Tompkins County District Attorney Dentes and Tompkins County Sheriff Meskill have refused to investigate this case, stating that before an investigation can take place, David, Harriett, and/or Sarah must press charges in person. David spoke with Sheriff Peter Meskill at least three times during the first week of March, 2000. Sheriff Meskill told David that he was going to send legal paperwork to the Sandusky District Attorney in Ohio so that David could fill out the necessary complaint allegations against Amy Wheeler Hughes. Sheriff Meskill assured David that this process would take only two to three days. It has now been over seven months and Sheriff Meskill has not sent the Sandusky County District Attorney any paperwork for David to sign. When concerned people have called the Tompkins County Sheriff, the Tompkins County District Attorney, and/or the Chemung County District Attorney, they are told that a full and thorough investigation has taken place. That is a lie. No investigation against Amy Wheeler Hughes has taken place.

SARAH'S LETTER TO PETER MESKILL

Sarah wrote this letter to Sheriff Peter Meskill on December 6, 1999.

Please click on picture to view full size.

This situation has taken a tremendous emotional and physical toll on the members of our family. Sarah wrote and created her own poster in 1999. Tompkins County Family Court Judge Barrett will soon retire and Tompkins County District Attorney George Dentes ran on the November 2, 2000 Republican ticket against Democrat John Rowley for Tompkins County Family Court Judge.

Voters must have asked themselves what DA George Dentes would have done if they voted for him as Tompkins County Family Court Judge when they have a problem involving child abuse, custody, and/or criminal issues. Would DA George Dentes listen to a child? Would DA George Dentes allow child abuse to continue? Would DA George Dentes allow a court appointed law guardian to get away with visiting abused children only twice in nearly two years? Would DA George Dentes favor the demands of an abusive mother who can afford a local attorney who was the past mayor of Ithaca, over the father who already has sole legal and physical custody of his children? Would DA George Dentes not show gender bias against the man over the woman in custody, abuse, and/or criminal matters? Would DA George Dentes' record as District Attorney show that, if elected "Judge," he would be more sympathetic to the demands of the "mother," even though a previous court has determined that the children are safer with the father? What DA George Dentes has done in the Hughes case is an excellent reference for what DA George Dentes would do for abused children and why it was worth voters asking if DA George Dentes would favor mothers over fathers in abuse, custody, and/or criminal issues.

The voters spoke and DA George Dentes lost the election against John Rowley, 40% to 60%. The time has come for DA George Dentes to fix what he has failed to fix and to charge Amy Wheeler Hughes in the December 1998 break-in of David Hughes' car and the shotgun incident of Februray 5, 1999 in Tompkins County.

If your son, your husband, your father, or your male neighbor had pornography in their home and exposed small children to pornography, wouldn't he be charged with a crime?

If your son, your husband, your father, or your male neighbor made a point to repeatedly stand nude with his penis exposed to a 9 year old girl wouldn't he be charged with a crime?

If your son, your husband, your father, or your male neighbor had a 9 year old child watch him and his girlfriend have sex in the shower, wouldn't he be charged with a crime?

If your son, your husband, your father, or your male neighbor made a 12 year old child take a shower with him so that he could scrub her vagina and breasts, wouldn't he be charged with a crime?

If your son, your husband, your father, or your male neighbor broke into your car, stole items, admitted it, and said, "Gee, I gave the items back!!," wouldn't he be charged with a crime?

Amy Wheeler Hughes has never been charged for anything except harassment: not for pornography; not for allowing her boyfriend to show his penis in front of Sarah; not for having Sarah watch her boyfriend and her having sex in the shower; not for making Sarah at age 12 take a shower with her, scrubbing her vagina and breasts; not for threatening David and Sarah with a shotgun on at least two different occasions; and not for breaking into David's car and stealing items. Amy Wheeler Hughes is the "mommy" and our system wants to believe that mothers are instinctively maternal who want to be good to their children. As a mother, Amy Wheeler Hughes has had problems for years, dating back to when Sarah was a "failure to thrive" infant and did not bond with her mother. Everyone thought that she would "get better" and she was always given "one more chance." It is long overdue to give Sarah and Harriett the chance they need to live without the abuse and neglect that Amy Wheeler Hughes has demonstrated against them in the past years.

This is a portion of a newspaper article that appeared on July 21,2000 in the Fremont, OH News-Messenger (the entire article is in "Ohio Update.") DA Dentes reports that all charges against David Hughes have been dropped in New York State. Please see the Ohio Update page: as of 8/28/00, per DA Dentes, the warrant against David Hughes has been dropped. Before DA Dentes possibly leaves his position as DA after the November 2000 elections, DA Dentes needs to rectify this situation and investigate and bring charges against Amy Wheeler Hughes for threatening David and Sarah Hughes with a shotgun and for breaking into and stealing items from David's car. If DA Dentes has a conscience, hopefully he will have the fortitude to press charges against Amy Wheeler Hughes. For God's sake, look at Sarah's petition, look at Amy's past record of child abuse and harassment, read the statements-of-fact by several people, and lastly, look at the pictures of abuse. Don't Harriett and Sarah Hughes deserve justice or is it okay to sexually, emotionally, and/or physically abuse young children, today, in Tompkins County?? Is it okay for a "mother" to be given special treatment and not be investigated and charged as a man would be, today, in Tompkins County??