commentary by Patrick H. Moore
Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is the largest city in a sparsely-populated state. With a population of somewhat over 150,000, it is more than double its size back in ’67 when I hung out there briefly with my crew when our VW Microbus developed engine trouble.
Although South Dakota is hundreds of miles east of the fabled Badlands, a huge national park known for its sharply eroded buttes, pinnacles, and spires – the sort of place you don’t want to get lost in – the “Badlands” recently came to Sioux Falls, metaphorically speaking, when a conventional-looking 30-year-old woman was arrested and placed in custody for allegedly raping not one, not two, but three little neighbor boys all at once in her apartment.
Rachel Skytta KDLT.com writes:
A Sioux Falls woman is charged with multiple counts of child rape, after her boyfriend found her with several young boys at their apartment.
According to police, 30-year-old Anne Elizabeth Doubler and the three little boys, who were in the 7-to-10 year age range, were all naked when her boyfriend and their four-year-old son came home to their apartment near the 600 block of N. Lewis Ave.
Unsurprisingly, law enforcement is quite confounded by this deeply disturbing case. Among other things, it’s still unclear how many other children may have been victims of this reported female pedophile.
“When we’re talking multiple victims, especially at one time, that’s something we don’t see very often,” said Officer Sam Clemens of the Sioux Falls Police Dept.
Clemens believes that there may have been a total of six prepubescent victims.
Ms. Doubler is facing multiple charges for first degree rape, sexual contact with a child, and sexual exploitation.
Although the precise details of the boyfriend’s discovery are a bit cloudy, according to the Café Mom, Kiri Blakeley, the boyfriend informed law enforcement that he walked into the apartment, and started to head upstairs, when he saw the au natural Ms. Doubler at the top of the stairs.
Although the boyfriend may have initially thought that Ms. Doubler’s nudity was for his benefit, he quickly learned that was not the case and called 911.
Police believe that the youngest of the potential victims is 5-years-old.
Female child molesters, who are sometimes frustrated or immature school teachers, usually target teenage boys, so if these allegations are true, this is an extremely unusual case.
One of the alleged victim’s mothers, a Ms. Batulo, who is very possibly of African descent and lives a few doors done from the suspect, told KDLT:
“She is bad, very bad. I asked the officer, I said ‘what is going on, what is she doing to my baby?’ I don’t feel good. I don’t like it.”
Ms. Batulo added that this wasn’t the first time that young boys had been over to the woman’s apartment. She said her son was shaking when he arrived home after the incident.
“The boys are seven and eight-years-old. I said ‘what’s she thinking’,” Ms. Batulo added.
“We don’t know if it necessarily started last night, or if it’s been going on for some time,” said Officer Clemens, elaborating further, “It really unusual to have multiple victims, especially in one instance. Especially, we had three and believe there’s up to six and there could be more as well. It’s pretty rare for something like that to happen.”
Although Officer Clemens seems to have a penchant for repeating himself, it’s certainly understandable given the circumstances.
When questioned, the boys described having sexual contact with Ms. Doubler.
Ms. Doubler is currently being held on a $50,000 cash-only bond. She apparently will be allowed to see her four-year-old son, but only during supervised visits.
If convicted of first degree rape, Doubler could face a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The Café Mom writes:
I couldn’t imagine being a mom and not letting my child go play at a woman’s house — a woman with a 4-year-old child. A neighbor. This really makes you rethink whether women are always “safe.”
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Damn! This sounds awful and it seems pretty clear that something very untoward was probably going on. However, we don’t know precisely what occurred between Ms. Doubler and the boys, and it’s important not to succumb to hysteria. It’s notoriously hard to get at the truth in matters of this sort when the only witnesses are young children.