Police hope charges of abuse will shed light on Rilya Wilson case

Police hope charges of abuse will shed light on Rilya Wilson case

By Megan O'Matz Staff Writer Posted August 19 2004

Miami -- Authorities filed kidnapping and aggravated child abuse
charges Wednesday against Geralyn Graham, the caregiver for
long-missing foster child Rilya Wilson, contending she tied the girl
to a bed and kept her in a cage in a laundry room in the months before
her disappearance.

Authorities emphasized that they have not found the child, who was 4
when officials think she disappeared in late 2000. The Department of
Children & Families did not realize she had vanished until April 2002,
when an adoption worker went to the Graham household in southwest
Miami-Dade County. The agency said it appeared as though no caseworker
had visited the girl in the previous 15 months, setting off a national
scandal that toppled the department's secretary.


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Miami-Dade County police would not discuss the substance of the
charges Wednesday, saying the evidence against Graham would become
clear when the case proceeds to trial. The basis of the kidnapping
count, according to an arrest affidavit, appears to be an allegation
that Graham "forcibly, secretly or by threat" abducted or hid Rilya
from DCF.

Pamela Graham, 39, who lived with Geralyn Graham and posed as her
sister, is cooperating with authorities. She told police in a sworn
affidavit that Rilya was tied to a bed and kept in an animal cage in
the laundry room as a form of punishment between August and December
2000. At the time, the pair lived at 10131 SW 145th Place in the
Kendall area.

Geralyn Graham, who uses multiple aliases, is already serving a
five-year sentence on unrelated fraud charges. She could receive life
in prison on the new counts. Records put her age at between 51 and 58.

Pamela Graham was charged with two counts of a lesser degree of child
abuse and neglect for failing to protect Rilya, and she could face 10
years in prison. She surrendered and was released Wednesday on her own
recognizance. As a condition of her release, Pamela Graham, who is
also known as Pamela Lofton, was ordered to relinquish her passport
and to report weekly to Miami-Dade homicide detectives working on the
case.

The arrest papers say two other witnesses, identified only as "D.
Coakley and L. Smith," confirmed that Rilya had been abused.

Geralyn Graham's lawyer said police likely put pressure on Pamela
Graham to cooperate by telling her they had witnesses ready to testify
against her on more serious charges.

"I think Pamela got scared into thinking that she could be facing a
life sentence," said Brian Tannebaum, Geralyn Graham's attorney.

When the DCF discovered that Rilya was missing in April 2002, Geralyn
Graham said someone from the agency had taken the child in January
2001 for psychological testing and later told Graham the girl would be
relocated for a longer period. The agency has been unable to find any
record of the move.

On Wednesday, police said they now are certain Geralyn Graham's claims
are untrue.

"This was really a lie, and I emphasize it was a fabrication, a
concoction by Geralyn Graham, to cover up Rilya's disappearance,"
Robert Parker, director of the Miami-Dade Police Department, told the
news media outside the department's headquarters.

While the case has been considered a homicide for some time, Parker
said it was turned over in March to the cold-case squad, which found
corroborating evidence of abuse.

Although authorities continue to hope the girl is alive, "in actuality
we fear that maybe she's not alive," Parker said.

He was joined at the news conference by Miami-Dade State Attorney
Katherine Fernandez Rundle, who said: "We have tirelessly looked for
her."

Investigators continue to insist Geralyn Graham knows where Rilya is
and openly acknowledge they hope the charges will bring fresh
information about her whereabouts.

Police brought out big posters bearing Rilya's picture at age 4 and an
age-enhanced image of what she might look like now. A $75,000 reward
is being offered for her recovery.

Geralyn Graham's lawyer said his client never abused Rilya and
continues to insist she had nothing to do with her disappearance.

"Since the day I met her she has categorically denied any abuse of
Rilya Wilson," Tannebaum said. "On the contrary, she has expressed her
deep love for this child."

Tannebaum scoffed at investigators' insistence they are sure the DCF
did not move the girl, saying the agency has a history of ineptness,
poor record-keeping and high turnover. In April, Rilya's DCF
caseworker, DeBorah Muskelly, was sentenced to five years' probation
for official misconduct for working as a substitute teacher during the
hours she was supposed to be visiting Rilya and other children.

"I wouldn't trust DCF if they told me what time it was unless they
showed me a watch," Tannebaum said.

Prosecutors will need more evidence than Pamela Graham's statements to
convict Geralyn Graham of kidnapping or abuse, he said.

"If the state's evidence is resting on Pamela Graham, they've got a
big problem," he said. "She has her own criminal history."

In August 2003, Pamela Graham accepted a plea deal that allowed her to
avoid prosecution on unrelated public assistance fraud charges,
agreeing to two years of probation and community service.

"The main goal in this entire case against Geralyn and Pamela is to
find Rilya Wilson," Tannebaum said. "I don't criticize the state's
desire to find this child. But what they're doing now is clearly
trying to pressure both Pamela and Geralyn Graham."
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/loc...sfla-news-fron

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