LOUISIANA
The Times-Picayune
By Rebecca Catalanello, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
on April 02, 2014
The story of Jennifer Halter’s journey to file a police report alleging child sexual abuse is derived from a combination of firsthand observations, interviews, court documents, and archived news reports.
Reporter Rebecca Catalanello and photojournalist Kathleen Flynn, both of NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune, spent Dec. 4 to 7, 2013, in Shreveport with Halter and several other women as they set out for the Bienville Parish Sheriff’s Office and New Bethany Home for Girls.
The opening scene in which Halter boards the plane is based on interviews with Halter and her travel companion, Jeneen Miller of Las Vegas. The details about Halter’s arrival at New Bethany as a 14-year-old girl are based on interviews with Halter. Halter’s mother did not respond to requests to be interviewed about her memory of the event.
Descriptions of the shared memories of New Bethany were based on extensive interviews with — and observations of conversations among — Halter, Joanna Wright, Tara Cummings, Teresa Frye and Simone Jones. Many of these details are also described in court documents, past news accounts, and written accounts by former New Bethany residents.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.