June 15, 2025
Shadows of Recantation: The John Payton Case Reopened PCA #1
The haunting question "What would happen if I said I lied?" sits at the heart of this gripping exploration into a long-buried child sexual abuse case that's finally seeing the light of day. Ten years after a teenage victim recanted her allegations against her stepfather, she's back—armed with recordings, screenshots, and the unshakable determination to set the record straight. John Dale Payton, a longtime resident of Morgan County, Indiana, now faces serious felony child molestation charges ...
The haunting question "What would happen if I said I lied?" sits at the heart of this gripping exploration into a long-buried child sexual abuse case that's finally seeing the light of day. Ten years after a teenage victim recanted her allegations against her stepfather, she's back—armed with recordings, screenshots, and the unshakable determination to set the record straight.
John Dale Payton, a longtime resident of Morgan County, Indiana, now faces serious felony child molestation charges after his stepdaughter found the courage to revisit the trauma she was pressured to deny. Her journey reveals the devastating complexity of family abuse cases: the shattered trust when a mother initially sides with the accused, the painful isolation when siblings call you a "fucking liar," and the unbearable weight a child carries when they feel responsible for their family's wellbeing.
What makes this case extraordinary isn't just the decade-long path to justice, but the compelling evidence that emerged when the victim, now an adult, confronted her alleged abuser directly. In recorded conversations, Payton attempts to deflect blame while simultaneously apologizing—a damning contradiction to his official denials. Even more significant, another family member has now come forward with similar allegations, suggesting a pattern of predatory behavior spanning years.
Through meticulous examination of the probable cause affidavit, we unpack how trauma memories surface over time, why recantations occur in legitimate abuse cases, and the critical importance of believing victims, even when their stories emerge in fragments across years. For anyone who has questioned delayed disclosures or wondered about the psychological aftermath of childhood trauma, this episode offers profound insights into both the human mind's protective mechanisms and the enduring pursuit of truth.
Have you ever witnessed a loved one struggling to be believed? What would you do if faced with a choice between your truth and your family's stability? Join us as we examine these questions and more in this deeply moving exploration of resilience, courage, and long-overdue justice.
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Disclaimer: All defendants are INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY in a court of law. All facts are alleged until a conviction!
00:31 - Podcast Introduction and Warnings
02:34 - Introducing the Payton Case
05:14 - Patreon Community Announcements
09:24 - Initial Allegations and Timeline
17:10 - The Recantation and Family Pressure
25:20 - Victim Returns: New Evidence Emerges
36:34 - Mother's Testimony and Corroboration
40:25 - John Payton's Defense Strategy
48:54 - Current Charges and Case Implications
53:43 - Resources and Indiana Legal Information
WEBVTT
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I get up around 7, get out of bed around 9.
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It was fate.
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I should have seen it coming all along, because a good girl, well, she can only be good until all this good is gone.
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A hundred days have made me older.
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Welcome everyone to Podcast 69 South, where we cuss and discuss true crime, cold cases, current events and hot topics, along with our state of society today.
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This is your trigger warning.
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Our podcast content is produced for adult listeners, 18 years of age and older.
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We discuss situations that may be offensive and triggering to some listeners.
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Sit back, relax and enjoy.
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Welcome back everybody to 69 South.
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I am Chop.
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I'm your host today, and with me always is my beautiful co-host, Julie.
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How are you doing, babe?
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Amazing as always.
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This is a podcast where we don't just scratch the surface.
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We dive deep and I mean deep into these cases that truly shape our understanding of law, of truth and, perhaps most importantly, of human resilience.
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So welcome everyone to another episode.
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We're glad you're with us today, and we are indeed diving headfirst into a legal document that has sent ripples to a quiet Indiana community.
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We're meticulously examining the recent probable cause affidavit of John Dale Payton.
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This isn't just a dry legal filing.
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It's the genesis of a story that demanded to be heard.
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That's right, babe.
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And for those unfamiliar with the name, John Payton is not some stranger passing through.
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He is a longtime resident of Morton County, Indiana, specifically residing in the Martinsville area for many, many years.
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His roots run deep in that community, which only adds to the layers and uncovering hidden truths that some might have preferred to remain buried.
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And before we delve into the intricate details of this incredibly important and, at times, difficult case, we want to take a moment, a really important moment, to talk about our Patreon community.
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If you love what we do here at 69 South, if our commitment to justice and deep dives into those narratives that resonate with you, it would be absolutely amazing if you could go to patreoncom forward, slash 69 south and join us as a member.
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It literally costs you nothing to join our community and its foundational level.
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We've created a free roadside listener tier, which is perfect for anyone who wants to follow along, get updates and feel like part of our 69 south family without any financial commitment.
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It's a great way to stay connected and support us in spirit, and we love you either way.
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But for those of you who are truly passionate about our work, those who want to dig even deeper, alongside us, we also have our $5 Mile Marker 5 tier.
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$5 mile marker five tier.
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This tier, for just $5, offers an incredible array of benefits that enhance your 69 South experience.
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When you join at this level, you gain immediate access to all the legal documents pertaining to the cases that we follow, giving you the ability to review the evidence and the filings right alongside us.
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Imagine being able to read the very affidavits and police reports we discuss.
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It offers a whole new dimension of understanding.
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Not only that, but the five dollar mile marker tier also grants you access to our community chat.
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This is a vibrant, respectful space where you can engage directly with us, ask questions, share your thoughts on episodes and connect with other listeners who share your interest in these compelling cases.
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It's truly a special part of our community, fostering discussions that go beyond the podcast itself.
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And there's more.
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You get Patreon exclusive episodes, content that isn't available anywhere else, giving you even more true crime deep dives.
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And we are so excited to announce that live video visuals are coming soon for our Mile Marker 5 members.
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Imagine being able to see us interact in real time and get even more experience as we discuss these cases.
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Your support directly enables us to expand our offerings, improve our production quality and bring you more of the content that you love.
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Every single dollar goes towards making 69 South better and more impactful.
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We would like to give a shout out to our new Patreon members, and their support is absolutely crucial to what we do, so a massive thank you to Carrie, Amber, KW Caitlin and Andrew.
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Your belief in 69 South and your willingness to contribute directly fuels our ability to bring these stories to you.
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That is amazing and unbelievable.
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Our ability to bring these stories to you, that is amazing and unbelievable.
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I would have never thought six months ago that this is where 69 South would be.
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I'm still in shock.
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So it's crazy to be in over 80 different countries and thousands and thousands of cities.
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It's really unbelievable, isn't it.
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It's cool as shit if you ask me.
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Shocked as fuck, honestly.
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But today we're tackling a case that's as heartbreaking as it is complex A story of alleged abuse, a recantation and a decades-long journey towards justice that's only now finding its footing.
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This is the probable cause affidavit filed in Morgan County, indiana, on June 6, 2025 under cause number 55D01-2506-FA-000834.
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It's a story that spans from the early 2000s to just a few weeks ago and it centers on a young woman we'll call Victim One, and her stepfather, john Del Payton.
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The very mention of these details the dates, the specific location is immediate grounds us in reality of what we're discussing today.
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This isn't theoretical.
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This is a lived experience and it's one that has tragically spanned a significant portion of victim one's life.
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The layers of this case are intricate, weaving together family dynamics, legal maneuvers and the profound lingering effects of trauma.
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That's right, julie.
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This isn't just a legal document.
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It's a window into a family torn apart by allegations of child molestation, a recantation that muddied the waters and a recent push to reopen the case with new compelling evidence.
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We're going to walk through the affidavit step by step, meticulously piecing together the narrative from the perspective of Detective Sergeant Patrick Williams, who's been at the heart of this investigation.
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His methodical approach, as laid out in the affidavit, allows us to follow the thread of his complex story from its initial whispers to its current, more definitive form.
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But first a quick heads up.
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This episode deals with sensitive topics, including sexual abuse and its emotional aftermath.
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We'll handle it with the utmost care, respect and compassion, but listener discretion is definitely advised.
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We understand that these conversations can be triggering and we encourage everyone to prioritize their well-being while listening.
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So I wanted this story to come across right and so important that this is our second time recording it and third time rewriting it because we wanted to get it out and have it perfect and tell the story the right way, because it's a little bit different than ones we have done before.
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We've never dealt with a victim that had recanted her story.
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I know it really breaks my heart thinking about the whole story all sewed together, man, it's unbelievable.
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Unbelievable, yeah, and the courage and the kindness and the resilience of this victim just blows my mind.
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Well, let's start at the beginning.
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Just blows my mind.
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Well, let's start at the beginning.
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This case has roots stretching back to 2009 to 2011, when the alleged incidences took place.
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Think about that time frame years of a young child's life marked by these deeply troubling events.
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But the story really picks up in 2014, when Victim One first came forward.
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That's when the initial investigation began, led by now retired detective James Minton.
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So let's set the scene.
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It's 2014.
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Victim 1 is a teenager about 14 or 15 years old, navigating the tumultuous years of adolescence, and she makes a shocking disclosure to her mother and authorities about her stepfather, john Payton.
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It's a moment of immense courage, but also one riddled with uncertainty and fear.
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What do we know about that first brave attempt to seek justice?
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How did that initial report unfold, and what were the immediate consequences for victim one and her family?
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immediate consequences for victim one and her family.
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Well, based on the affidavit, the victim's initial allegations were profoundly serious.
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She claimed that over a period of years, starting when she was just six or seven years old and imagine that a child barely out of childhood, john had subjected her to multiple instances of sexual abuse.
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Wow.
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So just think about this for a minute.
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When a child is six years old, they are still developing, you know, their emotional regulation skills.
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They may start, still experience fears or anxieties, such as a fear of monsters or strangers.
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Shit.
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They're just not learning how to add.
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Yeah, and tie their shoes and they can count up to 10.
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Now you combine that with sexual abuse from a person that's a caregiver or a loved one or a trusted individual can have a profound and deeply negative impact on a child's understanding of themselves, of others and of the world.
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Form of abuse can be devastating because of the betrayal of trust and the distorted dynamics within the family.
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I mean kids that age only know what they're taught.
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They're looking to the adults in their life to guide them and what the adults are doing and showing them.
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I mean adults are doing and showing them.
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I mean that's facts and law to them in a sense.
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And it affects them in the future as well to form healthy relationships with people Absolutely, because they're at a stage in their life where they're just learning and once they learn that betrayal, it's hard for them to ever trust again.
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I mean shit that's going on.
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They perceive as you know.
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They normalize that shit.
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Yeah, and it can even lead to the young child having sexualized thoughts or questions and they may have inappropriate sexual knowledge and are asked questions about sex beyond their age.
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Now.
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These incidents allegedly occurred in various homes across Indiana Greencastle, cloverdale, eminence and Paragon, places where the family lived during her childhood her childhood.
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This detail alone paints a picture of a childhood marked by instability and, tragically, by alleged ongoing abuse as the family moved from one location to another.
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The affidavit details specific, deeply unsettling memories.
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Victim one shared during her recent interviews, memories that have evidently remained vivid and painful over the years.
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She recalled being touched inappropriately while sleeping in her parents' bed, a place that should be a sanctuary of safety and comfort.
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She also described being coerced into touching John, a violation of her bodily and anatomy at a such tender age.
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And then there's the particularly disturbing incident involving oral sex when she was around eight or nine.
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That just blows me away and disgusts me by the way, which she associates with the distinctive, almost synthetic memory of the taste of certain foods and puke.
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It's harrowing stuff, julie, the kind of detail that lodges itself in your mind and it's clear.
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These memories, these traumatic experiences, have haunted her for years, shaping her life in profound and difficult ways.
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The fact that these memories persisted, despite attempts to suppress them, speaks volumes about the depth of the trauma that she experienced.
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That's an incredibly heavy weight to carry for anyone, let alone a child so young.
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The affidavit mentions that victim one was forensically interviewed at Susie's Place, a child advocacy center, back in 2014.
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These centers are designed to be safe, neutral spaces for children to disclose abuse, and it's where she first laid out the allegations, in a structured, child-friendly setting with professionals trained to conduct such sensitive interviews.
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One would hope that after such a brave disclosure, the path to justice would be clear.
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But here's where the story takes a heartbreaking and perplexing turn.
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And perplexing turn.
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Despite her initial detailed disclosure, the case did not move forward at that time.
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Why?
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Because victim one recanted her story.
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She told authorities and her family that she made it all up and, with the direct involvement of John's attorney, stephen Litz, the case was effectively closed.
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This is a pivotal moment that complicates everything.
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What do you think led to that recantation?
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What pressures, what circumstances?
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What might compel a child to retract such serious allegations?
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I don't know, man, that's a tough one to unpack, babe.
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Unfortunately it's a pattern we see far too often in cases involving child abuse.
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The affidavit strongly suggests a mix of profound emotional pressure and complex, fractured family dynamics played a huge, undeniable role in the recantation.
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When the victim first told her mother about the abuse around, the initial reaction, heartbreakingly, wasn't immediate support or belief.
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Instead, her mother was described as being in denial and shock, which anybody probably would be struggling to process such devastating information about her longtime husband.
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To compound victim one's emotional burden, her older sister reportedly called her a fucking liar, creating an isolating rift within her closest family union.
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Isolating rift within her closest family union.
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The initial disbelief that questioning from the very people she should have been able to rely on for the unconditional support must have been devastating for a vulnerable teenager man.
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Yeah, because she came out and then at that point they were like no, I don't believe you, you're a liar, you fucking liar.
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I believe you, you're a liar, you fucking liar.
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I mean I can just see two sisters around that age stuff to recant events that they say that happened like that.
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You know, as the investigation began to unfold, victim one at this time just 14 or 15 years old, saw the immense toll it took on everyone around her.
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She witnessed her mother struggling deeply with the guilt and the weight of all of these revelations.
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She observed her sister distancing herself, even moving out of the family home to relocate with her boyfriend, further fracturing the family unit.
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And of course, there was the looming threat of John facing serious criminal charges, potentially even prison, which would undoubtedly shatter what remained of their family structure.
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Victim one asked a chilling question to her mother what would happen if she said she had lied, even though she admitted that she did not lie?
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This isn't just a rhetorical question.
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It's a desperate plea, a clear indication of the internal conflict that she was experiencing.
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She explicitly told her mother she didn't want John to die in jail.
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I mean there's a lot to unpack right there For one.
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You could tell this poor child has a huge heart.
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It seems to me in this part of the story that she is more worried about how everybody else feels how it's going to affect everybody else if she tells the truth about what the fuck this dude's been doing to her.
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Mm-hmm.
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I mean, to put that amount of weight on a 14 or 15-year-old girl is just incomprehensible to me Like the glue that really holds the family together.
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Right by keeping their silence.
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I mean her and her sister.
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As sisters are, they were probably close, I mean.
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Mother-daughter relationships.
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I mean, I know they're tedious at that time.
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Absolutely.
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But what about this Peyton dude man?
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He was probably supporting the whole family.
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I wonder if mom was like you know, if he goes to prison we'll fucking lose everything.
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You know what I mean?
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Maybe she really loved this Peyton dude and she herself didn't want to believe it.
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I don't know, man, it's a mess.
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They say, love is blind, but I mean Some Stevie Wonder love.
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Hindsight's 20-20.
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Yeah, yeah.
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That overwhelming sense of responsibility for her family's well-being, for their emotional stability, seems to have been the powerful force that pushed her, at such a young and oppressible age, to recant her truth.
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And, tragically, this recantation occurred with John's attorney, stephen Litz, directly present, adding an extra layer of intimidation and legal pressure to an already vulnerable situation.
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It's a tragic treatment to the immense burden placed upon victims, especially children, when they come forward with abuse allegations within their own families.
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Now that's such an agonizing detail.
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Now that's such an agonizing detail the idea that this teenager felt she had to protect her family, protect her abuser, even by silencing her own painful truth.
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It's an unbearable weight for any child to carry.
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The affidavit notes that the recantation was recorded, which is a critical piece of information.
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Victim 1 also signed something, though she didn't fully understand what it was.
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She was only 14 or 15 years old.
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This highlights the power imbalance in her vulnerable mental state at the time.
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John's attorney Litz facilitated the entire process.
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Attorney Litz facilitated the entire process and his presence, as you mentioned, undoubtedly added immense pressure.
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The legal maneuver effectively ended in 2014, leaving victim one's allegations unaddressed and unpunished for years.
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Victim one's mother was present during this recantation and she later reflected that Victim 1's mental state at the time was a significant factor hinting at the distress Victim 1 was experiencing.
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It's heartbreaking to think how isolated she must have felt, caught between her deeply held trauma and the overwhelming pressure, both legal and with her family, to retract her truth.
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The emotional landscape of that moment must have been incredibly complex and difficult, distressing for her.
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I bet she was scared to death, absolutely.
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I mean, you're in a lawyer's office and I'm sure they're, I'm sure the lawyers, spilling his freaking spill about you know if you lie in court you could be in trouble.
00:23:11.468 --> 00:23:21.196
If you made up these stories I mean we can prove you lie right, right, I can not saying that it was what's, but I can picture the situation Absolutely.
00:23:23.506 --> 00:23:35.077
It's sadly common scenario in cases of child sexual abuse for victims to recant, especially when they face profound family fallout, disbelief or outright coercion.
00:23:35.077 --> 00:23:54.714
The affidavit even points this out, noting that such behavior fits a recognized pattern seen in other investigations of child abuse, a pattern born out of fear, loyalty and the desperate hope of restoring a you know, a normalcy of their family unit.
00:23:54.714 --> 00:23:57.005
It's a survival mechanism.
00:23:57.005 --> 00:24:00.776
It's a way for a child to cope with an impossible situation.
00:24:00.776 --> 00:24:04.749
But here's where the story takes a powerful and hopeful turn.
00:24:04.749 --> 00:24:10.887
Let's fast forward to 2025, a full decade after the initial recantation.
00:24:10.887 --> 00:24:14.217
That's when this case gets a critical second life.
00:24:14.837 --> 00:24:26.817
On February 20th 2025, the Morgan County Prosecutor's Office reached out to Detective Patrick Williams the reason the victim had courageously re-contacted them.
00:24:26.817 --> 00:24:38.556
She expressed a profound regret for her recantation, indicating that it was not her true statement, and revealed that she had new, crucial information to share.
00:24:38.556 --> 00:24:43.787
She desperately wanted to speak again to finally have her true story heard.
00:24:43.787 --> 00:24:52.951
That's when Detective Williams, recognizing the significance of this development, stepped in to thoroughly reinvestigate the case.
00:24:52.951 --> 00:24:58.608
What did he find, julie, when he sat down with the victim on March 5th 2025?
00:24:58.608 --> 00:25:04.726
What new insights, what new details did she bring to light after a decade of silence.
00:25:05.547 --> 00:25:15.006
The interview conducted on March 5th 2025 is a critical, pivotal piece of this entire puzzle.
00:25:15.006 --> 00:25:26.436
Victim one, now an adult, opened up about the abuse in excruciating detail, revisiting memories she'd tried so desperately to suppress for years.
00:25:26.436 --> 00:25:31.797
The passage of time had not dulled the pain or the clarity of these recollections.
00:25:31.797 --> 00:25:36.517
In fact, therapy had helped her process and recall more.
00:25:36.517 --> 00:25:48.421
She spoke about how the abuse began when she was terrifyingly young, just six or seven years old, while they were living in Greencastle.
00:25:48.421 --> 00:26:01.681
She described John touching her inappropriately through her pajamas while she slept in her bed, a profound violation of trust and safety within what should have been her most secure space.
00:26:01.681 --> 00:26:28.361
She meticulously detailed how the abuse escalated over time being forced to touch him, being coerced into other acts and particularly disturbing incident around the age of 10 in where John had allegedly compared her body parts to her mother's body parts after inappropriately touching.
00:26:28.361 --> 00:26:29.481
That's fucked up.
00:26:29.481 --> 00:26:35.996
This detail alone speaks to a deep, disturbing psychological manipulation.
00:26:35.996 --> 00:26:41.640
Alongside the physical abuse, the physical abuse.
00:26:41.640 --> 00:26:59.019
Victim 1 also candidly shared the immense emotional toll these experiences had taken on her over the years Chronic self-harm, suicidal thoughts and a later diagnosis of complex PTSD.
00:26:59.019 --> 00:27:07.169
From all this sustained trauma, her life had been profoundly shaped by these hidden scars.
00:27:07.169 --> 00:27:15.278
But what stands out most powerfully and what truly changed the trajectory of this case is her explanation for the recantation.
00:27:15.278 --> 00:27:29.759
She reiterated that she had felt overwhelmingly responsible for her family's pain, particularly her mother's distress, and she tragically blamed herself for the chaos that had ensued.
00:27:29.759 --> 00:27:41.430
It was a burden no child should have been ever forced to carry, and her clear adult reflection on the past decision provided crucial context for Detective Williams.
00:27:41.430 --> 00:27:44.313
She was no longer a frightened teenager.
00:27:44.313 --> 00:27:53.221
She was a survivor, determined to set the record straight, armed with the wisdom and the perspective gained from years of processing her trauma.
00:27:53.221 --> 00:27:59.170
This interview was not just a recounting of events.
00:27:59.170 --> 00:28:03.905
It was an act of profound courage and a testament to her unwavering pursuit of truth.
00:28:05.769 --> 00:28:16.959
It's incredible how much she's been through and yet she found the immense strength, the sheer will to come forward again to relive these horrific memories for the sake of justice.
00:28:16.959 --> 00:28:36.059
We have read this PCA and the victim's recounting of a lot of the shit that happened to this poor child, and it's even certain foods, certain smells, certain situations that reminds her.
00:28:36.099 --> 00:28:42.198
Trigger that triggers her memories of the shit this man did to her at such a young age.
00:28:42.198 --> 00:28:45.353
It's so bad that we don't even want to read it.
00:28:45.353 --> 00:28:49.875
I mean, these are not general allegations.
00:28:49.875 --> 00:28:55.833
These are deeply imprinted sensory memories that are characteristics of true traumatic recall.
00:28:55.833 --> 00:29:11.378
He also mentions that, through her ongoing therapy, she had begun to recover additional repressed memories, like an assault when she was nine, where John allegedly used his fingers to cause significant pain.
00:29:11.378 --> 00:29:26.396
These profound and specific details were not part of her 2014 narrative, suggesting that she has been processing this complex trauma over time, allowing these suppressed memories to surface as she healed and gained strength.
00:29:26.396 --> 00:29:35.653
It paints a picture of a mind slowly, painfully reconstructing its own past peace by agonizing peace.
00:29:36.405 --> 00:29:41.457
And that's precisely where the truly new compelling evidence comes in.
00:29:41.457 --> 00:29:45.365
Victim 1 didn't just bring her renewed testimony, and that's precisely where the truly new compelling evidence comes in.
00:29:45.365 --> 00:29:57.269
Victim one didn't just bring her renewed testimony, she brought tangible, verifiable recordings and screenshots to the table for Detective Williams.
00:29:57.269 --> 00:30:26.429
In one damning audio recording, she courageously confronts John directly, demanding an apology for his actions and, incredibly, john eventually says he's sorry, though he immediately tries to deflect and minimize, attempting to shift blame John by claiming she initiated contact when she was 13 years old.
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