1 00:00:02,413 --> 00:00:04,043 [reporter] The trial of the third person 2 00:00:04,043 --> 00:00:06,413 with ties to the Mineola Swingers Club 3 00:00:06,413 --> 00:00:08,673 came to a stunning halt in Smith County, Monday, 4 00:00:08,673 --> 00:00:10,213 when foster parent John Cantrell, 5 00:00:10,213 --> 00:00:12,773 a man awarded custody of three young siblings, 6 00:00:12,773 --> 00:00:15,413 who allegedly performed at the swingers club, 7 00:00:15,413 --> 00:00:17,373 was arrested in Wood County. 8 00:00:22,143 --> 00:00:27,043 {\an8}Living in the Cantrell's house was like a torture chamber. 9 00:00:27,843 --> 00:00:30,043 I never felt safe. 10 00:00:30,043 --> 00:00:33,743 And so when I'm starting to see this stuff come on TV 11 00:00:33,743 --> 00:00:35,213 about the swingers club, 12 00:00:35,213 --> 00:00:38,313 and Margie Cantrell bringing these kids involved with it, 13 00:00:40,213 --> 00:00:42,673 how could I do nothing and just sit there 14 00:00:42,673 --> 00:00:45,543 when I knew exactly what those kids were going through? 15 00:00:46,673 --> 00:00:48,013 [Margie] There's no words. 16 00:00:49,473 --> 00:00:51,773 {\an8}There's really no words to describe it. 17 00:00:54,373 --> 00:00:56,313 It wasn't true, and I knew that. 18 00:00:58,043 --> 00:01:02,773 [tearfully] He never ever did anything. 19 00:01:43,373 --> 00:01:46,273 [Jenna] My early childhood in California, 20 00:01:46,273 --> 00:01:47,773 my biological mom 21 00:01:47,773 --> 00:01:50,113 was doing drugs and drinking a lot 22 00:01:50,843 --> 00:01:52,773 and when CPS found us 23 00:01:52,773 --> 00:01:57,773 we were malnutritioned and in soiled diapers. 24 00:01:57,773 --> 00:02:00,113 Then we went through foster care 25 00:02:00,113 --> 00:02:03,673 and this lady said, "Well, I'll take all of them." 26 00:02:04,943 --> 00:02:06,373 And that was Margie Cantrell. 27 00:02:08,373 --> 00:02:10,843 I thought, "Yes, this sweet lady 28 00:02:10,843 --> 00:02:13,213 and this guy that looks like Santa Claus 29 00:02:13,213 --> 00:02:14,673 wants to be our parents." 30 00:02:17,213 --> 00:02:19,313 But right after I got adopted, 31 00:02:19,313 --> 00:02:22,943 the abuse with both of them started. 32 00:02:24,213 --> 00:02:27,773 When I was 7, that's when John Cantrell started being 33 00:02:27,773 --> 00:02:30,313 very physically sexual with me. 34 00:02:31,473 --> 00:02:35,313 Touching, licking, kissing, 35 00:02:35,313 --> 00:02:37,473 trying to teach us how to French kiss. 36 00:02:39,843 --> 00:02:42,373 John Cantrell would tell me, 37 00:02:42,373 --> 00:02:45,143 "Well if you tell anybody, you're just going to go back to foster care." 38 00:02:46,413 --> 00:02:48,773 Everything with Margie 39 00:02:49,743 --> 00:02:52,843 went very hatefully abusive, 40 00:02:52,843 --> 00:02:54,943 putting her hands around my neck 41 00:02:54,943 --> 00:02:57,473 and just kind of strangling me 42 00:02:57,473 --> 00:02:59,943 and telling me how much she hates me and she wishes I would die. 43 00:03:02,943 --> 00:03:04,773 I was depressed. 44 00:03:04,773 --> 00:03:08,843 I started drinking when I was about 9, 10 years old. 45 00:03:08,843 --> 00:03:13,213 Basically I was trying to self-medicate. 46 00:03:15,473 --> 00:03:19,573 [Margie] When we adopted Jenna, back in 1985, 47 00:03:19,573 --> 00:03:22,473 she had a lot of problems. A lot. 48 00:03:22,473 --> 00:03:25,043 A low, low mentality. 49 00:03:25,743 --> 00:03:28,673 There was a time when she decided 50 00:03:28,673 --> 00:03:30,413 to microwave our cat. 51 00:03:32,013 --> 00:03:34,013 And somebody ran in and got the cat out. 52 00:03:34,013 --> 00:03:35,313 The cat did live, 53 00:03:36,143 --> 00:03:38,273 but it was horrifying. 54 00:03:42,043 --> 00:03:45,513 [Jenna] In 2004, we moved to Texas. 55 00:03:48,473 --> 00:03:50,743 I was 24 at this time. 56 00:03:50,743 --> 00:03:54,043 There's a couple of reasons I had stayed with them for that long. 57 00:03:56,313 --> 00:03:59,413 My confidence was so low 58 00:03:59,413 --> 00:04:02,743 that I really felt like I couldn't live on my own. 59 00:04:04,373 --> 00:04:06,143 I had no ID, 60 00:04:06,143 --> 00:04:08,273 I didn't have my birth certificate, 61 00:04:08,273 --> 00:04:10,413 I didn't have my social security card, 62 00:04:10,413 --> 00:04:11,673 I had nothing. 63 00:04:14,843 --> 00:04:17,843 Margie, she would tell me stuff, like, 64 00:04:17,843 --> 00:04:19,843 "Well, nobody's going to want you anyways." 65 00:04:20,773 --> 00:04:22,513 She would make you feel like you really 66 00:04:22,513 --> 00:04:24,513 couldn't do anything without her. 67 00:04:26,643 --> 00:04:29,143 [Margie] Shortly after we moved to Texas, 68 00:04:29,143 --> 00:04:32,943 Jenna met a man down the block, David, 69 00:04:33,943 --> 00:04:35,373 and they got together. 70 00:04:35,373 --> 00:04:37,643 And they went on and got married. 71 00:04:40,273 --> 00:04:44,943 [Jenna] Margie did not think anything would come out of this relationship. 72 00:04:45,843 --> 00:04:47,673 But It's real. 73 00:04:47,673 --> 00:04:49,543 It's a real love that... 74 00:04:49,543 --> 00:04:52,143 Never had that, you know, growing up. 75 00:04:52,143 --> 00:04:54,773 So I still get all the butterflies and everything. 76 00:05:00,273 --> 00:05:02,773 [David] Me and the Cantrells didn't get along. 77 00:05:04,113 --> 00:05:07,043 {\an8}I could definitely tell something was shady 78 00:05:07,913 --> 00:05:11,043 between Jenna and John. 79 00:05:11,043 --> 00:05:14,673 Just the way they, you know, went about carrying themselves 80 00:05:16,043 --> 00:05:18,143 kind of seemed kind of like hidden. 81 00:05:18,143 --> 00:05:20,213 [reporter] The children were allegedly forced to dance 82 00:05:20,213 --> 00:05:22,773 and perform sexual acts with each other. 83 00:05:22,773 --> 00:05:26,213 [David] And then when I heard their story on the news 84 00:05:26,213 --> 00:05:28,643 about what had happened with these kids, 85 00:05:28,643 --> 00:05:30,843 my wife told me what had happened to her, 86 00:05:31,943 --> 00:05:33,043 you know, in detail. 87 00:05:35,473 --> 00:05:38,313 [Jenna] I was hoping that when I found my husband, 88 00:05:38,313 --> 00:05:42,143 I would never tell him the abuse I went through 89 00:05:42,143 --> 00:05:44,573 because John and Margie both told me 90 00:05:44,573 --> 00:05:46,743 that if I ever said anything, 91 00:05:46,743 --> 00:05:49,543 my spouse or my boyfriend would leave me. 92 00:05:52,213 --> 00:05:55,213 When I told him I started crying, 93 00:05:55,213 --> 00:05:58,213 and he goes, "No no, come here, come here, come here." 94 00:05:58,213 --> 00:05:59,943 And he rocked me in the chair. 95 00:06:00,543 --> 00:06:01,943 And he just held me. 96 00:06:08,013 --> 00:06:09,773 [David] I love my wife very much. 97 00:06:13,013 --> 00:06:15,373 I'm an emotional guy. 98 00:06:15,373 --> 00:06:20,043 So, when I heard those kind of things, it bothered me. 99 00:06:20,543 --> 00:06:21,673 It bothered me a lot. 100 00:06:24,143 --> 00:06:28,213 I suggested that she tell the truth to the authorities. 101 00:06:30,743 --> 00:06:31,843 So she did. 102 00:06:35,843 --> 00:06:38,673 I can say that as far as like accusations go 103 00:06:38,673 --> 00:06:40,043 about my mom and dad, 104 00:06:40,673 --> 00:06:42,043 I knew it wasn't true. 105 00:06:42,773 --> 00:06:44,313 It was straight up lies. 106 00:06:45,273 --> 00:06:48,413 [Jacob] I hold a lot of anger towards Jenna. 107 00:06:48,413 --> 00:06:52,843 When you are willing to lie about somebody 108 00:06:52,843 --> 00:06:55,643 and potentially put them in prison, 109 00:06:55,643 --> 00:06:57,473 I have no room in my life for you. 110 00:07:01,843 --> 00:07:04,143 [Margie] When John was arrested, that hurt, 111 00:07:05,043 --> 00:07:06,943 but I wasn't going to tell Jenna, 112 00:07:06,943 --> 00:07:10,573 "You can't be part of this family. You can't come home." 113 00:07:10,573 --> 00:07:15,013 There's something that is in me that just doesn't give up on them. 114 00:07:18,673 --> 00:07:21,673 And then one night, the kids and I went to Walmart 115 00:07:23,043 --> 00:07:24,573 and Jenna and David were there. 116 00:07:24,573 --> 00:07:26,413 And I said, "Jenna, come here." 117 00:07:26,413 --> 00:07:29,313 And he's like, "No." And she's like, "I can't." 118 00:07:29,313 --> 00:07:32,743 And I'm like, "Jenna, come here." 119 00:07:32,743 --> 00:07:34,643 And she's like, "I can't." 120 00:07:35,673 --> 00:07:37,373 And then Shelby said to me, 121 00:07:37,373 --> 00:07:40,743 "That's the tattooed man that was at the club. 122 00:07:40,743 --> 00:07:43,273 He's the one that was molesting me at that club." 123 00:07:47,413 --> 00:07:50,473 [Jenna] Next morning I get these subpoenas 124 00:07:50,473 --> 00:07:53,113 and they're saying, well, these kids are saying David's name. 125 00:07:53,113 --> 00:07:56,043 And they're saying that he's involved with all this. 126 00:08:30,313 --> 00:08:32,413 [David] I go in with this police officer. 127 00:08:34,213 --> 00:08:36,573 He thought I was affiliated with this swinger's club. 128 00:08:40,043 --> 00:08:43,773 And they asked me to take my clothes down to my underwear 129 00:08:44,413 --> 00:08:45,943 and stand with my arms out. 130 00:08:52,773 --> 00:08:56,013 The children had said that the DJ at the club 131 00:08:56,013 --> 00:08:58,113 had a tattoo of a dragon on his back. 132 00:09:01,673 --> 00:09:03,843 I don't have any tattoos on my back 133 00:09:05,043 --> 00:09:07,943 [Margie] Now whether he was ever at the swinger's club 134 00:09:07,943 --> 00:09:10,913 to just be a swinger or to look at the place 135 00:09:10,913 --> 00:09:14,213 or do anything, that's not for me to decide. 136 00:09:14,213 --> 00:09:16,943 No. No. That's not David. 137 00:09:16,943 --> 00:09:19,943 David's never been like that. It's completely lies. 138 00:09:21,143 --> 00:09:23,473 Margie's getting back at me 139 00:09:23,473 --> 00:09:26,843 because I came out about her and John. 140 00:09:28,773 --> 00:09:31,213 Eventually, the police informed me that 141 00:09:31,213 --> 00:09:34,143 I was no longer needed in the trial. 142 00:09:34,143 --> 00:09:37,013 I knew the capabilities of this woman. 143 00:09:37,013 --> 00:09:39,373 I didn't think it would go that far. 144 00:09:39,373 --> 00:09:41,473 She'd have been happy if I'd have went to prison. 145 00:09:45,043 --> 00:09:46,943 I didn't know nothing about the swinger's club. 146 00:09:55,143 --> 00:09:58,743 [Margie] When John went to court 147 00:09:58,743 --> 00:10:01,473 I sold everything we owned 148 00:10:01,473 --> 00:10:04,513 so I could hire an attorney for my husband. 149 00:10:06,413 --> 00:10:08,313 When we went into the courtroom 150 00:10:08,313 --> 00:10:12,413 the judge heard all of their evidence that they said they had 151 00:10:12,413 --> 00:10:17,313 and he said, "No, I'm not taking this at all." 152 00:10:18,373 --> 00:10:22,673 And the judge said, "Mr. Cantrell, go home." 153 00:10:24,143 --> 00:10:27,013 There was no evidence that was even credible, 154 00:10:27,013 --> 00:10:28,643 so they dropped it. 155 00:10:29,543 --> 00:10:31,013 And that was the end of it. 156 00:10:43,313 --> 00:10:45,843 They threw it out because it was false, 157 00:10:45,843 --> 00:10:48,213 it wasn't what happened. 158 00:10:48,213 --> 00:10:51,213 Anybody can accuse anybody of anything, 159 00:10:51,213 --> 00:10:53,143 it doesn't mean that it's true. 160 00:10:53,143 --> 00:10:56,773 And unless you have actual proof, 161 00:10:58,013 --> 00:11:02,013 maybe just don't try to ruin somebody's life 162 00:11:02,013 --> 00:11:03,143 just because you don't like them. 163 00:11:03,143 --> 00:11:05,313 If you don't like them, just keep it moving. Move on. 164 00:11:08,413 --> 00:11:11,473 Her biological children never got abused, 165 00:11:11,473 --> 00:11:13,743 because they were the real kids. 166 00:11:14,743 --> 00:11:17,913 The ones that would get abused a lot of the times 167 00:11:18,473 --> 00:11:20,573 were her foster kids. 168 00:11:20,573 --> 00:11:22,673 And I believe in her mind she was thinking, 169 00:11:23,213 --> 00:11:24,213 "Nobody wants them." 170 00:11:24,943 --> 00:11:26,413 She's the only way. 171 00:11:26,413 --> 00:11:28,843 She's the only hope that you have in life. 172 00:11:28,843 --> 00:11:31,673 You do what she says and you'll be okay. 173 00:11:31,673 --> 00:11:33,673 If you don't, there's gonna be hell to pay. 174 00:11:35,743 --> 00:11:38,673 [Margie] It was a made-up story. 175 00:11:38,673 --> 00:11:40,673 And I think that that's disgusting. 176 00:11:47,413 --> 00:11:49,713 [Michael] In the community, some people thought 177 00:11:49,713 --> 00:11:52,843 it was just unfair mudslinging 178 00:11:52,843 --> 00:11:56,213 against Margie's husband, kicking against Margie. 179 00:11:58,243 --> 00:12:00,513 {\an8}But it just seemed such a weird coincidence, 180 00:12:00,513 --> 00:12:04,073 {\an8}that her husband was being accused of the same thing 181 00:12:04,073 --> 00:12:06,773 that her foster kids were accusing other people of doing. 182 00:12:18,243 --> 00:12:20,443 [Mike] Patrick Kelly's nickname was Booger Red. 183 00:12:21,873 --> 00:12:24,973 And it was Booger Red, who was the one who had the trailer 184 00:12:24,973 --> 00:12:27,773 where apparently the sex kindergarten had taken place. 185 00:12:34,443 --> 00:12:37,143 [Mike] And then they'd come up to Mineola 186 00:12:37,143 --> 00:12:38,873 and they'd dance on stage for money. 187 00:12:46,073 --> 00:12:50,073 [Mike] Patrick Kelly's trial was actually going to be a little bit different. 188 00:12:50,073 --> 00:12:54,873 For one thing, Patrick Kelly's mother cashed in her 401(k) 189 00:12:54,873 --> 00:12:56,073 to get him an actual lawyer. 190 00:12:57,143 --> 00:12:59,313 Patrick Kelly had Thad Davidson, 191 00:12:59,313 --> 00:13:02,843 who was a bulldog of a defense lawyer, 192 00:13:02,843 --> 00:13:06,673 former Marine, very dramatic, and very smart guy. 193 00:13:08,713 --> 00:13:11,813 {\an8}[Thad] When I first took on the case, I went to the jail 194 00:13:12,713 --> 00:13:14,143 and met with Patrick Kelly. 195 00:13:45,213 --> 00:13:47,343 ...and organized crime. 196 00:13:47,343 --> 00:13:49,773 [Patrick] I didn't even know there was a swingers club in Mineola. 197 00:13:52,513 --> 00:13:53,873 [Thad] I thought he was believable. 198 00:13:53,873 --> 00:13:56,513 He had no prior history of any significance whatsoever. 199 00:13:58,073 --> 00:13:59,443 We looked for fingerprints... 200 00:14:00,513 --> 00:14:01,513 DNA... 201 00:14:02,513 --> 00:14:03,413 Blood... 202 00:14:04,243 --> 00:14:05,343 Other witnesses... 203 00:14:06,513 --> 00:14:08,043 Forensic investigation... 204 00:14:08,613 --> 00:14:09,713 None of which existed. 205 00:14:11,073 --> 00:14:14,973 [Melinda] When Thad came to me and asked for the help, 206 00:14:14,973 --> 00:14:17,413 {\an8}I really thought that 207 00:14:17,413 --> 00:14:19,843 {\an8}he was blowing this out of proportion. 208 00:14:20,813 --> 00:14:23,713 But then I start looking through the evidence. 209 00:14:23,713 --> 00:14:25,973 That's when I really began to realize that 210 00:14:25,973 --> 00:14:29,813 Thad wasn't overly exaggerating. 211 00:14:32,143 --> 00:14:35,413 I believe he was not guilty of what these kids 212 00:14:35,413 --> 00:14:37,343 and the Cantrells were saying that he did. 213 00:14:41,873 --> 00:14:43,943 Patrick Kelly, was a simple man, 214 00:14:43,943 --> 00:14:45,413 and he lived a simple life. 215 00:14:47,073 --> 00:14:51,073 The big thing for him would be after his hard week of work, 216 00:14:51,073 --> 00:14:55,073 was to go buy a 30 pack of Natural Light Beer 217 00:14:55,943 --> 00:14:58,973 and a family size of chicken legs, 218 00:14:58,973 --> 00:15:01,873 and have the different friends and stuff come over, 219 00:15:01,873 --> 00:15:03,513 and they would barbecue. 220 00:15:03,513 --> 00:15:04,443 [fire crackling] 221 00:15:06,313 --> 00:15:08,943 [Patrick] My world's been turned upside down with all this going on. 222 00:15:24,973 --> 00:15:27,713 [Thad] Patrick Kelly, to be frank, 223 00:15:27,713 --> 00:15:31,313 is a redneck, uneducated, 224 00:15:31,313 --> 00:15:34,573 impoverished, living in a trailer out in the woods. 225 00:15:34,573 --> 00:15:36,443 And in Smith County, that makes you a target. 226 00:15:37,673 --> 00:15:42,443 Soon after I took on the case, a senior officer of Mineola PD 227 00:15:42,443 --> 00:15:47,813 shows up at my office with boxes of information. 228 00:15:47,813 --> 00:15:49,573 She goes, "There's all this stuff that, 229 00:15:49,573 --> 00:15:51,973 we're pretty sure you don't have and have never heard of. 230 00:15:51,973 --> 00:15:54,073 Did you know about this? Did you know about this?" 231 00:15:54,073 --> 00:15:57,343 She gives us all this stuff that we've never seen before. 232 00:15:57,343 --> 00:15:59,213 And I'm sitting there thinking, "Holy [bleep] ." 233 00:16:00,213 --> 00:16:03,673 It was long hidden, exculpatory evidence. 234 00:16:03,673 --> 00:16:06,213 Exculpatory reports, exculpatory interviews, 235 00:16:06,213 --> 00:16:10,213 exculpatory information from June of 2005, 236 00:16:10,213 --> 00:16:12,873 when the Mineola PD and the Wood County DA's office 237 00:16:12,873 --> 00:16:15,843 looked at the case and said, "We don't have anything here". 238 00:16:18,443 --> 00:16:21,843 Anything that tends to show a defendant is not guilty, 239 00:16:21,843 --> 00:16:23,673 must be turned over to the defense. 240 00:16:23,673 --> 00:16:26,973 And the state is not allowed to collect the evidence, 241 00:16:26,973 --> 00:16:30,213 sit on it, hide on it, lie about it, pretend they 242 00:16:30,213 --> 00:16:32,443 don't know about it, which they did. 243 00:16:36,043 --> 00:16:38,613 [Melinda] We had learned before, that swingers club 244 00:16:38,613 --> 00:16:40,343 had already closed down. 245 00:16:40,343 --> 00:16:43,613 A few of the officers, were running license plates 246 00:16:43,613 --> 00:16:45,043 to see who were swingers, 247 00:16:45,043 --> 00:16:47,873 to see if any of them were local, just gossiping. 248 00:16:51,413 --> 00:16:54,073 And so, if we could get those license plates, 249 00:16:54,073 --> 00:16:57,973 then we could get in touch with some of those swingers 250 00:16:57,973 --> 00:17:01,143 to come forward and say that if, or if not, 251 00:17:01,143 --> 00:17:03,713 the defendants were at the swingers club. 252 00:17:05,613 --> 00:17:07,413 So we subpoenaed the records. 253 00:17:09,043 --> 00:17:11,143 Maybe three weeks goes by, 254 00:17:11,143 --> 00:17:13,573 and then they finally responded and said, 255 00:17:14,873 --> 00:17:18,413 as strangely as this is, they couldn't find anything. 256 00:17:20,073 --> 00:17:23,043 Eh, there's no other way to explain that 257 00:17:23,043 --> 00:17:24,843 other than, they were erased. 258 00:17:25,673 --> 00:17:28,073 That was suspicious. 259 00:17:28,073 --> 00:17:30,613 I believe the Texas Rangers made that decision 260 00:17:30,613 --> 00:17:32,713 at that time to erase them. 261 00:17:32,713 --> 00:17:36,143 Because, if they came forward with all the license plates, 262 00:17:36,143 --> 00:17:38,843 but none of the defendant's cars, 263 00:17:38,843 --> 00:17:41,973 not one car came back to them, 264 00:17:43,073 --> 00:17:46,243 well that might prove our client is innocent, 265 00:17:46,243 --> 00:17:48,413 and they wouldn't want to give us that. 266 00:17:48,413 --> 00:17:51,513 And then we learned, another reason they would've done this. 267 00:17:54,943 --> 00:17:58,813 We discovered that officers in Mineola had spoken with 268 00:17:58,813 --> 00:18:02,413 the swingers club owners, Sherry and Russ Adams. 269 00:18:35,773 --> 00:18:37,343 If those officers were in there, 270 00:18:37,343 --> 00:18:38,943 that's not against the law, 271 00:18:38,943 --> 00:18:41,073 but they would've had to have said, 272 00:18:41,073 --> 00:18:42,613 there were no children in there. 273 00:18:42,613 --> 00:18:47,613 And I believe by that point, Ranger Kemp was so involved, 274 00:18:47,613 --> 00:18:50,973 he didn't want this case to stop. 275 00:18:50,973 --> 00:18:53,843 And then we dig deeper and we find out Ranger Kemp 276 00:18:53,843 --> 00:18:56,713 interviewed Sherry Adams in the DA's office, 277 00:18:56,713 --> 00:18:57,613 there in the courthouse. 278 00:18:59,513 --> 00:19:01,513 [Sherry] We were cramped in this little corner office 279 00:19:01,513 --> 00:19:03,713 and he put them pictures out on his desk, 280 00:19:04,243 --> 00:19:05,143 {\an8}and he slammed them. 281 00:19:05,143 --> 00:19:07,713 {\an8}"I know who... you know who this is." 282 00:19:07,713 --> 00:19:10,143 - "I don't." - "Well, then you know who this one is." 283 00:19:10,143 --> 00:19:11,243 "No, I don't." 284 00:19:11,243 --> 00:19:12,713 "Well, you know what they've done?" 285 00:19:12,713 --> 00:19:14,813 "No, I don't. I don't know who they are." 286 00:19:14,813 --> 00:19:17,813 He said, "You're a liar. And I'm gonna put you in jail with the rest of them. 287 00:19:17,813 --> 00:19:18,873 You will rot in prison." 288 00:19:21,313 --> 00:19:24,143 [Thad] I'm sitting there thinking, oh my God, this is bad. 289 00:19:24,143 --> 00:19:25,343 This won't even go to trial. 290 00:19:26,243 --> 00:19:27,943 There is no case here. 291 00:19:27,943 --> 00:19:28,613 This is smoke and mirrors [bleep]. 292 00:19:33,113 --> 00:19:37,113 [Melinda] We wanted the recording of that meeting with Sherry Adams. 293 00:19:37,113 --> 00:19:39,213 But there was no recording. 294 00:19:39,213 --> 00:19:41,113 It wasn't in a report. 295 00:19:41,113 --> 00:19:42,643 There was nothing of that. 296 00:19:42,643 --> 00:19:45,943 And to destroy any evidence is illegal. 297 00:19:45,943 --> 00:19:49,843 Kemp testified he wasn't sure if it had been recorded. 298 00:19:49,843 --> 00:19:52,173 But then Thad Davidson found out that 299 00:19:52,173 --> 00:19:53,843 Kemp had actually been interviewed, 300 00:19:53,843 --> 00:19:55,743 by the Attorney General's office, 301 00:19:55,743 --> 00:19:57,943 about the whereabouts of the recording. 302 00:20:48,473 --> 00:20:51,073 [Melinda] In 26 years, a Texas Ranger's never 303 00:20:51,073 --> 00:20:55,073 conducted an investigation on sexual assault of a child 304 00:20:55,073 --> 00:20:56,843 or indecency with a child 305 00:20:56,843 --> 00:20:59,313 or sexual performance by a child. 306 00:20:59,313 --> 00:21:02,043 Kemp had no idea what he was doing. 307 00:21:17,043 --> 00:21:19,943 Why are you allowing Margie to sit in on these interviews 308 00:21:19,943 --> 00:21:24,113 and insist and push and force these kids 309 00:21:24,113 --> 00:21:25,473 to say what they said. 310 00:21:34,843 --> 00:21:37,673 {\an8}[Thad] Kemp did not bother to check out Cantrell. 311 00:21:37,673 --> 00:21:39,843 {\an8}Kemp did not bother to go, let's talk about you, 312 00:21:39,843 --> 00:21:41,573 let's talk about your background. 313 00:21:41,573 --> 00:21:43,113 That kind of critical thinking 314 00:21:43,113 --> 00:21:45,043 that should have been taking place 315 00:21:45,043 --> 00:21:47,573 by Kemp, or any law enforcement agent, 316 00:21:47,573 --> 00:21:49,943 of Cantrell did not happen. 317 00:21:52,743 --> 00:21:54,313 [Tamara] Thad Davidson was relentless, 318 00:21:54,313 --> 00:21:56,843 he called me over and over again. 319 00:21:56,843 --> 00:22:01,013 He kept saying like, "I'm telling you, this is a set-up." 320 00:22:01,013 --> 00:22:04,313 {\an8}And so finally, I sat down with him and heard him out. 321 00:22:04,313 --> 00:22:06,213 {\an8}And I, I saw the passion, 322 00:22:06,213 --> 00:22:08,643 it wasn't just a defense attorney that wanted to 323 00:22:08,643 --> 00:22:12,113 convince me that, his defendant wasn't guilty. 324 00:22:12,113 --> 00:22:13,843 No, he was trying to tell me, like, 325 00:22:13,843 --> 00:22:16,273 you don't understand, there's layers to this. 326 00:22:16,273 --> 00:22:18,043 And that was the first time I think my eyes 327 00:22:18,043 --> 00:22:19,743 really, really opened, 328 00:22:19,743 --> 00:22:21,673 to what was taking place and everything. 329 00:22:21,673 --> 00:22:24,313 So, by the time we entered the third trial with, 330 00:22:24,313 --> 00:22:27,373 Patrick Kelly, Booger Red, I was ready, finally, 331 00:22:27,373 --> 00:22:29,573 to kind of get a different side and understand 332 00:22:29,573 --> 00:22:31,173 what the truth is behind all of this. 333 00:22:37,173 --> 00:22:39,113 [Thad] I believed we had a good case, 334 00:22:39,113 --> 00:22:41,113 but the tide was completely against us 335 00:22:41,113 --> 00:22:42,073 when the trial started. 336 00:22:43,473 --> 00:22:46,743 Any time anybody gets arrested on a first-degree, 337 00:22:46,743 --> 00:22:49,013 big sex offense crime, or frankly any 338 00:22:49,013 --> 00:22:51,913 kind of big crime, it's all over the news. 339 00:22:51,913 --> 00:22:54,673 [Tamara] This case is constantly in the headlines. 340 00:22:54,673 --> 00:22:56,843 The media and the newspaper in town, 341 00:22:56,843 --> 00:22:58,843 knew that people were hungry 342 00:22:58,843 --> 00:23:00,313 and that they wanted more, more, more. 343 00:23:00,313 --> 00:23:02,943 Give us more about this Mineola sex ring club. 344 00:23:05,013 --> 00:23:07,173 [Thad] What that means is that the jury pool, 345 00:23:07,173 --> 00:23:10,813 of course, knew about these cases. 346 00:23:10,813 --> 00:23:13,273 If you know about it, it's going to affect you in trial. 347 00:23:15,313 --> 00:23:17,313 [Tamara] Local news was a really big deal. 348 00:23:18,473 --> 00:23:20,743 It was whatever was printed or reported, 349 00:23:20,743 --> 00:23:22,373 was gospel in many ways. 350 00:23:22,373 --> 00:23:25,813 And it did feel like it was very, very dominant, 351 00:23:25,813 --> 00:23:27,943 and heavy-sided for the DA. 352 00:23:27,943 --> 00:23:29,743 [reading] Defense attorney Thad Davidson 353 00:23:29,743 --> 00:23:31,843 says during Friday's pretrial, 354 00:23:31,843 --> 00:23:34,843 he will also ask for a change of venue. 355 00:23:34,843 --> 00:23:37,213 The reason, potential jurors in Smith County 356 00:23:37,213 --> 00:23:40,643 are only seeing one side of the child sex ring story. 357 00:23:51,473 --> 00:23:52,543 [Thad] When the trial started, 358 00:23:52,543 --> 00:23:54,943 we called Margie Cantrell to the witness stand. 359 00:23:56,043 --> 00:23:58,843 We knew that John Cantrell had been indicted out 360 00:23:58,843 --> 00:24:01,043 in California on child sex charges. 361 00:24:01,043 --> 00:24:04,113 The issue is, well, if he's doing it, is she doing it too? 362 00:24:04,113 --> 00:24:05,743 Because people are saying that she is. 363 00:24:05,743 --> 00:24:10,113 We were interviewing former foster kids, now adults. 364 00:24:10,113 --> 00:24:12,943 [Jenna] They were asking me what happened, 365 00:24:12,943 --> 00:24:15,373 and I told them the abuse I went through and I said, 366 00:24:15,373 --> 00:24:19,643 "I know what she's doing because she's done this kind of stuff before." 367 00:24:21,473 --> 00:24:24,943 She was saying, "Margie Cantrell beat us. 368 00:24:24,943 --> 00:24:27,813 Margie Cantrell told us what to say, 369 00:24:27,813 --> 00:24:29,943 Margie Cantrell would punish us 370 00:24:29,943 --> 00:24:32,213 if we didn't say what she wanted us to say 371 00:24:32,213 --> 00:24:33,843 or do what she wanted us to do." 372 00:24:33,843 --> 00:24:35,643 These were adults saying that. 373 00:24:35,643 --> 00:24:37,013 We were ready to destroy her. 374 00:24:40,113 --> 00:24:44,113 The problem is, Margie, with the assistance of her attorney 375 00:24:44,813 --> 00:24:46,573 told her to shut the hell up, 376 00:24:46,573 --> 00:24:48,743 "You are not going to say a damn word on the witness stand 377 00:24:48,743 --> 00:24:50,643 other than 'I take the fifth amendment'," 378 00:24:50,643 --> 00:24:51,573 which is what happened. 379 00:24:53,843 --> 00:24:57,073 [Mike] More than 100 questions he would ask Margie Cantrell, 380 00:24:57,073 --> 00:24:59,113 and she had the same answer for each one. 381 00:24:59,113 --> 00:25:02,373 She would say "I'm exercising my Constitutional Right 382 00:25:02,373 --> 00:25:03,913 to not answer the question," 383 00:25:03,913 --> 00:25:05,743 and this went on and on. 384 00:25:06,843 --> 00:25:08,573 [Margie] People have said that John and I, 385 00:25:08,573 --> 00:25:12,073 took our Constitutional Right because we were guilty. 386 00:25:13,313 --> 00:25:15,213 But my attorney told us, 387 00:25:15,213 --> 00:25:18,173 "You're going to plead the fifth." 388 00:25:18,173 --> 00:25:21,443 They said they didn't want to keep muddying it up 389 00:25:21,443 --> 00:25:23,213 with this John and Margret thing, 390 00:25:23,673 --> 00:25:25,643 because he was innocent, 391 00:25:25,643 --> 00:25:27,743 but he had been completely slandered, 392 00:25:27,743 --> 00:25:30,043 smeared, and everything. 393 00:25:30,043 --> 00:25:32,043 They want to keep it that out 394 00:25:32,043 --> 00:25:36,173 and they wanted to just keep it straight on the kids, 395 00:25:36,173 --> 00:25:39,213 what the jury hears, the testimony the jury hears, 396 00:25:39,213 --> 00:25:40,113 and that was that. 397 00:25:41,443 --> 00:25:43,113 [Thad] The nightmare didn't end. 398 00:25:43,113 --> 00:25:45,473 The prosecutor, Murphy, kept talking about how 399 00:25:45,473 --> 00:25:47,473 the previous two defendants had been convicted 400 00:25:47,473 --> 00:25:48,743 and gotten life sentences. 401 00:25:48,743 --> 00:25:51,073 It's unconstitutional. I objected. 402 00:25:51,073 --> 00:25:53,373 Judge Skeen let him do that. 403 00:25:53,373 --> 00:25:57,043 This was a [bleep] show agenda to a one-way destination, 404 00:25:57,043 --> 00:25:59,113 which was, "We're gonna get convictions." 405 00:26:00,213 --> 00:26:02,673 [Tamara] I still remember vividly, Thad Davidson 406 00:26:02,673 --> 00:26:04,813 was just shot down, over and over. 407 00:26:04,813 --> 00:26:06,573 And that was the first time I think my eyes, 408 00:26:06,573 --> 00:26:09,673 really, really, opened, to what was taking place. 409 00:26:09,673 --> 00:26:11,673 This was the first time that I thought, 410 00:26:11,673 --> 00:26:13,113 "We're failing this person." 411 00:26:14,673 --> 00:26:17,573 Not only we as the media, but... 412 00:26:17,573 --> 00:26:20,673 these people that we trust, and these investigators, 413 00:26:20,673 --> 00:26:23,673 also didn't do due diligence, 414 00:26:23,673 --> 00:26:25,313 and investigate this case right. 415 00:26:28,043 --> 00:26:30,843 When the verdict came back for the Patrick Kelly case, 416 00:26:30,843 --> 00:26:32,913 it took probably about two hours, 417 00:26:32,913 --> 00:26:34,673 and it was guilty for him. 418 00:26:34,673 --> 00:26:37,543 And he was gonna be sent away like the other two, 419 00:26:37,543 --> 00:26:38,543 for the rest of his life. 420 00:26:41,743 --> 00:26:43,473 I felt grieved in that moment. 421 00:26:45,213 --> 00:26:48,113 It was just gross in a lot of ways, like it was 422 00:26:48,113 --> 00:26:49,943 very sad what happened to him. 423 00:27:21,243 --> 00:27:23,783 I feel that what happened here, to my client 424 00:27:23,783 --> 00:27:28,613 was a travesty of injustice, was a rape of justice. 425 00:27:28,613 --> 00:27:31,243 And that the people responsible for it, 426 00:27:31,243 --> 00:27:32,783 and let me be blunt, 427 00:27:32,783 --> 00:27:35,373 Margie Cantrell, John Cantrell, 428 00:27:36,113 --> 00:27:38,743 Ranger Kemp, Joe Murphy, 429 00:27:39,413 --> 00:27:41,843 Matt Bingham, Judge Skeen, 430 00:27:42,783 --> 00:27:46,043 all of these people should be held responsible. 431 00:27:46,043 --> 00:27:47,843 That the harm they inflicted, 432 00:27:47,843 --> 00:27:49,473 should be the harm they suffer. 433 00:27:51,213 --> 00:27:53,873 I don't hide evidence. I've been here 16 years 434 00:27:54,673 --> 00:27:56,043 and I try stuff fairly. 435 00:27:56,043 --> 00:27:57,873 {\an8}You know the defense just doesn't like the fact that 436 00:27:57,873 --> 00:27:59,613 {\an8}their client got convicted and got a life sentence. 437 00:27:59,613 --> 00:28:01,473 {\an8}I mean, let's call it what it is. 438 00:28:01,473 --> 00:28:03,943 {\an8}Thad Davidson was complaining about the DA. 439 00:28:03,943 --> 00:28:06,783 {\an8}The DA was complaining about Thad. 440 00:28:06,783 --> 00:28:09,243 {\an8}But the one thing that Thad Davidson said that made me... 441 00:28:10,043 --> 00:28:11,573 really think was, 442 00:28:12,413 --> 00:28:13,973 there's no evidence here, 443 00:28:13,973 --> 00:28:16,043 and there were no grown-up witnesses. 444 00:28:16,043 --> 00:28:20,843 And so I thought, wow, this could really be a story. 445 00:28:20,843 --> 00:28:23,783 If these guys did it, it's one kind of story. 446 00:28:23,783 --> 00:28:25,373 And if these guys didn't do it, 447 00:28:25,373 --> 00:28:27,573 it's another kind of story. 448 00:28:27,573 --> 00:28:30,413 So I decided to interview some of the Cantrells' other foster kids. 449 00:28:32,043 --> 00:28:34,513 One of her sons called her the "puppet master." 450 00:28:34,513 --> 00:28:37,783 Kids in California said that she was manipulative. 451 00:28:37,783 --> 00:28:39,783 So I called her several times, 452 00:28:39,783 --> 00:28:41,843 'cause I really did want to talk with her. 453 00:28:41,843 --> 00:28:44,513 And it was toward the end of the reporting process 454 00:28:44,513 --> 00:28:46,613 where I did get her on the phone. 455 00:28:46,613 --> 00:28:47,673 [ringback tone] 456 00:29:27,973 --> 00:29:32,143 I put up my back to not be taken in by this woman, 457 00:29:32,143 --> 00:29:35,783 and within seconds I felt like I was being pulled along a conveyor belt 458 00:29:35,783 --> 00:29:37,473 by an impossible force. 459 00:29:39,513 --> 00:29:41,743 And if she's that way with grownups, 460 00:29:41,743 --> 00:29:43,473 imagine her with kids. 461 00:29:46,513 --> 00:29:50,513 [Margie] Michael Hall said that I was a puppet master mother. 462 00:29:51,673 --> 00:29:54,783 And it really shocked me and it hurt so deep, 463 00:29:54,783 --> 00:29:57,973 deeper than you could ever imagine. 464 00:29:57,973 --> 00:30:01,573 Mind you, I was a mother of 15 teenagers at one time, 465 00:30:01,573 --> 00:30:04,513 I was pretty regimental, yes. 466 00:30:04,513 --> 00:30:07,343 Everybody had a chore and I expected it done. 467 00:30:08,043 --> 00:30:10,313 Puppet master, no. 468 00:30:14,743 --> 00:30:16,973 [Mike] There are so many lies in this story. 469 00:30:16,973 --> 00:30:19,973 Margie knows how to 470 00:30:19,973 --> 00:30:22,873 push people's buttons and manipulate them. 471 00:30:22,873 --> 00:30:26,113 You go to each one of my children 472 00:30:26,113 --> 00:30:29,783 and you try to demonize me through my own children? 473 00:30:33,673 --> 00:30:34,613 [sniffles] 474 00:30:39,573 --> 00:30:42,783 [Tamara] After the third trial, everything completely turned, 475 00:30:42,783 --> 00:30:45,513 it was like the mic drop time, like, "What is going on?" 476 00:30:47,783 --> 00:30:50,373 [female reporter] With the recent developments, all eyes will be 477 00:30:50,373 --> 00:30:52,943 on the fourth trial in the Mineola sex-ring case. 478 00:30:52,943 --> 00:30:55,843 Dennis Pittman, a friend of convicted defendants, 479 00:30:55,843 --> 00:30:59,673 Shauntel Mayo and Jamie Pittman, will begin trial Monday. 480 00:31:03,843 --> 00:31:05,613 [Mike] The fourth trial was Dennis Pittman. 481 00:31:05,613 --> 00:31:09,613 He was local guy, been around for a long time. 482 00:31:09,613 --> 00:31:11,473 Pittman has a really good lawyer, Jason Cassel, 483 00:31:11,473 --> 00:31:13,243 young guy, based out of Longview. 484 00:31:13,243 --> 00:31:15,143 Jason's a smart guy, he knows something's up, 485 00:31:15,143 --> 00:31:17,243 he, he believes that Pittman is innocent. 486 00:31:18,613 --> 00:31:22,943 {\an8}[Jason] Dennis was real soft spoken and when I first met with him 487 00:31:22,943 --> 00:31:26,613 he was basically like, you know, "I didn't, I didn't do this, 488 00:31:26,613 --> 00:31:30,343 and I don't know why this is being said about me." 489 00:31:53,373 --> 00:31:55,873 [Mike] I got there early on the first day of trial, 490 00:31:55,873 --> 00:31:58,243 and I found a seat in the courtroom. 491 00:31:58,243 --> 00:32:00,673 And all of a sudden I'm aware of this figure 492 00:32:00,673 --> 00:32:03,243 kind of moving really slowly 493 00:32:04,843 --> 00:32:06,673 to the right and in front of me, 494 00:32:06,673 --> 00:32:09,343 and I finally look up and it's Dennis Pittman. 495 00:32:09,343 --> 00:32:13,473 He looks like somebody in a hospital who is heavily sedated. 496 00:32:35,243 --> 00:32:40,043 I just knew that this guy, you know, he was doomed. 497 00:32:42,373 --> 00:32:44,943 Bingham did not pull back one bit. 498 00:32:44,943 --> 00:32:49,143 He was going full boar to get a conviction of Dennis Pittman. 499 00:32:49,143 --> 00:32:52,513 And of course, the three previous juries 500 00:32:52,513 --> 00:32:55,243 had found guilty verdicts right away. 501 00:32:55,243 --> 00:32:58,743 I think most people there thought, "It's probably gonna happen again." 502 00:32:58,743 --> 00:33:01,783 But during the trial, a bombshell dropped. 503 00:33:06,213 --> 00:33:08,413 [Gabby] During the first trial, I was seven. 504 00:33:08,413 --> 00:33:10,343 Then there was the questioning, 505 00:33:10,343 --> 00:33:15,143 going over my testimony, which sometimes lasted hours as well. 506 00:33:17,113 --> 00:33:18,373 [Ranger Kemp] Alrighty. 507 00:33:38,743 --> 00:33:40,783 [Gabby] During the Dennis Pittman trials, 508 00:33:40,783 --> 00:33:42,613 I was going into middle school 509 00:33:42,613 --> 00:33:46,113 and I wanted to move on past this. 510 00:34:03,213 --> 00:34:05,513 Matt Bingham, that was questioning me, 511 00:34:05,513 --> 00:34:08,473 I, you know, had heard him stating 512 00:34:08,473 --> 00:34:11,673 earlier in the day to Joe Murphy that, 513 00:34:11,673 --> 00:34:14,373 "I'm gonna have to treat her like a hostile witness." 514 00:34:14,373 --> 00:34:19,743 Well, I had had enough of that so I 515 00:34:21,873 --> 00:34:24,313 made his day worse 516 00:34:24,313 --> 00:34:28,313 by finally saying, you know, what he didn't want to hear. 517 00:34:47,243 --> 00:34:49,043 When they were questioning me, 518 00:34:49,043 --> 00:34:53,413 that I had kind of recanted in a way, it was-- 519 00:34:53,413 --> 00:34:57,873 it blurted out of my mouth. I, It just came out. 520 00:34:57,873 --> 00:35:00,843 [Mike] In all the times I've been in courts covering stories, 521 00:35:00,843 --> 00:35:03,843 I've never seen somebody with that kind of courage. 522 00:35:03,843 --> 00:35:07,743 She is absolutely fearless and I, I remember thinking, 523 00:35:07,743 --> 00:35:10,513 "Where is this gonna go?" 524 00:35:10,513 --> 00:35:13,943 [Jason] When Gabby testified, that was really one of the times where I thought, 525 00:35:13,943 --> 00:35:17,673 you know, "Oh, you know, we got a [bleep] chance." 526 00:35:27,373 --> 00:35:32,673 I needed an explanation for as to why I was changing my story 527 00:35:32,673 --> 00:35:38,973 and, you know, I went to church every Sunday for three hours. 528 00:35:38,973 --> 00:35:41,783 God made me tell the truth. God told me to do it. 529 00:35:50,313 --> 00:35:52,973 I felt better once I had said it. 530 00:35:52,973 --> 00:35:55,973 There was always, like, this knot in the pit of my stomach. 531 00:35:55,973 --> 00:35:57,673 And the second that I said, 532 00:35:57,673 --> 00:36:02,143 "That didn't happen. God told me to tell the truth," 533 00:36:02,143 --> 00:36:04,043 that knot loosened. 534 00:36:05,783 --> 00:36:10,873 I had never in my life, you know, met Dennis Pittman. 535 00:36:10,873 --> 00:36:14,513 I had never been introduced to him by my parents. 536 00:36:14,513 --> 00:36:19,873 The truth of the matter is, is that it didn't happen, it never happened. 537 00:36:19,873 --> 00:36:21,373 They brainwashed us. 538 00:36:29,343 --> 00:36:33,883 [Mike] So, when Gabby finally said, "This didn't happen," 539 00:36:33,883 --> 00:36:35,673 I mean, if this were a Hollywood movie, 540 00:36:35,673 --> 00:36:37,783 the whole case would've fallen apart right then. 541 00:36:37,783 --> 00:36:39,983 Margie Cantrell would've fessed up 542 00:36:39,983 --> 00:36:41,513 to making the whole thing up. 543 00:36:41,513 --> 00:36:43,813 The, the judge would've declared a mistrial, 544 00:36:43,813 --> 00:36:46,543 and everything would've been hunky-dory. 545 00:36:46,543 --> 00:36:48,813 But this is Smith County. [chuckles] 546 00:36:48,813 --> 00:36:51,273 And in Smith County you keep going. 547 00:36:53,883 --> 00:36:55,543 [Jason] At the end of the day, 548 00:36:55,543 --> 00:36:57,643 with the way that they tried the case 549 00:36:57,643 --> 00:36:58,983 and the way that they argued it, 550 00:36:58,983 --> 00:37:01,143 going after hearts rather than minds, 551 00:37:01,143 --> 00:37:04,713 I just felt like they would sit there and say, 552 00:37:04,713 --> 00:37:06,543 "We're gonna find this guy guilty." 553 00:37:08,713 --> 00:37:09,883 [gavel bangs] 554 00:37:12,273 --> 00:37:13,613 [Jason] And that's what they did. 555 00:37:21,913 --> 00:37:26,713 In the back of your mind, when you believe that this guy is not guilty, 556 00:37:26,713 --> 00:37:30,043 it stings, you know, that's the thing that really hurts is knowing... 557 00:37:30,043 --> 00:37:31,543 [door buzzer rings] 558 00:37:32,343 --> 00:37:34,043 ...an innocent man went to prison. 559 00:37:57,413 --> 00:37:59,913 [Gabby] After Dennis Pittman's trial, 560 00:37:59,913 --> 00:38:02,883 it got to the point where I was not mentally okay 561 00:38:02,883 --> 00:38:06,513 {\an8}because my parents' trials were coming up really quickly. 562 00:38:07,913 --> 00:38:09,983 {\an8}I knew that they were next. 563 00:38:09,983 --> 00:38:12,813 I was going through a lot of mental struggles 564 00:38:12,813 --> 00:38:16,913 at the time that this picture was taken. I was suicidal. 565 00:38:16,913 --> 00:38:18,713 I wrote a suicide letter, 566 00:38:18,713 --> 00:38:21,613 stating that I couldn't do this anymore. 567 00:38:21,613 --> 00:38:23,673 It was after that that, you know, 568 00:38:25,543 --> 00:38:28,543 they finally, you know, started making the deals, 569 00:38:28,543 --> 00:38:31,883 and making it to where I didn't have to testify against my parents. 570 00:38:33,643 --> 00:38:37,173 And they make it sound like it's for my health and well-being, 571 00:38:37,173 --> 00:38:39,413 but I really think that it was because 572 00:38:39,413 --> 00:38:42,343 they knew if I got back up on that stand, 573 00:38:43,713 --> 00:38:46,083 it was not gonna be what they wanted. 574 00:38:58,643 --> 00:39:01,913 At that point, Jimmy had been behind bars for four years 575 00:39:01,913 --> 00:39:05,273 and he said, "I'm done. I'll, I'll take a deal. 576 00:39:05,273 --> 00:39:07,543 I will admit guilt to something I didn't do." 577 00:39:07,543 --> 00:39:11,083 Shelia said the same. In exchange for the plea 578 00:39:11,083 --> 00:39:14,713 and agreeing to not have contact with Gabby till she was 18, 579 00:39:14,713 --> 00:39:17,673 Jimmy and Shelia were released in August 2010. 580 00:39:27,543 --> 00:39:29,673 This is the new Smith County Jail. 581 00:39:30,813 --> 00:39:33,243 This is the old one. That's the one I was in 582 00:39:34,273 --> 00:39:37,783 for three years, 11 months and 23 days. 583 00:39:39,673 --> 00:39:42,513 That recreation was the only sunlight we ever got, 584 00:39:42,513 --> 00:39:46,083 and we probably got it, maybe, once a week, if we were lucky. 585 00:39:47,613 --> 00:39:49,613 I was on the third floor. 586 00:39:52,043 --> 00:39:54,173 Those were the infirmary windows. 587 00:39:56,343 --> 00:39:57,343 {\an8}[interviewer speaking] 588 00:39:57,343 --> 00:39:59,343 Oh, yeah, several times. 589 00:39:59,343 --> 00:40:00,783 Getting stitched up. 590 00:40:02,083 --> 00:40:05,343 My memory here is straight up hell on earth. 591 00:40:06,713 --> 00:40:09,243 I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy, 592 00:40:10,443 --> 00:40:12,813 especially for someone being in jail 593 00:40:12,813 --> 00:40:14,783 when they didn't commit a crime. 594 00:40:16,343 --> 00:40:18,273 When I took the plea bargain, 595 00:40:18,273 --> 00:40:23,913 my attorney told me that I had to sign my rights over to Gabby. 596 00:40:23,913 --> 00:40:26,543 That was the saddest day of my life. 597 00:40:30,173 --> 00:40:33,513 I always told my daughter that I would never give up on her, 598 00:40:35,343 --> 00:40:36,983 and at this time I did. 599 00:40:40,343 --> 00:40:42,343 She was my baby girl. 600 00:40:42,343 --> 00:40:47,273 Everything in this world did not matter to me unless it involved Gabby. 601 00:40:52,083 --> 00:40:54,343 [Shelia] Gabby was the love of my life, 602 00:40:55,173 --> 00:40:58,243 and she's still the love of my life. 603 00:41:01,243 --> 00:41:03,613 We were very proud parents. 604 00:41:03,613 --> 00:41:07,173 Jimmy said he only ever wanted one and that's what he got, one. 605 00:41:13,913 --> 00:41:18,083 {\an8}[Jimmy] I never thought I'd be living back here in Mineola, but here I am. 606 00:41:20,983 --> 00:41:23,083 Considering all the nightmares. 607 00:41:25,083 --> 00:41:28,513 The media had painted such a horrible picture of us, 608 00:41:28,513 --> 00:41:29,813 that we were monsters. 609 00:41:33,173 --> 00:41:35,913 We were the worst scum on earth. 610 00:41:38,883 --> 00:41:41,983 Little building right here is the newspaper place. 611 00:41:46,643 --> 00:41:48,543 And then that building up there 612 00:41:48,543 --> 00:41:50,543 is where the swingers club was. 613 00:42:05,443 --> 00:42:06,513 [exhales sharply] 614 00:42:19,083 --> 00:42:21,883 Just being here makes me sick to my stomach. 615 00:42:25,713 --> 00:42:27,413 This is a piece of [bleep] place, 616 00:42:27,413 --> 00:42:29,813 it needs to be tore down, as far as I'm concerned. 617 00:42:32,343 --> 00:42:34,343 And it's a reminder of evil. 618 00:42:35,143 --> 00:42:36,443 Straight up evil. 619 00:42:39,273 --> 00:42:42,143 It's not none of the kids' fault that we went through this. 620 00:42:44,273 --> 00:42:46,273 It's the Cantrell family. 621 00:42:46,273 --> 00:42:48,243 Margie Cantrell and John Cantrell. 622 00:42:48,243 --> 00:42:52,343 What do you think about these allegations that are being made against you? 623 00:42:52,343 --> 00:42:55,273 - We don't even know most of them yet. [chuckles] - Mmm-hmm. 624 00:42:56,913 --> 00:42:58,813 - [female lawyer] Margaret! - Yes, ma'am. 625 00:42:58,813 --> 00:43:00,613 - [female lawyer] Go. - [Margie] Yes, ma'am. 626 00:43:00,613 --> 00:43:01,983 - Go! - No. 627 00:43:01,983 --> 00:43:04,443 Hurry up. Go. 628 00:43:05,443 --> 00:43:07,673 [Mike] Everything they'd said was a lie, 629 00:43:07,673 --> 00:43:10,443 sex kindergarten, the swingers club. 630 00:43:11,343 --> 00:43:13,273 And that ruined a bunch of people's lives 631 00:43:13,273 --> 00:43:15,173 and sent a bunch of people to prison 632 00:43:15,173 --> 00:43:18,173 and ruin a bunch of children's childhoods. 633 00:43:19,343 --> 00:43:21,143 - [car engine starts] - [Mike] And then we found out 634 00:43:21,143 --> 00:43:25,083 why they would've done all this in the first place. 635 00:43:25,083 --> 00:43:26,913 [Jimmy] They don't care who they hurt. 636 00:43:27,883 --> 00:43:29,813 What family they devastate. 637 00:43:31,143 --> 00:43:32,613 They're in it for the money.