Untitled Document
Letters to Editor:
(Unfortunately not all were published and those that were published were edited)
     
      Get the Facts Right

Ajay Dev did not harass his accuser. In 2006 she claimed he threatened her family. He was put in jail and stayed there for 28 days while his attorney collected the evidence to prove he did NOT do what was alleged. He was NEVER charged. The honorable Judge Rosenburg heard the evidence and immediately released Mr. Dev from jail. Check the court records.

At the age of 21 the accuser claimed that she was raped 3 times a week for the previous five years – that is 750 times. She claims she was raped while her adopted mother was asleep in the same bed, at 5 different family and friends homes while everyone was present. Yet no one saw any evidence of rape or abuse of any kind. Not the social worker who processed the adoption (who would have witnessed a teen allegedly raped 120 times), not the doctor of 4 years (who was her doctor during the time that 624 alleged rapes occurred), not teachers, friends, family, no one – because it NEVER happened. She even wrote in and signed private medical documents stating she had never been the victim of rape or abuse and the first age of sex was at 18. She accused him of showing her porn and child porn, of which Ajay was found NOT guilty.

Her doctor, the people who were present where the alleged rapes took place, friends, neighbors and family all testified. The report from the social worker, and the medical records were presented to the jury as well, but the jury ignored everything. Hmmm.

The jury looking for something to hang their hat on claimed Ajay admitted guilt in a phone call. It was a 50 minute phone call scripted by the police. One misconstrued hypothetical statement is NOT an admission of guilt. Ajay told the accuser she was lying 27 times, before and after this statement – in English and Nepali. Many times the accuser stated Ajay was not telling her anything. Even she knew at that time it wasn’t an admission of guilt.

Anonymous

     
     

Verdict in Nepali Rape Case the Shame of Yolo County

I am writing to you about the Ajay Dev case. I think it is important to hear from the people who actually knew the Dev family. I have known the Dev’s for 21 years and have been privy to their family dynamics. Our families spent several long weekends together in their homes in Davis and in our homes in Chico and Monterey when the supposed rapes took place. The girl chose my wife and I as her adopted godparents.

It is crystal clear to me, as it is to everyone who knows the Dev family, that the girl is lying. For example, she claimed that she was raped when they spent the night in our Monterey home. I witnessed them sleep in different rooms in a tiny 2 bedroom house with 2 dogs and open doors. I witnessed the girl wake up, after allegedly being raped, and wedge herself on the couch between her adopted parents and cuddle in the crisp Monterey mornings.

I attended the closing arguments of the trial. I was struck by the vacuous case made by the Yolo County District Attorney’s office. Their case was based upon her inconsistent testimony and a recorded telephone call where the police department scripted a conversation in an attempt to get M. Dev to admit having a sexual relationship with his adopted daughter. In truth, Mr. Dev denied the allegations 27 times during the course of the telephone conversation.

In lieu of any credible evidence to convict Mr. Dev, and in the face of a mountain of evidence to the contrary, the prosecution resorted to a case built upon lies, distortions, and ad hominem attacks to malign Mr. Dev’s character. The most egregious ethical violation of the proceedings was the manner in which the DA went to great lengths to invent the personality of Mr. Dev as a lecherous predator. This characterization is at odds with the nearly 100 people who knew the family personally and said they never saw any signs of abuse. This characterization is at odds with every medical and social service personnel who ever examined or interviewed the adopted girl. This characterization is at odds with every credible piece of evidence in the trial. This characterization is consistent with a morally wayward DA, who substituted emotional arguments for rational ones to seek a conviction of an innocent man. Yolo County deserves better than this.

Mr. Dev is a kind, gentle, compassionate human being. He comes from a family with a legacy of helping others. He and his wife are good people who only tried to help an impoverished girl have a chance for a better life. Shame on you Yolo County.

Tom Grothe

     
      In Response to Your Newspaper article on Ajay Dev:

Thank you for allowing persons the opportunity to express their concerns and opinions on such matters. I would like to personally thank all of the jurors who participated, as they gave up time from work, family and opportunities to further their career in order to do their judicial obligation. I take offense to anyone speaking ill about any juror as you were not in their shoes. Most people recognize that we do not live in a world where people are perfect and thus we cannot rely on a perfect judicial system. However, wanting to have a fair and just trial should be in our grasps, but unfortunately, it is not always available to all persons. I was in the courtroom for 4 weeks each day and had the opportunity to not only observe the court proceedings that the jurors were involved in, but also the other court proceedings that the jurors never knew about. The Prosecutor and the Defense have motions before the court and many decisions are made that the jurors never will know about. This is difficult to understand as very vital evidence was not allowed to be used in the trial. I am a family member of Ajay Dev and supporter of his innocence. I have insight into the case, more than any juror has or will ever have, from both the defendant’s side and the accuser’s side. I assure you, neither I nor my family are naive to the fact that children are truly sexually abused by family members. Members of our family including myself have been and continue to be supporters to help stop sexual abuse of children. We do not blindly support Ajay Dev. What I have learned from this whole experience is that 1) Anyone can accuse someone of a sexual act and the burden of proof is on you. 2) You are not in control of what evidence the court decides to use 3) Even if the accuser is unbelievable and proven to be lying under oath that does not matter 4) Do not count on fair play or ethics to be followed 5) Things WILL BE taken out of context and rhetorical statements will be taken as fact. I realize that persons have their opinions, but if I may, I would like to issue a word of caution for you the reader for your future protection. Never be alone with someone of the opposite sex unless it is your marriage mate. Your life can change in a blink of an eye if someone is angry with you or does not like you. In the trial it was clearly shown that the accuser had strong motives for making the charges she did. And I know those motives when brought out in trial had an effect on some of the jurors as I was there and saw their faces. Unfortunately, when there is so much information thrown at the jurors over a period of time, very important details can get covered over. Again, I personally would like to thank those jurors; I have no malice towards any of you. It is my prayer that not only my family, but all families’ earth wide receive true justice.

Gabby Jones

     
      LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Never in our lives did we imagine such a travesty of injustice would be so close to our family and loved one. On Thursday, June 25th, 2009, the California legal system failed to exonerate an innocent man, but rather wrongfully convicted Ajay Kumar Dev of criminal acts of the most heinous nature.

Our message is one of hope for Ajay and his family and friends who are suffering the devastating and unimaginable pain of knowing an innocent man has lost his freedom. Our story will be told in its entirety—not the truncated court version, but the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Our story will be told without bias or slant, based on facts, not inflammatory rhetoric, to anyone who will listen honestly, with reason and without prejudice.

Ajay Kumar Dev is an innocent man. He is supported by each and every person who was involved in his life at the time of the supposed crime and has always conducted himself as an innocent man would have. He has the love, support and undying knowledge of the people who know he has been victimized by the very system that should have protected him. The system failed to recognize the true victim.

We will not fail Ajay in our support and efforts to right this wrong. We will fight for justice. We will fight for Ajay. We love you Ajay.

On behalf of the multitude of family and friends who know you are innocent and whose names are too numerous to recount in this letter.

Terry Easley

     
     

Letter to the Editor regarding the Ajay Dev Story-

It’s sad to note that there are so many victims here. An innocent man who sits in jail, all of his family and friends, a false accuser who thinks they received real justice, court officers who feel they’ve done their job and a jury of peers who were drug through the mechanics of a very demanding legal system. You see we are all victims, we put our hope, trust, security, careers and contentment in a system that is overburdened, maligned and fraught with human imperfection and unfortunately all too often with outright deceit and very calculated manipulation. I know some of you might say, “Well by God it’s the best we got”. That in itself is a victimized statement. Most of us who have a pulse and are breathing should be incensed with the depravity that our world has sunk to, and we should equally be incensed by the few (or perhaps many now a days) who slip through the cracks and abuse such a socially sensitive and emotionally charged issue for personal gain leaving in their wake all of us victims, including themselves. You see, there are always three sides to every story, yours, mine and the truth! The truth will come out in Ajay’s case; unfortunately, severe perhaps irreparable damage has already occurred. However, this is merely a symptom of a much bigger problem. Yes, you the reader have to reconcile for yourself what is truth, (not philosophical absolute truth), just everyday what is right and wrong for you. As we have seen, this can and does happen to anyone. You can turn off the 6:00 or 11:00 o’clock news, set this paper aside, and go on with your “routine” lives; but remember these injustices will likewise do the same. The difference can be if you set this paper down, go to your mirror and demand that the person in the mirror looks for truth based on accurate knowledge. I hope and pray that none of you become the next “anyone”.

Scott Jones

     
      The article in your paper about Ajay Dev was very tough to read. I have known the defendant for over 15 years. I have also known the accuser for the entire time she has been in this country. I am shocked and distraught that Ajay was convicted. It is the scariest thing that I have ever seen. A good man, husband, and father who helped a young girl come to our country to have a better life and education, has had his entire life ripped away from him.

I sat in the courtroom and listened to the accuser’s testimony. It was inconsistent and made no sense at all. The defense attorney was able to demonstrate on several occasions that she was lying. The accuser even admitted to lying herself on a couple of items. While the accuser’s testimony was extremely weak, the defense had a very strong case with a plethora of evidence to exonerate Ajay. Although many facts were not allowed to come out in the court, everyone who attended the trial knew that there would be a “not guilty” verdict. The shock in the courtroom when the verdict was read was unbelievable. We are all still in shock. It makes us so sad that the justice system has failed so miserably. It makes me afraid to be an American to see that something like this could happen to such a good person. I now realize that anyone of us could have our life completely ruined if a liar wants to do it.

JoAnn Easley

     
      Facts Regarding Ajay Dev Case

In reading your article about the Ajay Dev case, I was thoroughly disturbed on how the article did not fairly represent the facts. There are many of us who attended the preliminary hearing and trial; seen and heard the evidence; asked the hard questions, and believe that an injustice has been done. Here are some facts that you may not know. 1) The complaining witness says that she was raped 3x per week for almost five years or 550-750 times, yet no one knew. 2) The accuser’s own physician performed nine examinations during four years of the supposed abuse (624 rapes) and never saw any indication of abuse. The Department of Social Services independently did a comprehensive psychosocial evaluation on her. This evaluation, performed after the accuser had allegedly endured 10 months of abuse (120 rapes), confirmed that she did not exhibit any mental trauma or signs of abuse. 3) After the accuser went to the police and accused Ajay of abuse, Ajay took a lie detector test and was found innocent. Three months later the accuser asked to have the charges dropped. 4) At the age of 22, she was arrested and convicted of passport fraud in Nepal. Once she realized that she was trapped in Nepal, she contacted the Davis detective and asked to reopen the charges so that she could come back into the U.S. During the U.S. trial, she admitted to committing perjury in Nepal’s court and on U.S. immigration documents. 5) The one Nepali line in the pre-text taped call was not an admission of guilt. An expert translator testified that the translation was not sexual. It was the DDA that came up with this interpretation (someone who does not speak Nepali). Ajay stated 27 times that the accusations were not true. 6) Ajay was found NOT guilty of all pornography charges.
Under the Violence Against Women’s Act, with this conviction, she gets U.S. citizenship. Someone with a documented record of lying gets citizenship while a citizen with an unblemished record goes to jail. Justice?

By Maribeth Sprague

     
      In reference to the case against Ajay Kumar Dev, where he was convicted of rape and molestation of an adopted girl, I have known the Dev family for years. I know Ajay is innocent. He and his wife are good people who only tried to help her and her family. It is sad that the accusations and lies of a girl could have ended in the tragedy of a man losing his life when all he tried to do was give her a better life.

Kalpana Deo

 

 

 

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