Kids Perform in "Sex Shows"

The depth of human depravity has hit a new low in the case of kids, 5-7 years old, being taught how to perform sex shows in front of adults. They were were fed powerful painkillers (Vicodin) they knew as "silly pills". They danced for the audience. They were forced to have sex with each other on stage. They were videotaped in sexual positions.

The case came to light in August 2004 in Mineola, Texas. Involved were three siblings: a 7-year-old girl, a 6-year-old boy and a 5-year-old girl, along with their 6-year-old aunt.

Six adults have been charged; two (Jamie Pittman, 36, and Shauntel Mayo, 29 both from Tyler) have been already sentenced to life in prison; jury selection is set start for a third, Patrick “Booger Red” Kelly, 41 of Tyler. The others awaiting trial are: Dennis Boyd Pittman, 45, of Tyler; Shelia Darlene Sones, 48, of Mineola; and Jimmy Dale Sones, 33, of Brownsboro.

It has also been reported that a 7th person, Rebeca Lynn Pittman, has signed papers to be extradited from Washington state to face charges of aggravated sexual assault on a child, in connection with this case. Authorities are still investigating and are looking for others, including anyone who may have attended shows a what is being called The Mineola Swinger's Club.

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=yXLfDF2mRk0]

During the trial of Jamie Pittman, the first defendant to go to trial, the jury was shown a 2 1/2 hour videotaped interview Texas Ranger Sgt. Phillip Kemp conducted with the oldest victim when she was 8 and her 7-year-old brother. Their foster mother was also there to make the children feel more comfortable during the interview in November 2005, about eight months after the children were removed from their home by CPS. The girl drew a diagram and described the inside of the club where they danced. She said there were two guards standing inside the front door and "Dennis" would sit at the front desk where people had to pay for tickets to watch the movies made of the children performing sex acts.

The girl said there were eight kids who would perform in the club. Her brother had to have sex with a teenaged boy for the movies, she said, and she would make movies with some of the other children. Jamie Pittman filmed the movies, she said.

The movies would be filmed in one area of the club and people would watch the movies in another area. People would also watch as they danced and performed sex acts. Each time she was asked about what they did, the girl would spell out "s-e-x" but refused to say the word. The girl said the children were made to watch their own movies to see how they turned out and they made a new movie each week.

At age 5, the children would begin "kindergarten", where they were taught sex acts using dolls. At the school, the kids were called by numbers, such as Kid One. She said she was in the older group and had graduated from kindergarten.

Jamie Pittman would buy "silly pills" all of the children would take every time they went to the club, she said. "They made us feel like, to do anything. They made us feel silly and stuff ... They made us crazy," she said.

The 7-year-old boy told Kemp "nasty" things happened to him in kindergarten, but he didn't want to talk about it. He said his sister had to touch him when they were at the club and they played doctor for people. He also said they took "silly pills" and he named other children he did plays with. He said Pittman videotaped the skits they made.

Sgt. Phillip Kemp testified he began investigating the "Mineola Swinger's Club" in November 2005 after the Smith County District Attorney's Office asked him to investigate the allegations. He said Pittman orchestrated and videotaped an incident where the two siblings were forced to have sex with each other.

Kemp also said people came to watch the children's shows, but he was never able to identify any of the spectators. He believes other people were there and didn't do anything to protect the children. He said he believed a lot more than the four children were involved, but he hasn't been able to find them yet.

It took the jury just 4 minutes to find guilt and 2 minutes to sentence Jamie Pittman to life in prison charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child.

In the case of Shauntel Mayo it took the jury 4 minutes to find her guilty and 6 minutes to sentence her to life in prison.

The third person to go on trial, Patrick Kelly, 41, is charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child, tampering with physical evidence and engaging in organized criminal activity. Kelly also faces a life sentence if convicted, and Smith County prosecutors hope for another swift verdict.

Thad Davidson, Kelly's attorney, said his client passed a lie-detector test proving his innocence and worries about getting a fair trial in Tyler, 25 miles southeast of Mineola, which is in Wood County.

"I think it's impossible to get a fair trial within 80 miles of Smith County," Davidson said.

Mineola, about 80 miles east of Dallas, is a close-knit, conservative bean-processing town of with more than 30 churches. Residents there want to put the scandal behind them as quickly as possible. The one-story building, where prosecutors say four children were trained to perform in front of an audience of 50 to 100 once a week, has been vacant since the landlord ousted the alleged organizers in 2004.

The Rev. Tim Letsch is opening a church in the yellow-plastered building where the children were abused. He acknowledges that building a congregation might be difficult because of the stigma attached to the property.

"You got to decide whether you're willing to forgive those kind of things," Letsch said. "It's a hard deal. Especially for a spiritual person to walk in and say, 'This happened here.'"

Permanent custody of the three siblings was given to John and Margie Cantrell. However, this week, in a surprising turn of events, prosecutors in California charged John Cantrell with sexually assaulting a child in the state 18 years ago. Margie Cantrell said her husband is innocent. Patrick Kelly's attorney has moved to postpone the trial in light of the allegations against Cantrell, a state witness, who had testified in the previous two trials.