FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 31, 2015
Pii Addresses the “Great Smoky Cloud of Secrecy”
Posted on the IHART.care website, IHART Progress Report March 2015, “Since the last update, I met with the Panama Investigative Team to review their plan to finalize the investigation. I approved their detailed plan, and they are making appointments for interviews to finalize the leadership culpability portion of that investigation. I anticipate interviews to begin very shortly and expect that interview process to take several months.” In truth, Professional Investigators International (Pii) was named by IHART as the “Panama Investigative Team” on December 15, 2011. It is noted by Pii that Theresa Lynn Sidebotham, IHART Coordinator, has not spoken with Pii since Pii was terminated, effective January 12, 2015. Since that termination, and according to the IHART.care website, IHART’s acronym, previously Independent Historical Abuse Response Team, has undergone a significant name change, now, Independent Historical Allegation Response Team.
Pii remains unsure as to why they were terminated. Pii noted that they immediately complied with Ms. Sidebotham’s request to deliver all physical and electronic lists, reports, transcripts, and documents pertaining to the Panama investigation to her office.
While Pii was prohibited by contract and directive to not investigate leadership culpability, and concentrate only on child abuse, Pii did acquire, during its child abuse investigation, information directly relevant to leadership culpability. Pii used this information in an October 30, 2014 proposal to Ms. Sidebotham to conduct a follow-up investigation into leadership culpability. Included in this release are some of the details of that proposal:
• The names of those potentially culpable were provided. • The role each played (dorm parent, parent, leader, etc.) was provided. • The names of those believed to be deceased were provided, not to relieve the assignment of the culpability, but to be used in calculating the number of interviews needed to assign culpability. • The list of offenders with whom each potentially culpable person is/was associated was provided. • The clarification was made that much culpability was already assignable due to direct statements obtained during the child abuse investigation. • The list of those potentially culpable was provided. • In Pii’s proposal, Pii anticipated completing the new Panama Leadership Culpability Investigation in 4 to 6 weeks.
In an effort to discover truth, the Professional Investigators International team, under the leadership of 34-year FBI veteran, Robert Davis, worked diligently and determinedly. In July 2014, Pii concluded their work on the Panama assignment as contracted and instructed, contrary to Ms. Sidebotham’s statement that the investigation is yet to be “finalized.” There was no “leadership culpability portion of that investigation,” at least not that Pii was contracted to conduct. It is outside “industry standard” to hire a second investigative team to review or act upon the results of the initial completed investigation. One might ask, “Are these actions being taken because the hiring entity did not accept the findings of the original completed investigation?”
After its detailed proposal regarding a leadership culpability investigation, one might wonder if the “detailed plan,” referred to by Ms. Sidebotham, is the same as the work and proposal submitted by Pii, or a new direction?
Also posted in the IHART Progress Report March 2015, “The IHART team has begun work on the concluding documents to the Panama and Bolivia Reviews. I am working with professionals with experience in writing this type of document for the U.S. government and other entities.” On the FandaEagles.com Forum, “Raz” writes regarding this new investigative team, “I miss the old days, when we were actually introduced to each member of an investigative team. We were given their names, even a little bio of each. Now there is a great smoky cloud of secrecy. Who is it who has taken over this investigation?”
In her report, Ms. Sidebotham indicates that the professionals selected are experienced in writing documents such as would come out of an abuse investigation for the United States government. While she does not provide a name, based upon the description she gives of the individual, Pii believes that Pii knows who is writing the report. But, without confirmation or disclosure from Ms. Sidebotham regarding the team or individuals on the team, this issue will remain in “a great smoky cloud of secrecy.”
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