BLOG ENTRY
"FREE CHANDRA Campaign. Innocent girl kidnapped and held against her will
November
19, 2006
“On Nov. 1st
our sister Chandra was forcibly abducted
from her bed by a stranger, handcuffed and
taken away to a Behavior Modification Teen "
Boot Camp" called Turnabout Ranch,” writes
Wendy Berg. Wendy goes on to add: “She has
done nothing wrong....No drugs, No alcohol,
a good student. She has never been in
trouble with the law or her school, nor has
she even kissed a boy. “Turnabout Ranch is
in Escalante Utah and they are keeping her
for a minimum of 90 days. This is a camp for
teens with severe behavior problems,
juvenile record, drug abuse and out of
control behavior. Here is a link to an
article that describes the type of hard core
juvenile offenders that are sent to
Turnabout Ranch.(http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/comment/story/0,9828,1414997,00.html)
“Chandra is none of these things. She has never done drugs, drank alcohol, or been in trouble with the law or school. She is a good student that has never even kissed a boy. Chandra has expressed interest in becoming a Vet, and has volunteered at a local vet clinic.
"Turnabout Ranch does not offer traditional schooling, so this 16 year old will receive no math or science education for the next 90 days. Chris Fudge the admissions director at TAR was contacted to discuss the inappropriate placement of Chandra at their facility. Chris stated that the mom has the power and wants her at TAR so she will stay.
"There is no screening in place so any child can be sent to this facility with no way out. Chandra's Father Kevin Robb of Spanishfork, Utah, Passed away on June 5, 2006. Chandra is left with no support and as a result her mother has absolute power.
Kevin's mother, Chandra's Grandmother, Hatty Jo Robb was interviewed and stated "Kevin would have never, never allowed this to happen to Chandra, absolutely not. If Kevin were alive today he would have Chandra live with him and would never have agreed to this".
TAR is licensed by the state of Utah, Office of Licensing, Department of Human Services run by Ken Stettler. The problem is that there is no oversight or monitoring of children that are sent to these schools. Chandra is allowed no contact with the outside world, so even though Chandra is old enough to file for emancipation under Utah law at age 16, there is no way for her to ask, Turnabout Ranch keeps their students in total isolation.
The Licensing department provides no avenue for these jailed teens to ask for a appeal or review. Even terrorists in custody get visits by the red cross, Chandra gets nothing. She was sent to TAR by her mother, Lori Robb-Allen because she did not get along with her step-dad, Steve Allen. There are abuse allegations made by all four children, Chandra has 3 younger sisters.
Chandra was sent away to Turnabout Ranch just days after a reported incident involving physical abuse of Chandra and her sister Mikayla. The CPS worker assigned to this case is Chelsea Smith of the American Fork Office. When contacted, Chelsea stated that there is nothing she can do to help get Chandra out, she essentially washed her hands of any responsibility.
Please help free our sister by joining our email and voice mail campaign. The only way under the law she can be released is if her Mother, CPS or the state requests it. You can help Chandra by calling the state and CPS offices and requesting a guardian ad litem (GAL) be assigned to Chandra.
A GAL has the power to visit her at Turnabout Ranch and represent her in the court system. Without the support of her Mother this is Chandra's only way out. Help us get the word out that our sister is not disposable, and people do care about the treatment of minor children. Click on the following link for information on what you can do to help Free Chandra: http://www.freeshandy.com/How2Help.htm
Photograghs taken before and after show that, after her abduction, Chandra had a severe bruise to the middle of her forehead. As Wendy points out, “There is a stark difference between the two pictures. Help us see Chandra happy again.
To contact me with information, thoughts about Chandra, or wanting to help email me at this address: freeshandy@gmail.com. It has become apparent that although Chandra is held as a de facto prisoner at the facility, she was not subject to any independent assessment before she was taken to the facility.
Questions are being asked about the propriety of the actions of the so-called boot camp. It is to be hoped that the Turnabout Ranch will be able to survive the possible firestorm of negative publicity that their actions are likely to engender.
PLEASE NOTE: We would be very grateful for this blog article to be reposted on your blog and forwarded to anyone you know who you think could help, including all media outlets, print and broadcast. Thank you.