Pamela Rogers case takes toll on two families: Victim?s mother just wants her family left alone
|
For the families involved, it?s been a 14-month nightmare that?s taken a devastating toll.
?I just want people to leave us alone,? said the mother of the teen-age boy Rogers had sex with. ?We can?t go anywhere, we can?t do anything without people getting into our business. My daughter can?t even have a job in this county because people won?t leave us alone.?
Even though her son is the victim, the mother says Rogers has developed a cult following that she calls a ?fan club.? The mother says support for Rogers is so extreme, a male Warren County Jail inmate has threatened to kill her son when the inmate is released.
The teen?s mother not only blames Rogers for having sex with her son in late 2004 and early 2005, but for continuing her crimes after her release from jail in late February of this year.
?She could have served her six months in jail, gotten out and lived a normal life,? the mother said. ?But she chose the path she chose.?
Rogers faces numerous violation of probation charges, including contacting the victim?s family and posting a site on the Internet. The latest allegations haven?t been any easier to handle for the family of Pamela Rogers, including her mother Karen Rogers.
The Rogers family has repeatedly refused interviews throughout the whole ordeal, but Karen Rogers finally spoke out last week and admitted her daughter needs psychological counseling.
?We love our daughter and we?re standing behind her,? Karen Rogers told WSMV. ?She does have a problem and it?s more than what we thought it was. She has lots of friends and they know Pamela and they love Pamela just like we do. They know she?s not a bad person which is what a lot of people might see her as. We just have to get her some help.?
Even though Pamela had been staying with her parents after her release from jail, her mother said she had no idea her daughter was continuing to contact her victim. The Fentress County School System has acknowledged some of that contact occurred using an athletic department cellphone. Pamela?s father, Lamar, is a heralded girls basketball coach at Clarkrange High School. The school system hasn?t revealed if it will reprimand coach Rogers.
Pamela?s parents were both in McMinnville on Wednesday for their daughter?s latest court appearance. She will remain held at Warren County Jail until her next hearing July 12.
A visibly upset Karen Rogers stood outside the courthouse for around two hours Wednesday just to get a glimpse of her daughter as she left the building. In that glimpse, however, her daughter was wearing handcuffs and leg shackles.
If you include Pamela Rogers? short-lived marriage to Chris Turner, her sexual relationship with a 13-year-old has had a devastating affect on three families.