Cynthia Randolph with her lawyer Evita Tolu had a hearing Friday in Haynes v. Haynes in Ripley County, Missouri. Prior to the hearing, several members of the media entered motions in order to remotely observe the controversial case that could see a convicted sex offender get access to another potential victim, his youngest daughter. Courts in Missouri are constitutionally required to be open to the public but ever since COVID, judges have been given unregulated power to close their courtrooms to anyone they want (or don’t want in their hearings).
After a slew of judges recused themselves from this case—where convicted child sodomizer Charles Haynes is requesting visitation with the only remaining child in his household that isn’t dead or molested—Judge Gary Kamp was brought out of retirement to hear it. Randolph and Tolu were hopeful that a new judge would see the mountains of evidence that this case has been poorly handled from the beginning and set things right. Sadly, that is not to be.
Kamp has refused to even read the several letters sent to him by the child’s therapist begging him not to give Chuck Haynes visitation with her. According to Dr. Jerry Marks, any contact with Haynes before the child is 18 and chooses it would be detrimental to her. Kamp won’t even read the letter.
“I’ve submitted it to the court three times and handed it to him today and he refused to read it,” said Tolu. Instead, Kamp is siding with the convicted sex offender’s lawyer and has set a hearing for February 14th, Valentine’s Day, to determine the visitation that convicted and incarcerated sodomizer Haynes can have with his next probable victim.
You can read the details of the case in the linked article below and this Twitter thread is also illuminating.
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After my motion for media access went unanswered, I called the Ripley County Clerk’s office on Friday morning to attempt to witness the hearing. This is the conversation that occurred.
Two members of the Missouri legislature attempted to gain access to this hearing and were denied. One was told that even if a representative showed up in person they would not be allowed inside the courtroom. This is not legal. Haynes v. Haynes is a divorce case. Divorce cases are open according to Missouri law. This means that anyone can come into the courtroom, and for the sake of transparency, court watchers should be flocking to Ripley County to find out why it’s so hard to get into an “open” hearing and what Judge Kamp is hiding.
Tolu reported that even her client, Cynthia Randolph— who is a party to the case—was not allowed in the room until Tolu went to the judge and asked him why he closed the courtroom. Kamp denied that he had done that and then allowed Ms. Randolph and her daughter and a few supporters in the room. Prior to the judge allowing it, the sheriff’s officer had refused to allow Randolph into the courtroom claiming that it was on the judge’s order. On top of that, Kamp’s clerk told two sitting representatives that they would not be allowed into the courtroom if they made the trip.
What Judge Kamp has done in this case—refusing to read the evidence, ruling against mother at every turn, refusing to allow her to sell her property to pay her legal bills, appointing a new guardian to drain her finances when there is no need for a GAL, holding hearings off the record, and considering giving a convicted child molester visitation—should be impeachable and I call on the Missouri leadership to do just that. Impeach and remove Judge Kamp.