that the next days and weeks would be really tough on us. In order to build a case for prosecution detectives would have to gather evidence. He wanted us to conduct ourselves as if we knew nothing about what had happened. If the Ikemire's came over to visit we were to act as if nothing was wrong. Debbie was the one who had to keep up the charade for the rest of the week. Luckily, I worked the 2nd shift at Colonial bakery all week and I managed to avoid him. Debbie said that she thought Steve was aware that something was up after two plain clothes detectives showed up one night to talk to Misty and search her room for evidence. It is also possible that the pastor tipped him off. 

 I was dreading Sunday because I sang in the choir and Steve would be facing me from the congregation. That Sunday, as I was putting on my choir robe, the preacher came to me with a worried look on his face. He said that he had a premonition that Steve was going to approach the altar and accept Christ as his savior. The pastor asked my opinion about what he should do if that happened. At this point I naively believed that the preacher was on our side. I now believe that the preacher colluded with Steve in concocting this plan so we would go easier on him in court. As scripted, Steve came forward when the invitation was given. I came unraveled at that point and told the preacher that I wanted to confront Steve right then and there about what happened.

 We walked over to a Sunday School room and sat down at a table. The preacher, Steve, and his wife, sat down across from Debbie and myself. I began to speak but before I could say a word Steve confessed to what he had done. He was crying crocodile tears and profusely apologizing over and over. He kept saying how much he loved children and that he would never intentionally hurt one. I have heard many pedophiles talk and speak like Steve since that day. It is all an act. When Michael Jackson was accused of molesting boys I was convinced that he was guilty by the way he was defending himself and the way the boys were reacting to him. Many times when I tell people about Misty being molested they will usually tell me how they would kill someone if their child was molested by someone. Talk is cheap but I have no doubt that there are people out there who would have killed this man or had him killed. There are people, who at the very least would have beat this man to within an inch of his life, or had someone else do it. Most people are like me, however. They go through the criminal justice system hoping for justice. Far too many times, as in our situation, the justice system fails us.

 If I had killed or injured Steve I might have gotten away with it or even received a slap on the hand. At the time, however; I had four small children and a wife that were depending on me for support. I could not risk going to jail, prison, and the financial costs of hiring a lawyer to defend me. As a young Christian I was just then really getting into the meat of the word. I was actually trying to follow Christs teachings and was struggling with how I should treat the man who had just molested my daughter. In 1980 the subject of pedophilia wasn't in the news very much. Until then I couldn't imagine anyone doing this to a child. Rape was a common thing in the news, movies and television, but not this. We were entering unfamiliar territory. In retrospect there were things about the way we handled the situation that I would do over if I had the chance.

  I asked Steve to turn himself in to the sheriffs department and he readily agreed. When we arrived he was questioned, photographed and booked. He was then released on bail. As we were leaving I did something that I immediately regretted and I will regret to the day that I die. He walked up to me and apologized again. Trying to exercise my faith I hugged him and told him that I forgave him. This was a rational move on my part but emotionally my heart wasn't in to it. I suddenly felt like I had ice water in my veins and I was disgusted with myself. That feeling of regret persists to this day. I still didn't fully realize how I was being manipulated by both the preacher and Steve. Pedophiles do not change for the most part. They continue to molest over and over, throughout their life. Steve has served several prison sentences in the years since he molested Misty. There is no telling how many children that he molested before Misty and how many he has molested since. I am convinced that he molested his own step daughter and that is why she left home as soon as she turned 18. All of this was unknown to me that day that I hugged him in that parking lot. I knew from that moment on that he had to be punished for what he did. Forgiveness has it's place, but it had no bearing on this case. Justice has to be served.

 I knew in my heart after that day that it was too soon to forgive him. When someone creates an open wound it must have time to heal and there hadn't been enough time. Ultimately forgiveness is not so much for the offender as it is for the offended. Hatred can destroy you. I was present on the day that Steve met the district attorney for the first time. Steve told the DA that he needed psychological help for his problem. The DA cut him off at the knees when he replied "No, what you need is to have your ass kicked". I wanted to high five the DA at that moment but unfortunately it took two years to prosecute Steve. The thing that really irritated me was how many people took the stand to vouch for Steve's character. His boss, co workers, and friends. In retrospect I am surprised that the preacher didn't take the stand in his defense. It would have been different if Steve had denied his guilt but he admitted that he was guilty. In the end Steve was sentenced to thirty days in jail to be served on weekends. Incredibly he was allowed to work during the week at his regular job. Steve was also ordered to pay for any psychological counseling that Misty might need. It had taken two years of our time to arrive at this ridiculous decision. If they had put him away forever, like they should have, other innocent children could have been saved from the ravages of this monster.

  Misty has suffered from many emotional problems over the years that can be directly traced to this experience. I tried to get counseling for her but every time that I tried I had to take Steve back to court for payment. Eventually it just became too much of a hassle and I gave up. My insurance wouldn't pay for it either. She also suffered physical problems as the result of her psychological problems related to the molestation. Her stomach began hurting and the doctor thought she might be having an appendicitis. He admitted her to the hospital for a battery of tests. Misty was there for close to a week and the doctor could find nothing wrong. One morning I was passing by her bedroom when I noticed that she was sleeping with one eye opened and one eye closed. I was kind of freaked out by the way she looked and when I woke her up she looked like someone who had suffered from a stroke. One side of her face was drooping. We took Misty to her pediatrician who diagnosed her with Bells Palsy. He said that it was very rare for a eight year old to have this condition. It was fairly common among the elderly, however. Again we attributed the Bells Palsy to the trauma that she had suffered due to the molestation.