Dear Editor:
Letter posted in the local paper from Brian Christine at the beginning of their ordeal. Note the crued sexual examinations of their three girls ages 2,3, and 5 despite there were NO allegations of any abuse or sexual molestation.
I would like to give account of the situation that I, my wife Ruth and our four children have encountered in Grants Pass. For background, Ruth and I both finished college degrees in England and the United States respectively. We have worked various professional jobs and started a few businesses. In 1998 we decided to sell our home, and live on the road. We bought a small bus and converted it into living space suitable for our family.
We took several trips in our rolling home to see how it would take with us and our daughters. Turned out we all loved it! The desire for freedom of the open road is something that seems to be in our blood now.
Ruth home schools our daughters and encourages them to participate in social functions in local communities. Bethany, our eldest daughter successfully completed the Summer Reading Program at the Grants Pass Library. Unfortunately she never got to redeem any of the certificates she won because she was confiscated by State Services to Children and Families in the library parking lot several days after her victory and the day before her fifth birthday.
When we first came to Grants Pass, we were just passing through on our way north, but we soon began searching for a community where our daughters could fit in and interact with more people and be outdoors. We prayed to God about where to go and were led back to the beautiful Rogue River. We decided to stay in this area for a while and began to meet people and knit in with the community.
We were given the opportunity to stay on a farm where our daughters could feed various animals and spend many happy hours playing outdoors and being home-schooled.
On July 31st the unthinkable happened. The local police backed by SCF workers surrounded our motorhome and didn't leave until they had what they wanted - our three daughters. Apparently, an anonymous phone caller had complained to the police that a family was living behind the library and that a child appeared dehydrated. Indeed, our youngest was dehydrated as she was on the rebound from an illness. She had been refusing food due to her illness, but was finally eating and recovering.
SCF claims that all our daughters were undernourished and just days from certain death. I wonder how Bethany made it five years with us if that were the case. Our middle daughter, age 3, also had a bandage covering a cut on her forehead. SCF immediately saw this as the perfect weapon to split up our family.
The reason we live our lifestyle of travel is because we wanted to be together 100% of the time. SCF says our daughters had poor living conditions. I wonder how they knew this having never met us before. SCF alleges we tortured our daughters, starved them and beat them. SCF says they have the best interest of the child at heart, yet when questioned on the witness stand in court, not one of them had ever asked our girls where they wanted to live or what they wanted to do.
We live our lifestyle according to our religious beliefs including the way we school, spend our time, spend and make our money, eat, sleep, travel, and take care of our health. SCF has violated our daughters in so many ways it sickens me to mention just a few here. Please note that not once has there been one shred of evidence or probable cause or any suggestion by any person or any of our daughters of sexual abuse yet SCF committed the following heinous acts revealed in a recent court hearing:
An SCF worker took photographs of our stripped daughters' bodies and genitalia and tried to submit the photos as evidence to the court. Judge Allan Coon rejected the photos calling them pornographic. SCF also administered invasive, painful sexual examinations to our daughters over their objections.
In addition, SCF violated our daughters by injecting them with live viruses, which is deeply against their religious beliefs. Another violation was placing our eldest daughter Bethany into public school, where prayer is not allowed and the mention of God is punishable. The list of violations of religious belief, personal security and basic human rights is too long for this article. SCF has a mission to "Help bring families back together". My question is, why do they break them up in the first place?
Don't bother telling me that SCF does good in some cases. Ruth and I have met hundreds of people who have had the exact same experience, but are afraid to talk because they fear SCF will come and take away their children again. We, however, have nothing more to loose. The most precious thing in the world to us has already been stolen away with no proof and no due process. If you think we live in a free country, you are sadly mistaken.
We have not seen our daughters since July 31st and are praying for justice from God in our case. We are told that our daughters are doing well, but why would we believe anything we are told after what has happened?
Through all of this, the one good thing is it has brought people together and has strengthened our relationship to each other and to God.
I pray for this city, and enjoy meeting the people of this community each day. If you meet me, you will probably see me smiling at you, because I have hope. Hope for this community, hope for the future, hope to see my daughters reunited and hope for this great country called America. God Bless you this day and forever!
Brian Christine
Note: This article was edited by the Grants Pass Daily Courier
Below, beautiful Bethany, Lydia, and Mariam; three of the Christine children who are now in the care of the State's 'finest' foster homeS.
Ruth, now waiting for the immenent birth of her fourth child under the shadow of Grants Pass, Oregon
As Brian and Ruth are fully aware of the power the state is now excersizing against their family. Ruth sneaks off to Indiana, close to Brian's mom, and gives birth to her fourth child Olivia. Ruth painfully leaves her new child behind, in Terri Christine's care, to go back to Oregon to find her husband and try to get their other children back.
Three days after Brian Christine is released from jail, the CPS discoveres that Ruth is no longer pregnant. A swat team style mission surrounds the Christine home at the break of dawn unexpectedley one morning. They break in and demand that the new infant be handed over. The Christine's refuse to tell this rogue agency where their infant is and punishment will follow!
For their not confessing to child abuse and the refusal to tell the Oregon CPS where baby Olivia is, the Christine couple's visit with their three daughters is limited to twice a year, an hour a peice and suprovised.
When Oregon CPS does discover that baby Olivia is in the safe care of a grandparent in Indiana, they petition an Indiana court for the custody of baby Olivia. This so the fourth child could join the first three in being shuffled from foster home to foster home in Grants Pass. A small victory is won when the Indiana Court says butt out. Baby Olivia is a resident of Indiana and stays with Grandma. This inferiates the Oregon CPS. Further charges are brought on Brian and Ruth Christine.
What was originally a bump on Bethany's forhead from a trip, and was diagnosed as just that in the beginning is now re-evaluated and re-evaluated and 6 months into their custody of the children a new charge surfaces. After several state paid Doctor visits at last on Doctor exams a new xray of the bump on the little girls forhead and ALAS, there might be a slight skull fracture! The bump on the forehead was now diagnosed as a maybe, it could be possible, that this was some slight hairline fracture??? The Oregon CPS now feeds the media that the middle child has a healed 3 inch skull fracture. This was never diagnosed as such in the beginning and can only be seen as a drastic move by the CPS to cover their backs and retaliate against the Christine's for not getting access to baby Olivia. Of coarse there is a big question about the existence of such fracture, but if you think about it, finding it way down the line, who could really be responsible for such an injury?
For what ever reason, desperation, Ruth is now un-expectedly pregnant with her fifth child. Think it's over. Not yet.
To the left some can justify such a violent government action when a child is involved, I personally cannot. No matter where you stand on this issue this is similar to what the Christine's home was like early one morning when they came in swat style to search for their new treasured little baby girl. Thank God, the little girl was snuck away carefully and was in the fine care of her grandmother in another state. This baby girl, named Olivia was often refered to as baby Moses, with the resemblence of baby Moses in the bible that was hidden from the tyranical government in the bible days.
