by Health Impact News/MedicalKidnap.com Staff
She was warned not to post their story on social media. She was told to “keep quiet” and “comply.” But Dee Prince knew that silence would only enable and embolden the bullies that were her abusers.
Her abusers, and those of her family, were people within the Alabama Shelby County Department of Human Resources (SCDHR), working with some in law enforcement, Shelby Baptist Medical Center, attorneys, and Guardian ad litems – a “nest” of corruption working together to steal children from her family, based on false allegations.
Now, she has won – because she dared to trust God and speak out.
On June 15, 2016, Shelby County social workers medically kidnapped 2 day old Baby Braelon from his young nursing mother’s arms based on false allegations. Now, almost a year and a half later, Dee and Rodney Prince received a letter in the mail stating that the allegations that started their nightmare are “not indicated,” and that:
The central registry maintained by the Alabama Department of Human Resources will be notified of the “not indicated” disposition.
Dee Prince boldly shared her victory post on Facebook on the evening of Wednesday, November 17, 2017:
PRAISE REPORT!!!
The long awaited verdict against Rodney and me for child abuse was received today! SCDHR claims we failed to protect our granddaughter when Sam Woods III (rapist) and his mother came to the hospital when Braelon was born!
SINCE I HAVE REFUSED TO BACK DOWN FROM SCDHR’s bullying tactics, the administrative hearing/trial has been cancelled! The letter received today signed by SCDHR Director, Kim Mashego, states “After further review, the disposition of this investigation will be entered as “non indicated.”‘
I’d like to thank those who have stood with us, printed or shared our story, and covered us in prayer through all the FALSE allegations SCDHR brought against us.
Baby Braelon Medically Kidnapped Over False Allegations
The story of Baby Braelon went viral during the summer of 2016, reaching a million people in just the first 24 hours.
The baby boy was born to a 14 year-old mother who was a rape victim. Our investigative reporter Terri LaPoint was already in contact with the family over the unjust removal of Baby Avyonna from another of the Prince’s granddaughters, Haly Boothe.
When Braelon was born, his grandmother Dee became concerned that DHR was going to try something to take the baby away from his young mother, whom Dee and Rodney had raised since infancy.
Terri LaPoint contacted Juda Myers of Choices4Life for her input, since Juda’s pro-life ministry is with mothers who conceive in rape. Juda has seen Child Protective Services take rape-conceived babies from their mothers before, and she immediately got on a plane heading to Alabama.
Both LaPoint and Myers were invited to the hospital by the family as advocates. They spent the next two days in the hospital with Dee, the young mother, and Baby Braelon, and they were horrified witnesses to the events that unfolded at Shelby Baptist Medical Center, just south of Birmingham, Alabama.
See original story:
Alabama Child Protective Services Steals New-born Breast-feeding Baby from Rape Victim While Still at the Hospital
They witnessed the accused rapist Samuel Woods III and his mother barge into the hospital room uninvited, having somehow bypassed hospital security. They saw the shocked faces of the young mother and her grandmother and their family friend as Woods scooped the baby from the bassinet like he owned the place. After a brief, uncomfortable conversation, Woods was told to leave.
See story:
Accused Man Arrested in Alabama Rape Mother Story – Allowed to Enter Hospital Room to See Baby Before His Arrest
That encounter was used later that same day as the grounds for DHR to come into the hospital, flanked by hospital security and armed police officers, to kidnap Baby Braelon out of his breastfeeding mother’s arms.
He was taken without a court order or a warrant, with police approval. Officer Edmundson and DHR supervisor Ahzshaka Evans said that DHR doesn’t need those (regardless of the 4th Amendment assertion that they do). They said that they had a “DHR pickup order,” but they failed to produce even that. They also refused to tell what grounds they were using to take the baby.
See video:
It was not until several months later that the Princes were finally able to learn that “inviting the rapist into the hospital room” was the grounds used to seize Baby Braelon that day, and the young mother and her twin brother less than 24 hours later.
It was all based on something that everyone involved had to know at the time was a lie.
Alabama Family Court Attempts to Silence Family and Media
Thus began the battle for Baby Braelon and his family, news of which went around the world.
There were numerous court hearings in the Shelby County family court, most of which devolved into histrionics by DHR social workers, their attorneys, Guardian ad litems (GALs), and other attorneys about the “social media.”
One GAL, Erin Bell Wellborn, filed a $300,000 lawsuit against Medical Kidnap and our reporter, as well as against Juda Myers, her organization, and Meko Haze and his outlet, The Daily Haze, for reporting on the story.
See:
Health Impact News Named in Alabama Lawsuit for Exposing State-sponsored Child Kidnapping
Judge Corey Moore called Terri LaPoint into his courtroom to try to silence her from talking about the story.
See:
Alabama Judge Threatens Health Impact News Reporter
The Prince’s attorney Mark Pratt, whom they say they have paid well over $20,000 over the years to represent them, advised them to play nice and refrain from talking to the media and posting about their story on Facebook and other social media.
Media Attention and Public Outcry Helped Family
Dee Prince has told us many times that she knows that the only reason that Baby Braelon was reunited with his mother less than 24 hours after he was taken was due to public outcry arising from the alternative media. It became obvious to everyone paying attention that DHR already had what some have called “a buyer” waiting in the wings for the baby.
When the mother and her twin were seized in apparent retaliation, it was their story in the media that eventually led to their release from foster care group homes, where they were being held captive by DHR. Though they were not returned to the grandparents who have had custody of them since they were newborns, they were returned to family.
See:
Alabama 14 Year Old Rape Victim Released from State Custody with her Baby
Dee and Rodney Prince have always acknowledged that it was prayer and public involvement because of the media, including Health Impact News, that is responsible for the results.
False Allegations Threatened Family
However, the false allegations that started it all – that the Princes invited Woods into the hospital room – were still out there, creating much undue stress.
Dee Prince is a public school teacher, and she knew that if she were found “guilty” by family court of allegations of abuse or neglect, her career was over. This was not something that Rodney Prince, a retired police officer, wanted on his record either. He was not even at the hospital when Woods came into the room, yet he was accused as well.
The allegations, which Dee more accurately describes as “lies,” have been the basis for DHR withholding visitation rights for the Princes with Baby Braelon, while, in a twist of dark irony that could only happen within Child “Protective” Services, the family of the accused rapist is being allowed visitation. (Note: Woods himself isn’t visiting. He is sitting in jail without bond for a total of SIX alleged rapes of underage girls, including Braelon’s mother. Two of the rapes happened after he was bailed out for the first four.)
The case was repeatedly continued. Juda Myers and Terri LaPoint submitted affidavits about what they witnessed to attorneys, and both were prepared to testify. A 30 minute audio recording of a conversation in the hospital with a social worker was transcribed. The evidence of the Princes’ innocence was very clear. But the courts had yet to hear it.
Lawmakers Step in to Help Family Where the Corrupt Court Had Failed
Several months ago, some legislators who had been repeatedly contacted by our audience were able to secure a meeting between Dee Prince, her granddaughter Haly Boothe, and some top state DHR officials. During that meeting, Dee, always the teacher, presented the DHR officials and legislators with copies of tabbed, color-coded notebooks, in which she had compiled all of the evidence of their innocence, as well as of DHR’s harassment and targeting of her family. There was also email evidence of an “offer” that DHR tried to make to Haly.
See:
Is Alabama DHR “Offer” to Young Mother Blackmail? Give Up Your Daughter and We Will Not Take Your Other Children
Dee Prince included copies of texts, emails, and news articles by Health Impact News in the notebooks.
Shortly thereafter, Haly’s case was transferred out of Shelby County DHR’s jurisdiction into Chilton County, where she is finally being heard. Baby Avyonna is finally in the process of reunification with her parents, who did nothing wrong to lose her in the first place.
See:
Baby Seized at Birth from Breast-feeding Alabama Mother to go Home More than 1 Year Later
However, the allegations of abuse over Woods being invited into the hospital room still loomed large over Dee and Rodney Prince.
They were scheduled for court this month, but they recently learned that their paid attorney, Mark Pratt, has been “suspended for ‘questionable conduct.'”
As they scrambled to find new legal representation, they were told that they would have to sue in order to get their money back that they had paid Pratt. Most attorneys they consulted would not touch the case dealing with DHR, and one said he would take the case for $8,000.
Meanwhile, someone within the state DHR worked on getting the court date extended.
The stress and worry about going into the hearing without legal representation seemed overwhelming to the couple who had already been through so much fighting for their family. Dee is a cancer survivor, and the stress from Shelby County DHR did not help her health.
Corrupt Charges Finally Dropped
Then, out of the blue, Dee received a message from a state DHR official telling her that it was over:
You will be receiving a letter in the coming next few days letting you know that the final disposition on your pending CAN [Child Abuse and Neglect report] has been entered as Not Indicated. Your administrative review has been permanently cancelled and there is nothing further for you to do … no need to hire legal representation.
Shortly after, they received the letter in the mail stating that the allegations are not indicated, signed by supervisor Kim Mashego, the same supervisor who has been very difficult for the family to work with in the past.
Dee and Rodney Prince have claimed since the beginning that they are innocent of any wrong-doing. They have contended that the lies stated by DHR have torn their family apart, and have tarnished the reputation of fine, upstanding community leaders.
Grandma Prayed and Trusted God – A Persevering Faith that Affected Many
Isaiah 54:17 says:
no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and this is their vindication from me,” declares the LORD. [NIV]
This is a day that Dee and Rodney Prince have prayed for for a long time. When we first met Dee Prince, she told us of something that the Lord had shown her not long before in prayer time. She recounted how God showed her that He was going to use her family to expose DHR in Alabama.
At the time, Baby Braelon had not been born. She had no way of knowing that this precious little baby’s story was going to be heard around the world and his cause embraced by so many.
She didn’t have any idea that he would inspire pro-life activist Merissa Hamilton to get involved in her state of Arizona with the cause of exposing and stopping child kidnapping by Child Protective Services, eventually making the decision to run for Governor of the State of Arizona.
Dee Prince just knew that God had given her a promise, and that she would treasure that promise in her heart, believing that somehow, some way, no matter what it looked like on the outside, God would be faithful to bring about His promise to her. She knew that she could never give up.
Now, Dee and Rodney Prince have been vindicated and their name has finally been cleared.
She wrote to Health Impact News just after receiving their good news:
DHR destroys families, but we, as a family have persevered because of God’s grace, and his promise (God revealed to me in my prayer time) that our case would expose DHR!
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