Indiana Custodial Rights Advocates

Republican Judge David heard the divorce involving Democratic Precinct Committeeman Stuart Showalter and Elica (Showalter) Talbot (510 N East Street) upon Chief Deputy Prosecutor Jeffrey Edens (1415 North John Bart Road) filing it in David's court. The former prosecutor was appointed Boone Circuit Court Judge pro tem when Judge David left town just so the David could maintain control over this situation. According to statements by Ms Talbot, Edens instructed her to abduct the parties son on Halloween night 2001. Prior to this he filed a pleading , dated 31 October 2001, that alleged that Mr Showalter had been passing out information about Ms Talbot that night. Realizing that the courthouse closed at 4:00p.m. and he had inadvertently filed it too early he then formulate a scheme to keep it secret. Judge David held a subsequent hearing on this matter on 30 November 2001 and gave custody of the parties son to Ms Talbot even though she was unable to produce the alleged video-tape, that the police claim to not have, or any of the strangers who she alleged called her about it.

Judge David could also held a final hearing on the divorce without notifying Mr Showalter who fired his attorney after the Halloween debacle. Mr Edens alleged Mr Showalter was notified by mail even though notices have been sent to the wrong address on other occasions. Judge David violated the Indiana Code (24.5-5-105 and ordered Mr Showalter to pay 100% of his assumed net income to Ms Talbot for support of their one child.

Judge David also ordered Mr Showalter to pay his ex-wife half the value of the house he had bought with his cash, which was declared in the Decree of Dissolution of Marriage to have a value of $89,450, but could forbid him from getting a mortgage on the house, selling it or using it in any way as security to obtain the money through a bank or other lender. Judge David next appointed an attorney he knows would participate in the scheme as a commissioner to sell the property. Frank Starkey (1803 Syracuse) was appointed as commissioner who used a tenant in a building he owns, Ron King, to sell the property so he could reap a financial benefit from it besides the usual fees. The property would not be advertised and a private sale was arranged for XXXXX and XXXXX XXXXXXXXXXX to purchase it. David then Ordered that the approximately $1700 from the sale of the property that Mr Showalter would have received, as his half, be applied towards a child support payment arrearage that had accrue because Mr Showalter was unable to pay it.

Judge David, Prosecutor Todd Meyer (104 Ulen Drive) and Jeff Edens then split the proceeds from the sale of the house and the ex-wife who remarried then filed bankruptcy less than two years later because all she had is the support money.

They could all have worried about what Mr Showalter would eventually do. What if he was to expose them or seek to regain custody of his child. A plan was hatched to have Ms Talbot file a perjured complaint on 02 February 2005 that alleged Mr Showalter had severely abused his child by failing to feed, cloth, shelter or provide medical care to his child since the divorce. Todd Meyer then charged Mr Showalter on 03 February 2005 with a felony alleging the abuse and Judge David then issue an arrest warrant to have Showalter jailed on 09 February 2005.

This was an attempt to discredit him and keep him silent. But it didn’t? Mr Showalter told Todd Meyer that he was going to put everyone involved with the scheme on the stand to testify and expose them all? Todd obtained a special prosecutor , Louis Evans of Clinton County, be appointed. Todd Meyer then found a girl that had admitted to a felony theft to accuse Mr Showalter of rape and seek a protective order. Meyer then told her that if she was able to get Showalter to violate the order he would put her into the pretrial diversion program and dismiss the charge. The girl sent emails to Mr Showalter saying she wants to be with him and was going to make him father her child. She kept following him and trying to get him to violate the order over a 2 1/2 year period.

In the meantime Judge David scheduled Showalter's trial for 22 August 2005. Mr Showalter had flyers distributed around Lebanon a week prior, which invited people to attend the trial and see the corruption by David and Meyer exposed. Showalter sent subpoenas to Todd Meyer, Jeff Edens and Circuit Court Commissioner Sally Berrish to question them at the trial about their involvement in the scheme? They alleged in a pleading that their testimony would embarrass them and asked that their subpoenas be quashed. Judge David then issued protective orders so as to keep the truth from becoming exposed. David surely speculated as to what Mr Showalter planned to expose about his court and then, suspecting that his involvement in corruption would be exposed, cancelled the trial through a CCS entry and did not allow any witnesses to be called.

Mr Showalter requested a hearing on the bogus protective order where he would show (part 1) (part 2)that there was no merit to it? Todd Meyer then found another youth, who had been in Judge David’s court, to use for the purpose of fabricating another criminal charge against Mr Showalter. Meyer got the father, who was potentially facing a criminal neglect charge, to commit perjury and seek an order that could lead to a criminal charge against Mr Showalter. Mr Showalter investigated what happened to this young girl at the Boone County Jail in September of 2005 by seeking public records relating to it. Bruce Petit and Todd Meyer then get scared about their possible involvement being revealed and asked Judge David to issue a protective order relieving them of the legal requirement to comply with Indiana’s Access to Public Records Act.

Judge David issued an order baring the girl from giving any information to Mr Showalter. She could no longer send letters to Showalter expressing how distraught she was about the incident. Judge David then held a hearing on 29 November 2005 and then issue a No Contact Order barring Mr Showalter from receiving any more information from the girl about the incident at the jail. This blanket order barred Showalter from having any contact with the girl and served the dual purpose of keeping Mr Showalter from getting more information about what happened to her at the jail. Additionally it was used to pressure her into making a false charge against him since she could also have been incarcerated for violating the order.

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