On November 1 we publicly revealed extensive court findings, records and testimony that indicate that Sadia Loeliger--portrayed as a heroic mom in PBS's documentary Breaking the Silence: Children's Stories--abused children under her care. A Tulare County Juvenile Court concluded in August of 1998 that Sadia Loeliger had committed multiple acts of abuse, and adjudged both her daughters as dependents of the Juvenile Court. Sadia Loeliger has a long, documented history of violence, child abuse and domestic assault.

Sadia Loeliger responded a week later, and her views are posted on the website of feminist blogger Trish Wilson here. There are a host of problems with Sadia Loeliger's newly released defense. Given the constraints of time, I chose 15 of the more important ones to discuss below. In order to help readers follow this, a timeline of events can be viewed here.

As of this writing Trish Wilson's website does not contain a single link to our site or materials. By contrast, we have numerous links to Wilson's site and documents below, so that readers may read both sides and judge for themselves. I encourage all readers to read Wilson's materials--again, her site is here.

Sadia Loeliger has finally been successful in her long campaign to turn Fatima against Dr. Scott Loeliger, the father who raised her. Sadia's alienation campaign was noted and its success predicted in advance by several experts and neutral parties involved in the case. For example, in February, 2003 Superior Court Judge Edward J. King, III  wrote:

"The mother's track record over an 11-year period suggests that, as soon as unsupervised visits [with the mother] resume, there will be a complete breakdown in the relationship between the dad and the minor [Fatima]. The dad can only hope that the minor will soon be old enough to recognize the mom's manipulative behavior."

To learn more and read King's statement of decision, click here. Scott Loeliger has written an explanation of how this severe alienation happened. This letter can be found here.

Throughout my documentation on this case I have referred to "Sadia Loeliger" because that is how her name appears on most of the court documents and records. She has gone by several other names, including "Sadiya Alilire," "Sadia Ali-Loeliger," and others.

Sincerely,
Glenn Sacks

Sadia Loeliger's Claims Debunked

Claim #1) Sadia Loeliger's long time babysitter, Doris Nava Arellano, provided extensive testimony about Sadia's violence and child abuse--click here to learn more.

In Sadia's new statement here she claims that the babysitter lied, was coerced by Scott, and that "before any court proceedings occurred where I could challenge her claims, the babysitter disappeared and I was never able to find her...She never appeared in court and never formally testified, yet Mr. Sacks and Mr. Loeliger falsely represent that she did. I was never given an opportunity to challenge or cross examine Ms. Arellano."

Claim #2) Sadia and her allies claim that Scott Loeliger kept Fatima from her mother.  In a new statement written for Fatima and released under her name on Trish Wilson's website, Sadia and her allies claim that Scott cut Fatima off from contact with Sadia without contact for three years.

This is false. It was the Tulare County Juvenile Court which specifically forbade contact between Sadia and her daughter Fatima because of Sadia's violence and abuse. In its decision the Court wrote:

"The mother [Sadia Loeliger] is to have no telephone contact until initiated by minor's counselor and is to be supervised by minor's counselor. The mother is to have no visits until minor's counselor and Ms. Katz [Fatima's court-appointed attorney] believes it would be in the minor's best interests."

To read the paragraph from the original juvenile court document, click here (see page one, last paragraph).

This is false. Fatima, then eight years old, asserted that she had been abused to numerous people. These include:

1) A child abuse investigator for Tehama County who reported that "Fatima says she is afraid to go home because she fears being hit again."  To learn more and read the document, click here.

2) A Marriage, Family, Child Therapist who has done investigations for Shasta County Child Protective Services reported "She [Fatima] told me she did not want to go home because she was afraid her mother was going to hit her. She said her mother hits her a lot." To learn more and read the document, click here.

3) Mary K. McDonald, Ph.D., a licensed psychologist who was Fatima's therapist between March of 1993 and December of 1994, reported  "I am extremely concerned regarding recent reports that I have received from Fatima Loeliger that lead me to question whether this child is being abused in the care of her mother. On two separate occasions this child reported to me that she was burned 'with a match' by her mother, Sadia Ali Loeliger." To learn more and read the document, click here.

4) Randi Gottlieb Robinson of the Tehama County Department of Social Services in Red Bluff, California, testified as to the abuse Fatima reported to her at Sadia's Tulare County juvenile court trial for child abuse.

Claim #4) In addition to the documents and statements of Arellano and various social workers, therapists, and neutral professionals which detail Sadia's violence and abuse, we also posted a letter from Sara, Sadia's then 15 year-old niece. Sara lived under Sadia's care along with Fatima and her younger sister, and also provided extensive evidence of Sadia's violence and child abuse. In a long, heartbreaking letter written to her father in Kenya, Sara says she feared for her life from Sadia's abuse and tells her father that Sadia "isn't what you think she is." The letter can be read here.

Sadia's explanation for this is that, dammit, yet another person is lying about her. Sadia says here that her niece "started to make false allegations about me...She pretended to write a letter to her father complaining about me....My niece never intended to send that letter to her father, and in fact she left it in the house where I would see it as she was trying to coerce me into not sending her back to Africa. It was one of many attention-seeking behaviors engaged in by my niece. While my niece later admitted what she had done and retracted her allegations against me, Mr. Loeliger came to possess a copy of the letter she had written."

Claim #5) Sadia individually and through Fatima has repeatedly described Scott Loeliger as an abusive husband and an abusive father. These claims have never been substantiated. Despite all the fury and accusations from Sadia and from Sadia through Fatima, neither one of them actually claims that Scott ever physically abused them. The entirety of their claims, even if we were to believe them, is "verbal" and "emotional" abuse. Sadia and Sadia through Fatima claim that Scott is a monster. Apparently this "monster" never even tried to physically harm either of them.

Claim #6) Sadia describes her marriage to Scott as "tumultuous" and claims "Scott continually argued and started fights, and he was very verbally and emotionally abusive. Our marriage ended shortly after our daughter was born." Sadia omits the fact that she was arrested and jailed for felony domestic violence against Scott during their marriage.

On February 4, 1989 Sadia Loeliger was arrested and jailed for domestic violence under Section 273.5 of the California Penal Code in Santa Clara County, California. Sadia had attacked Scott and inflicted deep lacerations on Scott's back and neck, some of which are still visible today. To learn more, click here. To view Sadia Loeliger's Criminal History Transcript and her release papers from Criminal Justice Information Control, click here.  

This was not Sadia's only incident of domestic violence against Scott Loeliger. In fact, a psychologist whom Sadia has cited in her defense clearly acknowledges two incidents of Sadia's violence towards Scott, as well as an incident when Sadia physically attacked Terri Sais, the mother of a newborn baby. To learn more, click here.

Claim #7) Sadia and her allies cite two reports by Rick Gore, an investigator with the Yolo County Child Abduction Unit, in which Gore sides with Sadia against Scott. The reports can be viewed here and here. According to Sadia and her allies, "Scott Loeliger wanted Fatima removed from her mother's care and placed in foster care. Gore did not see a reason to do that, since Fatima was thriving. Scott Loeliger insisted despite this that Fatima be put in foster care, claiming that Sadiya was not a good parent, despite no evidence to prove any such thing."

Here our opponents show their sense of humor--"no evidence to prove" that "Sadiya was not a good parent"? How about the juvenile court's findings that Sadia committed multiple acts of child abuse? How about the babysitter's affidavit that Sadia is a violent child abuser? How about the child abuse investigator who says Sadia beats, hits, and abuses her children? How about the Therapist/Assessor who says that Fatima is abused by her mother and fears her? How about Fatima's former therapist who warned of Sadia's abuse and asked the Court to suspend visitation to protect Fatima from her mother? How about Fatima's cousin Sara who wrote 'I Fear for My Life' from Sadia's abuse in a desperate letter to her father in Kenya? How about Sadia Loeliger's arrest and jailing for felony domestic violence? How about the crime report from a woman who was attacked by Sadia Loeliger, who also threatened her baby? How about the report from a psychologist who discusses Sadia's violence? How about the assertions of Scott Loeliger's first wife who says Sadia stalked and harassed her? How about Judge Phillips, who describes Sadia as a hateful, 'obsessed,' alienating mother? How about Judge King, who described Sadia's alienation campaign against Scott and predicted she would destroy Fatima's bond with her dad? How about the custody evaluator who described Sadia as 'volatile' and 'out of control'? No evidence indeed.

Gore, whose investigative skills remind one of Inspector Clouseau, wrote "I tried to find any charges against Mrs. Alilire [Sadia] and her criminal record is clear. There is no record of any prior arrest against her...I told Mr. Loeliger that I could not find any records of convictions or charges..." Apparently it didn't occur to the eagle-eyed detective that while there was no criminal case against Sadia Loeliger, since he was intervening in a child custody matter perhaps it would make sense to check if either parent had a record of child abuse in juvenile court. Had he bothered to look, he would have found juvenile court findings of Sadia's child abuse--surely relevant to the matter he was "investigating."

Claim #8) Like several neutral mental health experts, Randi Gottlieb Robinson heard then eight year-old Fatima Loeliger describe the physical abuse she had suffered at her mother's hands. Along with others, she testified at Sadia's juvenile court hearing for child abuse. At that hearing Sadia was found culpable of multiple acts of child abuse.

According to Sadia's newly released statement, Gottlieb Robinson is--guess what--yet another person who is lying about Sadia Loeliger's violence. According to Sadia and her allies:

Sadia also alleges that "she was told that Scott Loeliger and Randi Gottlieb Robinson were carrying on an extramarital affair." Sadia has made these claims about practically any woman who has come near Scott, including Terri Sais, Joy Erasmus (long after Joy and Scott divorced), Jennifer Mitchell (a CPS worker), and others. I guess Scott gets around.

Claim #9) Sadia Loeliger cites a Court-Ordered Psychological Evaluation By Dr. Karen J. Quinn, Dated 1994 in her defense because the evaluation describes Scott negatively. However, while the document makes no allusions to any violence on Scott's part, it makes clear reference to several acts of violence committed by Sadia Loeliger. Quinn writes:

"There were two episodes of physical violence by her [Sadia] towards her husband [Scott]. She feels these were wrong, but that they were provoked, too....there are affidavits in the court records about Sadia attacking a babysitter at Scott Loeliger's home, and threatening her small baby while picking up Fatima...her violence is apparently confined to her relationship with Scott...Sadia has clearly been beyond adaptive bounds with violence with Scott."

One of the two "episodes of physical violence" resulted in Sadia's arrest and jailing for felony domestic violence. To learn more about Sadia's arrest, click here.

The "babysitter" who Quinn describes as Sadia attacking and threatening her baby is Terri Sais, Scott's former roommate. To learn more about Sadia Loeliger's physical attack on Terri Sais, click here.

Dr. Quinn's report can be viewed here.

Claim #10) Sadia also claims that Scott was married to another woman when he married Sadia and Sadia says Scott was "a liar and a polygamist."

Scott left the United States in 1982 to work as a health educator/health planner for the International Rescue Committee in Somalia. Scott spent 1982 working in a refugee camp in Somalia near the Ethiopian border, 300 miles from Mogadishu. In 1983 and 1984 Scott worked for the Somalia Ministry of Health's Refugee Health Unit.

Before he left for Somalia, Scott had married Joy Erasmus, a political refugee from South Africa. Erasmus was a member of Nelson Mandela's African National Congress, which was then involved in a war against South Africa's apartheid regime. Under the strain of the separation Joy and Scott's relationship deteriorated, Scott met Sadia in Somalia, and on one of Scott's later visits to the U.S. Scott and Joy agreed to divorce. Scott returned to Somalia to work in rural health for US AID, and later came back to the U.S. with Sadia. Joy and Scott were divorced and then Scott and Sadia married in the US.

Scott was not a "polygamist" since he divorced Joy before marrying Sadia in the US. Whether Sadia knew that Scott was still legally married to Joy in the US when they had a Muslim marriage ceremony in Somalia is unclear--Sadia says no, Scott says yes.

Claim #11) Sadia claims that during their marriage "Scott told me that his then ex-wife [Joy Erasmus] was 'crazy,' 'abusive,' 'dangerous,' 'volatile' and 'violent,' and that I should stay away from her. Little did I know at the time that he would soon be using the exact same language against me."

This is impossible to verify or disprove, but it seems unlikely. Joy Erasmus and Scott Loeliger are on good terms to this day, two decades after their divorce, and Erasmus says Scott's parents "have been like parents to her." Erasmus attended Scott's father's funeral last year. In response to the allegations Sadia has made against Scott, Erasmus says:

"Scott is not the kind of person she [Sadia] describes. Not in one instant ever in our relationship did he ever do anything to me--never. Scott would never pick up a hand against a woman. Like all men he's a bit of a womanizer but he treated me well when we were together. Our relationship fell apart under the long distances. We used to debate a lot of things because I'm very opinionated but Scott doesn't have a violent hair on his head. He took great care of his little girl [Fatima]. He really loved that little girl and would do anything for her. That woman [Sadia] is hell on earth."

Erasmus says that after Sadia and Scott broke up in 1990, Sadia stalked and harassed her. To learn more, click here.

Poor Sadia, who only wanted her privacy and was instead dragged out into the media by that evil Glenn Sacks. Ms. Wilson might want to check that one--after all, nobody had ever heard of this case until Sadia denounced Scott on national television on PBS's Breaking the Silence: Children's Stories. It's unclear why Scott is a meanie for telling his story on www.GlennSacks.com  but Sadia denouncing Scott on national television is A-OK.

The truth is that Scott shied away from publicity on the issue, and requested of the filmmakers only that they leave his daughter out of the film--click here to read Scott's letters to the producers. These requests were ignored. Finally, after being defamed on national television, Scott figured there was little left to lose and decided to tell his story for the first time.

Claim #13) In addition to Sadia's statements, a new statement has been written for Fatima and released under her name on Trish Wilson's website. Much of the statement is contradicted by the record, but there is one part which is particularly interesting. In the statement the following is claimed for Fatima:

"Did I prefer to live in foster care rather than with him and his wife? Yes. I had to choose between two evils. At least in foster care I wasn’t afraid for my safety. I was always scared in my dad’s house. There were times when I thought he might kill me."

Claim #14) Wilson's website has a section entitled "Documentation Showing Sadiya Alilire Is Not A Child Abuser And That Fatima Has Had Serious Problems While Under Her Fathers' Care." Yet nothing in the section does anything to show that Sadia Loeliger is not a child abuser. Sadia's documents are as follows:

5) Court-Ordered Psychological Evaluation By Dr. Karen J. Quinn, Dated 1994. Nothing in this document shows that "Sadiya Alilire Is Not A Child Abuser." In fact, the document makes specific references to three acts of violence committed by Sadia. These include: Sadia Loeliger's Arrest and Jailing for Felony Domestic Violence and Sadia Attacking a New Mother and Threatening Her Baby. For crime reports and Sadia's arrest records, click here and here. To learn more and read  the psychologist's discussion of Sadia's violence, click here.

8) CPS Letter Of Complaint From Sadiya Alilire. Nothing in this document shows that "Sadiya Alilire Is Not A Child Abuser."

In summation, while Wilson claims that "Documentation Showing Sadiya Alilire Is Not A Child Abuser," no document she provides does anything of the sort. By contrast, our documentation provides extensive evidence of Sadia's abuse--click here to learn more.

Claim #15) In the absence of supporting evidence for Sadia Loeliger's claims--and an even greater paucity of evidence to refute the court findings that Sadia Loeliger abused children under her care--Sadia Loeliger and her allies have chosen to emphasize a bizarre statement they wrote for Fatima, Scott and Sadia's 16 year-old daughter, and released under her name. Below are some of Sadia's main accusations, followed by a point by point refutation. The full statement can be read here).

"Instead of nurturing and supporting my development during these tumultuous teen years, he [Scott] has been the cause of most of the anguish in my life and a continual source of stress and instability for me. Since I turned 13 three years ago, my father has placed me in voluntary foster care twice, called the cops on me five times, stolen 2 cell phones, repeatedly emotionally abused me by making derogatory comments towards my family and I, attempted to admit me to a psychiatric ward, attempted to transport me to a cult program across the country for “mommy detox," harassed my school, harassed my sports teams, defamed me in my local newspaper, defamed me on the internet, sent a private investigator to track me and photograph me, stalked my friends, and, last but not least, denied me proper health care coverage."

1) Sadia writes that Scott "called the cops on [Fatima] five times"

Scott Loeliger called the police on three occasions (and Scott's wife Christina did once) when Fatima failed to come back to their house at scheduled times or ran away. Scott and Christina were understandably worried about a 13 or 14 year-old girl out on her own as night fell--it could hardly be called "calling the cops on her." The other time the police were called is discussed in point 5.

2) Sadia writes "my father has placed me in voluntary foster care twice"

Scott never placed Fatima in foster care. By October of 2002, Fatima had been living with Scott for over four years, after being removed from her mother's home by the Juvenile Court because her mother Sadia had abused her and her cousin Sara. As had been predicted by neutral experts, as soon as Sadia resumed unsupervised visits with Fatima she began to alienate Fatima from her father and incite her against him.

Fatima ran away from Scott's home, claiming she was being mistreated. CPS placed Fatima in foster care while investigating her charges, which they found to be groundless. Scott allowed Fatima the choice of coming back to live with him or remaining in the foster home--a special, top quality home led by Debbie Sheehan, an expert in dealing with troubled teenage girls. Fatima had a good relationship with her foster mother, Debbie Sheehan, who discusses Fatima's time in her home here. Scott visited her there regularly. Scott was hesitant to allow Fatima to return to Sadia's home, where she had been physically abused four years earlier.

3) Sadia writes that Scott had "stolen 2 cell phones" from Fatima.

Scott says he knows nothing about this. We invite Sadia to produce documents to support her claims.

[Later note: Despite our invitation to Sadia to substantiate the above claim, she has not done so.]

4) Sadia writes that Scott "repeatedly emotionally abused [Fatima] by making derogatory comments towards [Fatima's] family and [Fatima]."

In psychology this is called "projection" and "denial."

5) Sadia writes that Scott "attempted to admit [Fatima] to a psychiatric ward"

On one of Fatima's visits to Scott's home, Scott brought in a couple of therapists to try to help him deal with Fatima's increased estrangement from him and the alienation campaign being waged by Sadia Loeliger. During one of these visits Fatima started behaving very erratically and began destroying things. Since it would have been very problematic for Scott to try to restrain her physically, the therapists recommended he call the police instead. When the police arrived the officer in charge thought Fatima might harm herself, so he ordered her detained for mental observation on a 5150. Under the code, only the officer could make this decision, and legally Scott had to abide by it. To read the code, click here. We invite Sadia to produce documents to the contrary.

[Later note: Despite our invitation to Sadia to substantiate the above claim, she has not done so.]

6) Sadia writes that Scott "attempted to transport [Fatima] to a cult program across the country for 'mommy detox'."

Citing Sadia's successful, long-predicted alienation campaign, Scott sought to have the court send Fatima to therapy through the Rachel Foundation for Family Reintegration. The Rachel Foundation, with the support of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, helps abducted and alienated children reintegrate with their families. 

7) Sadia writes that Scott "harassed [Fatima's] school"

Scott sought to keep track of Fatima's school progress and get copies of her report cards. Scott was often thwarted in this--a common problem for divorced dads.

8) Sadia writes that Scott "harassed [Fatima's] sports teams"

Scott had a disagreement with one of Fatima's soccer coaches because Fatima was already committed to one soccer team when Sadia signed her up for another one and encouraged her to abandon her prior commitment. Nearly six feet tall and fast, Fatima is a good soccer player and Scott had paid $1,000 so that Fatima could play on a special, traveling team. When Scott pointed this out and asserted that Fatima should honor her commitment to her existing soccer team, Fatima's new coach was unhappy.

9) Sadia writes that Scott "defamed [Fatima] in my local newspaper"

This refers to the time the Davis Enterprise Retracted a Story Based on Sadia's False Claims and Apologized to Scott Loeliger.  There is nothing in the article which "defames" Fatima Loeliger. We invite Sadia to produce documents to the contrary.

[Later note: Despite our invitation to Sadia to substantiate the above claim, she has not done so.]

10) Sadia writes that Scott "defamed [Fatima] on the internet"

Fatima is not criticized on the internet--Scott has criticized Sadia, Fatima's abusive, alienating mother. Sadia obviously sought this publicity, since nobody had ever heard of this case until Sadia decided to  denounce Scott on national television on PBS's Breaking the Silence: Children's Stories. It's unclear why Sadia would feel Scott is wrong for telling his side of the story on www.GlennSacks.com after Sadia denounced Scott on national television.  Scott had shied away from publicity on the issue, and requested of the filmmakers only that they leave his daughter out of the film--click here to read Scott's letters to the producers. These requests were ignored. Finally, after being defamed on national television, Scott figured there was little left to lose and decided to tell his story for the first time.

11) Sadia writes that Scott "sent a private investigator to track [Fatima] and photograph [Fatima]"

Scott says he knows nothing about this. We invite Sadia to produce documents to the contrary.

[Later note: Despite our invitation to Sadia to substantiate the above claim, she has not done so.]

12) Sadia writes that Scott "stalked [Fatima's] friends"

Scott has kept in communication with one of Fatima's friends, whose parents are also family friends. This is the extent of his contact with Fatima's friends.

13) Sadia writes that Scott "denied [Fatima] proper health care coverage"

Scott has provided continuous health coverage for Fatima since the day she was born. We invite Sadia to produce documents to the contrary.

[Later note: Despite our invitation to Sadia to substantiate the above claim, she has not done so.]