Stephanie Limon Martinez, right breaks down before 315th District Court Judge Angela E. Ellis during questioning at a hearing concerning custody of her children, in Houston, Monday, Dec. 3, 2012. Anna Vasquez, just released from prison, stops at the "Anna Wall" in her mother's home, joking that the photo of her in a crib as a baby, was the first picture of her behind bars. In the backseat of a car, Stephanie Limon (now Stephanie Martinez) read from a sheet of notebook paper. Limon Martinez said it was her father who was rough with her son then. But they were careful to say little about Javier and his daughters. Spending on cops and tech at the border has increased ninefold in a decade. You have permission to edit this article. He is expected to testify this week in a case in which one of his daughters is fighting allegations of child abuse. Si deseas conocer ms sobre este negocio, puedes llamar y solicitar informacin de sus productos y servicios. She was so trusting, so lovable. Elizabeths sister Monica said, If Liz was a different person she would have had him arrested or placed a restraining order.. At left is Rose Vasquez, Anna's sister-in-law, taking pictures. Released on parole after serving 12 and a half years of a 15-year sentence, Anna Vasquez speaks at a screening of "San Antonio Four," a documentary by Deborah S. Esquenazi, on Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012, while holding photos of her friends who are still in prison. More of his work can be found at mauricechammah.com. I trusted Elizabeth, that she wasnt going to hurt my daughters, he said. I did not want a relationship with her. When offered plea deals of 10 years probation, they all refused and decided to go to trial. The crowd cheered. The prosecutor, Mary Kay Delevan, reminded the jury that much time had passedthe alleged abuse was three and a half years earlierso the victims may not be able to keep everything perfectly straight.. Anna Vasquez, right, enjoys a laugh with her brother David Vasquez and her mother Maria Vasquez over a plate of turkey dinner as they celebrate her first Thanksgivings after being released on parole, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. All four of the women were out as lesbians, a fact that colored the investigation into the accusations and case against them. When I reached her by phone hoping to clarify what had happened, she told me, I dont talk to reporters. She said that her father, Javier Limon, and her grandmother, Serafina Limon, hit the ceiling when they found out Ramirez and her friends had come out as lesbiana risky move in 1990s San Antonio. Matjeka told Elizabeth that if she had committed a crime, her sondue in about five monthswould probably be taken by the authorities. In high school, she remained small, never more than 4-foot-9, though that didnt keep her from playing on the basketball team. Elizabeth had told Detective Matjeka about Javiers advances, but he hadnt thought much of it. She knew by then she was either going to accept my lifestyle, or I wasnt going to be a part of her life, Elizabeth said. Limon took his daughters to the Alamo Childrens Advocacy Centre where they underwent a . I know youre very nervous, her lawyer said, according to the transcript. 2021 The Texas Observer. In 1994, four local women in San Antonio were accused of sexually assaulting two children. Anna Vasquez talks with her brother Jerry Vasquez on their mother's front porch after they celebrated her first Thanksgivings after being released on parole, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. He called me Mom, and I had a big old lump in my throat. Alejandre testified she went to the sheriff's substation voluntarily and spoke with Sgt. what happened to javier limon san antonio Updates - Experience in Banking and Finance Updates - Experience in Energy Law About ETAH-NAN & Co. ETAH-NAN & C is a bilingual (French and English) Law Firm created in 1985. A modern tale of colonial-style persecution follows four Latina lesbiansElizabeth Ramirez, Cassandra Rivera, Kristie Mayhugh, and Anna Vasquezwrongfully convicted of sexual assault in the mid-1990s. Anna Vasquez gives her father Jesse Vasquez a hug as he leaves after celebrating Thanksgiving with family members at her Anna's mother's house, her first after being released on parole, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. There had been other little kidsCassies kids and some neighborsin the apartment throughout the week, but now she was adamant that she and her sister had been the only children. [Javiers younger daughter] told me herself, They were kissing us., Lonnie Gentry, the jury foreman at Elizabeths 1997 trial, listened to Javiers older daughter describe what had happened to her. For 20 years, Elizabeth Ramirez, Kristie Mayhugh, Cassandra Rivera and Anna Vasquez have fought to prove their innocence. The relationship could remain secret only so long, and when Elizabeths mother found out, their already strained connection suffered further. Gay rights activists treated them like rock stars. Her older niece hadnt acted the way she expected. A statue of a praying angel stands near Maria Vasquez, right, in her living room where Vasquez prayed daily for her daughter Anna Vasquez. Hes been married but now lives alone 40 miles outside of Whitehorse, the territorys capital and, at 30,000 residents, its largest city. Cassandra Rivera, seen here Sept. 5, 2012, is currently in the Hobby Unit in Marlin, Texas. Aunt Liz produced a gun. The girl's father, Javier Limon, claims that shortly after bringing them back to San Antonio from Denver in 1992, they were caught acting out sexually with dolls, which led to their disclosing these events to him. An emotional Anna Vasquez pauses before answering questions about three of her friends who are still in prison. Anna was working at a Little Caesars. Elizabeth Ramirez, right, and Cassandra Rivera are both in the Hobby Unit in Marlin, Texas. Two days after their release, the women appeared at a hastily arranged press conference. At the station, Matjeka asked if she knew a man named Javier Limon and his two daughters. This makes us one of the biggest by prevailing local standards. Gloria Herrera keeps a picture of her daughter Elizabeth Ramirez in a Bible in her bedroom, Friday, Dec. 3, 2010. Today, Vasquez works with the Texas Innocence Project to overturn other wrongful convictions. He was an ex-boyfriend of Ramirez's sister who the family said had made romantic advances toward the much younger Ramirez. Since the early 1980s, the United States had seen numerous accusations, investigations and trials of daycare workers and other adults for supposedly engaging in ritual satanic abuse, including the rape, murder and torture of children. We didnt understand it, and we didnt like it. Elizabeth remembers being racked with guilt as Cassie, Anna and Kristie faced trial together a year later, in February 1998. So she left her sisters home and moved in with a girlfriend from school. A friend had brought 10 outfits on hangers, including black slacks and blouses in various shades of blue and gold, so the women could pick what theyd like to wear.. You can chip in for as little as 99 cents a month. Yes. . At one point, the sound of wind and cars passing on the highway accompanies a shot of an empty lot. Statis. Rosemary got a job supervising the cleaning staff at the courthouse downtown. Had he offered to marry her? Stephanie now said the women had never abused her. His parents were Salvador Allende supporters and he recalled what happened in a Reddit Ask Me Anything. Liz kind of distanced herself from all of us, Kristie recalled. Though he mentioned Stephanies recantation, and mistakes made by police and lawyers involved in the original trial, his primary argument was that Dr. Kelloggs testimony was inaccurate, since the medical understanding of what constitutes evidence of sexual abuse had changed. Discovery channel documentary 'Southwest of Salem: the Story of the San Antonio Four' unravels the case against lesbians accused of abuse. Anna counseled her, You need to tell somebody, because thats not right. Another friend says Elizabeth kept telling me over and over that she was afraid something was going to happen with Javier. On Saturday evening, officers were called to the apartment. Then Aunt Liz ordered her to take a shower. One of them, Elizabeth Ramirez, had a profile on the website WriteAPrisoner.com. I was there every step of the way with my kids, he said. But the pool of advocates for the women was growing. In other ways, though, her life was starting to look up. Though she hadnt prepared to become a young single mother, she knew she could rely on her three close friends for help. Otto was initially skeptical; he asked her the same questions in letter after letter, to see if her answers remained consistent. Limon Martinez took the stand for more than a hour Monday. Gloria Herrera, left, and her daughter Elizabeth Ramirez in a photo taken during a visit in prison. I think they knew, but they didnt, you know? She remained close to her siblings, buying her little brother Mark clothes (If you had two dollars and needed more money, he said, shed give you 20) and giving her little sister Monica advice (I couldnt honestly ask for a more loving, caring sister, Monica said). Hooper described Javiers behavior as a pattern, saying he uses the authorities to get back at people who have crossed him. I never heard anything back.. VLs new testimony muddled the facts she had presented a year before. Elizabeth told me that after she became pregnant, Javier offered to marry her and was upset when she refused. The next day, the fish died and they returned it. Maria Vasquez (right), mother of Anna Vasquez, shakes hands with Gloria Herrera (left), mother of Elizabeth Ramirez, as Anna Vasquez's aunt, Valeria Pachecano stands in between during a meeting of the San Antonio Crime Coalition on Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013. Roughly a year later, in late October 2013, attorney Mike Ware filed writs for all four women. Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012. The Innocence Project of Texas hopes to perform a systematic review of child sex assault cases around Texas, and Kellogg may find more of her work questioned. It is probable that [Javier] wrote it, said one, adding that there is not enough evidence to make a definite identification or elimination. Another explained, It is one thing to attempt to imitate someones signature once or twice, but an entirely different and exponentially more difficult thing to attempt to successfully imitate a large quantity of extended writing.. There was seldom evidence other than the statements of children or adults who recovered memories from their youth. Please notify us by email that the article will be republished at, I Confronted the Man Whose Crime Put Me in Prison, Observer Radio Episode 50: Greg Abbott Had a Rough Week, Border Security Is a Financial Black Hole that Will Consume Us All. A video of Anna Vasquez plays on a computer and is projected to an audience at a meeting of the San Antonio Crime Coalition on Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013. I showed the letters and samples of Javiers handwriting to several forensic document examiners. She also testified that she felt scared as she was high on methamphetamines, stressed and confused when told there was a murder investigation. Kazen asked if she was dating Kristie Mayhugh, her roommate and one of the other women accused of abuse. Anna, right, is greeted by Gloria Herrera, mother of Elizabeth Ramirez who is still in prison. He found criminals particularly fascinating, especially the psychologically obscure, because, like him, they were on the fringes of society. The prosecutions expert witness was a doctor named Nancy Kellogg, who estimated that she had examined roughly 3,500 sexual assault victims, most of them children. Outlets must also tag the Observer in all social media posts. Cassie remembers her lawyer telling the women that they would surely win and coaching them not to jump up and down when the jury announced an acquittal. One morning several days later, in September 1994, Elizabeths friends Cassandra Rivera and Anna Vasquez met at a park. Shifts at AutoZone. Anna Vasquez, recently released on parole, speaks at a Work-In-Progress screening of "San Antonio Four" a documentary by Deborah S. 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