Snitch on Your Spouse

January 19, 2013 permalink

Tara Vereen found that in 2005 her husband Louis Vereen had molested two of their girls, now ages 16 and 13. She confronted him and they settled the matter within the family.

In a tradition predating recorded history, spouses are exempted from the requirement to provide evidence against each other in court. The doctrine is called spousal immunity or spousal privilege. It protects a married couple from the requirement to testify against the other in a criminal matter, and protects their communications with each other from outside scrutiny. This privilege is in shambles in today's regime of state controlled child protection. Louis Vereen has been charged with a crime for his molestation, and wife Tara, herself a Florida social worker, has been charged for not reporting him. Their children are in foster care.

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DCF worker arrested for not reporting husband's child molestation

5:31 PM, Jan 18, 2013, First Coast News

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A Florida Department of Children and Families employee has been arrested after she found out in 2011 that her husband molested two young girls and did not report it, according to a Jacksonville Sheriff's Office police report.

Tara Vereen, 36, was arrested Thursday afternoon is facing two charges of witness tampering and two charges of child neglect.

Vereen's husband, Louis Vereen, 38, was arrested on Dec. 23 for lewd/lascivious molestation, according to the report.

The two girls, now 16 and 13, were allegedly molested by Louis Vereen when they were around nine and six years old. The molestation ceased two years later.

Tara Vereen found out about the molestation in 2011 when she was going through one of the girl's rooms. She found a letter that stated that Louis Vereen had molested the girls.

Tara Vereen told police she confronted her husband about the letter. "She said they handled it among themselves and he apologized," the police report said.

The report also states that Vereen asked "why her husband had to be arrested, since the molestations happened so long ago."

The molestation was reported to police after one of the girls disclosed the molestation to a counselor in 2012 after she was Baker Acted for cutting herself and taking an overdose of Zoloft.

DCF Investigator Susanna Fleming called police on Thursday, saying that the younger victim told her that the girls were made to write letters stating that their accusations against Louis Vereen were false.

Fleming later interviewed the older victim, who said she was asked to write a similar letter to the attorney.

Tara Vereen was then arrested and her children were taken into DCF custody, according to the report.

Louis Vereen was released on January 7, according to JSO jail records. According to Duval County Clerk of Courts records, his bond was $50,003.

Louis Vereen was also set to reside in his mother's home, follow a curfew of 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and have no contact with children 18 years or younger except for supervised visits with his biological children.

Source: First Coast News