Don Simpson, a preacher at Haslet Church of Christ for nearly 20 years, was the owner and operator of Mr. Don’s Whistlestop, a half-mile long miniature railroad track that he put together over several years on the one-acre lot that he bought in Keller, Texas in 1982.
Kids loved Mr. Don’s Whistlestop. The miniature train, being the perfect size for post-toddler-age kids, was a popular place for children to have their birthday parties, despite being an unlicensed business. Don loved having kids around, and especially loved riding around with them on his train. A two-hour event there cost $250 and horseback rides were available for an additional $50.
The popularity of Don Simpson’s birthday party locale was dramatically reduced when the parents of a 3-year-old girl called the police with a story of how Mr. Simpson had sexually molested their daughter while she rode on the train with him during a birthday party on the 7th of October, 2007.
While Mr. Simpson and the children were riding the train, the parent of this little girl noticed that Don Simpson was sitting in an odd position on the train, and that his hands were positioned in a way that didn’t look quite right.
Once the train had stopped, the parent of this little girl took her aside and asked if anything had happened while she was on the train.
Since this is People You’ll See In Hell, you already know that the little girl said that something did happen.
Apparently the train track goes through a 200-foot-long tunnel that Don Simpson put together, and while the train was going through the tunnel, the little girl felt Mr. Simpson touching her inappropriately.
Police showed up at the party, questioned a few people who were concerned that their little girls had been touched by a pedophile, left and wrote their reports.
Rumors began to make their way around town.
The next day, on the 8th of October, Don Simpson drove his truck to the police station and asked to talk to police about the investigation.
While being interviewed by investigators, Don called his wife and had her come down and sit with him while he talked.
After four hours worth of interviews, Don Simpson admitted that he had fondled not only that little girl, but many other little girls as well.
Don Simpson wasn’t arrested at that point because detectives felt that they needed to do a bit more investigation to corroborate his confession.
After the interview, Don Simpson had a breakdown. Police took him to a local hospital’s mental health facility for treatment. Mr. Simpson stayed there for a few days while police waited for him to be released.
Shortly after he left the hospital, Mr. Simpson surrendered to police on the 12th of October, 2007. He immediately posted bond and walked out of police custody.
Once that got out, rumors really started to make their way around town.
Parents began wondering if their children could have possibly been molested by Don Simpson. After all, almost all the kids in town had been at his house at one time or another…
Parents were publicly urged not to ask their children about being molested, because doing so could affect any new cases against Mr. Simpson.
That opened the floodgates.
Over 200 parents called police to arrange for their children to be interviewed by specialists in the tricky practice of dealing with the mind of a child. So far, three more children - three girls and one boy - have been identified as having been molested by Don Simpson. These children are between 3 and 9 years old.
In total, Don Simpson is facing five charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child under 14 and three charges of indecency with a child by contact.
Assault is a first-degree felony. Don could get life in prison for each count.
Indecency with a child by contact is a second-degree felony. Don could get between 2 and 20 years in prison for each of those charges.
Don had better hope that his attorney comes through for him. Mr. Simpson’s attorney, Lisa Mullen, has stated to the press that Don Simpson has never touched any little kids and that his confession to police was beaten out of him.
Did He or Didn’t He?
Is Don Simpson’s situation comparable to the McMartin preschool case? Is this another example of sexual abuse hysteria
Don Simpson certainly has his supporters.
His son-in-law, Jon McKenzie, knows that Mr. Simpson admitted his molestation activities to police, but Mr. McKenzie said that his father-in-law’s confession came only after police coerced Don..
I will say that we feel that the Keller police, after questioning Don for many hours, mentally exhausted him, and we believe that also some threats were possibly used against Don in obtaining his statement.
Don Simpson’s lawyer has stated, “You couldn’t find a man with a better character. This man is innocent, and he’s spent 65 years proving that.”
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This incident happened on my birthday. It seems birthdays may be a bad time for many. It should be a happy time. I’m sorry. I think he did it. Who would confess something like this? I don’t care how much the police harassed me … if I didn’t do it I wouldn’t say I did. And these poor kids wouldn’t dream it up just because their parents encouraged them to. Don’t most pedophiles surround themselves with children? He did. I think the mother saw what was going on, and yes, he deserves Hell.
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Well, let’s not forget that police are often trained in interrogation techniques. It’s their job to go after the confession. They do it often.
Now, how often does the average person go through an interrogation? Very seldom, if ever. So an experienced professional is being matched up against an untrained amateur…and that never ends up well for the amateur.
That’s why the amateur is given the right to get a trained professional on HIS side as well - a lawyer. Why Don Simpson didn’t bring one, or ask for one, I’ll never understand.
Usually coming into a police station wanting to talk is a sign that someone has something they feel they need to confess…
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I don’t know, I probably would have gone in to talk to the cops if I knew I was being accused of something like that….
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If there were a listing of 10,000 of my friends and acquaintancs being suspected of child molestation or any other crime, the name of Don Simpson would be at th e very bottom of the list. It is simply unimaginable!
The very charge is ridiculous. I have visited his home amusement park on various occasions. He is a quiet, meticulous and tireless worker. In July of 2005 I snapped a picture of him in his usual position as operator of the locomotive. It is impossible for Don or anyone else in the position of train operator to have physical contact with a child or anyone else. He sits facing the front with his back to the cars behind him where the children are seated on other cars following the engine where he is seated.
I employed Don in my business for several years and have known him and his family for over 35 years. I have published some of his outstanding books. I do not believe the accusations are true and provable; I do believe his business and his sterling reputation have been annihilated. Shame, confusion and reproach has been brought upon the entire family that will be impossible to repair. I grieve deeply and pray without ceasing to our blessed Lord that some glimmer of light might appear somewhere soon.
I have given this or a similar testimony to his lawyer and will give it anywhere or anytime.
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He did not do it. I know the family, and they are good people. Don would give anyone the shirt off of his back to help them out. I don’t believe it…
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Before posting an allegation, you should check out the statements from the police, the parents did not notice him sitting in an odd position and did not ask if the alleged victim was touched. According to the affidavit, as the alleged victim was leaving the party, the parents asked, “Did you have a good time?” She responded, “No. Someone touched my bottom.” According the affidavit, it was assumed Mr. Simpson was the person since he had the most opportunity. There is no 200 foot tunnel. Mr Simpson was not held at a mental facility, he was released to his family. Mr. Simpson’s wife was not present during the interrogation. Over 200 parents did not call for interviews. Over 100 calls to the police were in support of Mr. Simpson. Mr. Simpson was not told why he should come to the police station…
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Hey Sean, we’ve been looking into this case, and we admit that there are some improprieties with some of the facts.
Of course we’ve also come across comments like these:
He’s the one! You’re right you really don’t know the entire story. He’s a pervert. He deserves more than the law can sentence him with. Yes, he confessed due to his guilt and of course he’s going to retract and people are going to come to his defense. Would you want to believe that your neighbor could have possibly raped your children while attending a party? No one wants to believe it but it’s true.
And:
I’ve known the man for over 25 years too. And guess what he did to me for the early part of that period … The man is guilty as sin, and I KNOW it from experience. I never came forward because I thought nobody would believe me. I mean, he’s such a fine upstanding citizen, a preacher, even! Guess what … ALL predators are skilled at camoflauge. Tigers have stripes, and pedophiles have “fine upstanding citizen” personas. This guy deserves everything he has coming to him, and then some. I’m glad this guy’s finally being put to a stop. If I’d known he’d started up his own private pedo-playground, maybe I’d have found the courage to come forward earlier. Maybe not. Our society is infamous for putting the victims on trial.
And another post by the same person:
You are EXACTLY why so many crimes go unreported. Victims assume that nobody will believe them. You say “where’s the proof”? We’ve got a confession. “That’s coerced.” The kids themselves say they were touched. “Kids can be unreliable.” I, an ADULT, tell you he touched ME, and now what is it? “Well, there’s no physical evidence.” And when some is produced, what will you say then?
This man HURT me and really messed up my life for a long time. He’s done the same thing to countless other children too. But the fact that he knows how to play nice with other adults is all that matters, right?
I hope your denial serves you well in this life, but it reeks to me.
And regarding the tunnel: The first arrest warrant affidavits cite a 200-foot-long tunnel on the property. In an e-mail sent to the press, a Simpson family spokesman said that there is a 200-foot-long open-air bridge, and a short tunnel that is less than 40 feet long and open enough on both ends to be well-lit.
PYSIH.com went off the first affidavit and report.
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Yes, I’m familiar with who’s posting the quotes you are using from topix, and the parties are unreliable… a parent of an alleged victim. I suggest withholding judgement until there is a trial instead of condemning him immediately to hell.
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Ok Sean…since you’re so smart a poll on the internet is not going to condemn someone to hell.
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Brittany,
Yes, I know. Smart or not, nothing seems wrong with someone saying, “he deserves hell”? No trial or evidence? This is not a convicted felon. No evidence has been presented, only speculation. This doesn’t strike at the nerve of every human being? It’s not Mr. Simpson’s soul I am concerned with, it is those who pass judgement with no idea but what is reposted from the internet.
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to set the record, I don’t think I’ve ever voted on a poll except for the Jasmine Richardson and Jeremy Steinke.
It’s strictly entertainment. That’s all this is. It would be the same or similiar to a news station website. Obviously he’s pretty damn close to guilty or it would never have made headlines.
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Like a news station website? “This is Anderson Cooper saying this man deserves to go to hell”. Plus, if there’s anything one learns in life, it’s that you never trust the news. Because someone is a headline does not mean he’s guilty. Plus, the Keller Police Department have made three charges against people for sexual assault in the last two years. All made headlines. All found not guilty.
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I talk to inmates all the time who claim the best defense is to cripple the offense.
The best tactic that they’ve found to get their charges dropped is to have threats issued against the the witnesses against them, or their families.
Usually, it works.
Cases are dropped all the time. While the law may say they’re innocent, the neighborhood knows better.
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These three cases do not involve charges being dropped. They were found not guilty after trial. Additionally, inmates in prison are generally not the best authority on tactics for a successful defense.
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I, like Brittany, have not made it a habit to ‘vote’ on anyone going to hell or not. I think I might have once, but then I said, what the hay, the all deserve it anyway, and everyone knows it, so what’s the point?
I don’t really need to ‘vote’ in order to decide in my head whether someone is a POS. And, in fact, I really don’t even want them to be in hell… I just want them to *poof* disappear and make everyone’s life better.
It tickles me pink how riled up and fiercy so many people get over the ‘thought’ that someone might not some, or think they are a bad person. Thinking someone should go to hell is pretty much the same as not liking them, y’know?
It would really suck if I was just sitting here eating olives and watching Forensic Files on CourtTv, and the cops arrested me for molesting all the kids in my neighborhood. Especially because I’m pretty sure I’d be innocent. It would suck getting arrested, and suck going to trial. Especially if I really did do it, but none of my friends or family believed it, but I still got life in prison.
Yes, whether I was guilty or innocent, all of those things would suck.
What would not really be important to me whether I was guilty or not would be whether perfect strangers wrote about me and voted online to see how many people thought I should go to hell. In comparison to all the accusations, arrest, jail, trial, sentencing… some silly little online blog would be the least of my worries.
If I was guilty, wouldn’t I already know that if I believed in hell, that I’d surely be going there? And if i was innocent, why would it matter if a million people I do not know thought I should go to hell? It’s not like God is sitting on the other side of the internet counting the votes, y’know? And saying, Oh, darn…. majority rules! Guess I’ll have to send the POS down to the fiery depths of the eternally burning lake! 51%… whatcha gonna do?
I think if I found out that someone was voting to send my molesting grandpa to hell, even if I was protesting his innocence with my head buried under the sand, I think my reaction would be about the same as if an online blog had voted to make my molesting grandpa be a leprechaun.
Every time I read someone dweezling out over this blog, or how it’s not fair that people are voting to send their friend/family member/abuser to hell, I am tempted to bitchslap them and say…
If you believe so strongly in their innocence, why are you wasting your time here? Nobody here is in charge of any investigation, arrest, trial or sentencing. Wouldn’t your time be better spent dealing directly with people who in real life may have some power over what happens to your POS? Unless I am mistaken, successfully getting everyone on this blog to vote ‘NO’ will not change one thing about the circumstances your
POS is in right now.
I can’t imagine that if I was trying to be supportive of some friend or family member who I thought was unjustly in legal trouble that I would have the time to hop on the internet and google their name to find websites like this to spend hours posting claims that they weren’t guilty, because I would think my time would be better spent elsewhere.
I do think it’s funny that most people defending a molester, like this kiddie train conductor, usually have jobs where they have lots of contact with little kids. And, that their supporters always say first— they couldn’t do that, they wouldn’t do that, I’ve know them for a million years!
And then secondly, they always say– besides, he/she wouldn’t have had enough TIME to do that anyway.
Funny how molestors never have time to molest… yet the pesky little kids magically keep on getting molested.
Strange, eh?
c
Ha, ha, ha.
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[...] Cream man 9) Husband of the head of CARE House. 8) Youth sports coach 7) School crossing guard 6) Miniature train operator 5) Convenience store operator 4) Pediatrician 3) Daycare teacher 2) Elementary school principal 1) [...]
Is it as strange as people with no knowledge nor personal interest will write long diatribes on why someone they don’t know is a POS? By the way, like most people, I have no personal interest. As a prosecutor, I understand the importance of withholding condemnation and encourage others to do the same.
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Sean-
It’s nice that you encourage people to withhold condemnation… hopefully you only do that concerning ALLEGED criminals, and not convicted ones.
I know it would be a lot easier for me to withhold condemnation, and to do others to do the same, if I was paid to do so because it was my job.
Being that I do not get paid for that, nor do I get paid TO condemn, I’m kind of just doing a free service, because I’m so charitable that way.
I have no insider knowledge or personal interest in a POS named Hitler, either… do the math, I think you can see where this is going.
Speaking of strange, I do find it odd that people seek out blogs that encourage people to comment, and then proceed to comment themselves-essentially trying to discourage other from commenting, just because they don’t agree with the opinions they read.
If you don’t like personal opinions by strangers who don’t have the pedigree, credentials or whatnot that you seem to need, this is probably not the blog for you.
I personally enjoy the rampant condemnation on this blog, and I have a feeling that it was the admin’s intent to set it up that way. PYSIH, is a pretty big clue, for starters.
c
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Ah… Peace on earth, goodwill to men and enjoying “rampant condemnation.” Merry Christmas to all!
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Our daughter was one of his victims. She is three and we have photographic evidence and a 4 year old who since has nightmares about the “tickleman” coming to get her. We’ve spent tons of money on counselling. Once the allegations came out in public and realized we had been at a party at his place about 3 months earlier and that is when resumed bed wetting and nightmares started it all made sense. He did it. period.
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It’s hard to know. So easy to jump on the bandwagon and send the guy to hell. Human nature seems to do that. I’m not sure how you get anything out of very young kids w/ out leading him/her on. Smacks of McMartin.
Of course, if he really is guilty, hell is the place. Violating the innocence of a child is a terrible thing. I’m not close enough to the facts to make the call.
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OK guys - I missed this one. But I am all for withholding a decision on this guy till more facts are known.
One real problem with molestation cases is that the victims are often not really able to address the facts. They may be subtly encouraged by their own parents who “know” the pop psychology on how to question their kids. The kid sees mom getting excited, and especially young kids, find the whole process of having the power over all these ADULTS, to be extremely cool. So, I guess I am saying that YEAH, kids will lie about being molested. And cops will get false confessions from innocent people.
One of my pet cases is a man by the name of Kevin Fox, who was coerced into confessing that he raped and killed his own 3 year old daughter, Riley. Kevin was innocent. It was later proven. (In fact, they think that the creep who abducted/killed the Groene kids up in Idaho, could have been the killer). This is a fairly good synopsis of the case, but it only touches on the hell that this family went through. I suggest you read it http://truthinjustice.org/kevin-fox.htm
REAL pervs need to be strung up by their nuts, but we need to be careful about letting mob hysteria and witchhunts destroy innocent people.
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