SURVENT

Randall is into photography and has been for a long time did anyone stop to think that maybe this was a darkroom?

Based on your IP address and reference to Raar by first name makes me assume you are an old coworker and friend of Randall's.

Did you ever think that maybe your friend and coworker may not be a good person? And that maybe this room served multiple purposes, one of which being a dark room when needed?

Have you ever been in one of Randall's "dark rooms"? Do you know for certain that is all it was? If so, I am sure he could use some help right about now.

Ok, let me ask you this.....

If it was merely a darkroom, why the need for a steel door? I have not seen a photo of the door or the room, but I would guess that the way it was written up by the News 7 reporter that the "secure" feature means a lock on the outside of the door. If it were able to be secured from inside the room, I would not see the reason police are interested in possible other uses for such a room.

Also, why was a room like this in a back corner of a his house near Ypsilanti? If it were merely a dark room and he hid his porn elsewhere in the home, there would be no need to go to such lengths to hide or secure it.

If this were mainly used as a dark room, why was there no mention of chemicals, wetting pans or any other material that would be needed to develop film? I would think a reporter would know film developing equipment if it were present.

I buy that it may have been a dark room, but I would guess it was used for more than that. I would bet that some of the photos of children found on his computer were probably taken in that room.

The fact is, whether he was a nice guy at work or a good friend, he is ill and has commited heinous crimes against children. Crimes against children are the worst crimes in my book as the victims cannot defend themselves and are easily controlled mentally. He has stolen their childhoods and their innocence.

The Lincoln Park room was indeed a dark room. Raar lived in his parents home in LP with his Thai wife. His father was an amateur photographer and had a darkroom many years ago. I've been in the basement.
He seemed quite content with his life; but was intent on writing his expose' of the criminal justice system in Michigan.
He feels he was unjustly convicted in 1984 and he has never gotten past it. I just wish journalists would be more factual than using creative terms like 'dungeon and shackles'.
I don't think the facts support that.

So was the door to this dark room actually lockable from the outside or the inside? Why the need for the steel door that was described? A standard door with extra weatherstripping to keep light out should have been sufficient.

I agree that creative terms are often tossed into an article mainly for an attention grabber; however, if a reporter has had first hand viewing of something and they are describing how something appeared to them, can you fault them? I will agree though that if there is no proof at the time of the article that someone was confined to the room, such as this one, the term dungeon should probably not be used. The term was used properly in the case of Kenneth Glenn Hinson ("Uncle Kenny") from Hartsville, South Carolina back in April.

Do you feel Raar was unjustly convicted in 1984? I have to admit that his having child pornography in his possession does make the claim that the conviction was unjust seem a bit implausible to me. Making the jump from child pornograqphy to sexual assault is not that unlikely for a pedophile. One behavior will eventually lead to other behaviors as the excitement or novelty of the first does not fulfill the desires driving that behavior.

What is Raar like to his friends, such as you? Is he an outgoing person and friendly?

Thanks for your comments...

I met Randy in 1988 through his older brother Phil. Yes, he is wierd. Randy has been obsessed since he was "unjustly convicted" in 1984. As I understand the story, he befriended a young girl who was unhappy with her home life and it was consentual at the time. The girl was living with him. I do not know the circumstances, ages, etc., but Randy claims the charges were trumped by the girls relatives. I've been to three of his homes and spent and in YP. No dungeons. Yes, he did like porn and said he had a hiding spot for them. His Mom lived with him. Randy made some very unwise friendships while in prison, and befriended some when they got released. Bad decisions. Yes, I do think he has a fascination with young women, but I do not think he is a rapist. Did he take advantage of a young girl years ago? Yes, he probably did. Do I think he is doing anything today? No, I don't. He has been very satisfied with his wife and was planning on retiring in
Thailand and leaving America. In my opinion, Randy is harmless. But he is his own worst enemy.

Sorry for the delay in responding to your comments. So were you dating his brother and that is why you went to Randall's homes? Or did Phil introduce you two and then you dated? Trying to understand the link and your role in Randall's life.

So no dungeons but he did admit he liked porn. Did he tell you that the porn involved children? Did it actually involve children back then?

You mentioned that Randall is actually weird. Can you go into any detail as to his weirdness beyond the child porn and sexual assault charges? Introvert I assume.

Making friends with prisoners is probably a good thing to do while in prison. Keeping those relationships outside of prison would see to be a bad idea and asking for more trouble. It is unfortunate that Randall made those poor decisions. It does not appear that he is the best decision maker though and probably eager to have anyone as a friend who might accept him, yes?

Finally, you say you think he has a fascination with young women (girls) and that he did take advantage of at least one years ago. What makes you think that he has changed or can control his urges? He may have been satisfied with his wife, but that does not mean he is not acting on his desires on the side. What does his wife think of all of this, assuming you know her as well? And if he is not a guilty person, why would he want to move to Thailand? And why only after retirement - why not already? I may be wrong, but I thought that Thailand is a place that children are often used for sex. This seems like an odd place for someone like Randall to go, especially if he is happy with his wife. Or perhaps she is accepting of the lifestyle and partakes?

Again, thanks for your comments. I look forward to your responses on my multiple questions and hope you have the answers to them!

--Lucent

I was married to Randy's brother, Phil. We married in 1988. We lived in Texas. Phil died in 1992. I spent time in Michigan on three or four occasions, and once after Phil died. I stayed with Randy as his Mother was dying and I wanted to say goodbye. He says he has been writing his 'expose' on the MDOC and that is why he has been persecuted. I always thought he lived in a fantasy world, self-absorbed and possessed. He went to Thailand and met his current wife, Oye. He was married to an American girl years ago and they divorced; he is bitter over that; then he went to India, met and married Sudi. While in YP he had released convict stay over and that is when the police raided the house. Randy claims his wife divorced him because of that incident. He went to Thailand and met his current wife. He said he would never marry another American woman. He was building a home in Phuket, Oye's hometown. Yes, I do know about Thailand and the reputation it has. It is my impresion that Randy did not like little girls, he liked young teenage girls. I am not negating that preying on teenage girls is right. He has not been happy in America and wanted to move to Thailand when he retired. He wanted to EXPOSE the MDOC with his tell all book. He has communicated with every convict in Michigan who claimed their innocence. He was just completely obsessed with writing this book. I've never met Oye, his Thai wife. It must be hard on her, she barely speaks English and regardless, she must feel
lost. I do think both of the boys were reared in a very dysfunctional home. Dad was a newspaper publisher. The Dad died years ago. He was the photographer that used the sub-basement as a darkroom. Hope this answers some of your questions.

My condolensces on your loss of Phil. I hope your four short years of marriage were wonderful.

Your responses did answer some of my questions, however, I am still curious about a few of them that you did not respond to. I am hoping maybe you would be able to at least touch on them briefly?

Like, Randall's weirdness. Were his obsessions with his book and teenage girls the only things that made him weird or was there more? I would like to try to understand this man and what he was like.

Also, was he open about his interest in young women with people close to him such as his wife, his brother or you? When he told you he had porn stashed away in a hiding spot, was he comfortable enough with his "interest" that he actually told you what kind of porn it was? Or did he just say, "Yeah, I have a bunch of porn in a hiding place, but you probably wouldn't be interested in it." I do not understand how his having porn in a hiding spot would even come up in a conversation with someone such as his sister-in-law. Perhaps one of his weird aspects.

The other question I still have is why do you think he is "not doing anything today"? You stated that in your opinion "Randy is harmless". Did he got to a help program or psychiatrist to get help? What made him change that you think he is safe?

Do you still talk to Randall? You said that this latest issue must be hard on Oye. I assume then that your communication with Randall is limited and that you do not talk to Oye. I am sure that this has to be tough on him as well, especially is he thinks it is all a conspiracy or something. I guess he will have plenty of time to get more one-on-one interviews with "innocent" inmates and finish writing his book now.

If you do talk to him and he has access to the web at any time from jail or prison, please let him know about SURVENT. It would be interesting to have him drop by here and provide his point of view on the situation. I doubt it will happen, but hey.....

Thanks again for your comments. I am enjoying our dialogue.

Randy has written me a letter and told me he was in jail. That is how I found out. Of course, he rants and raves over the injustices of the system. I again reiterate that he is totally focused on writing this expose'. He is like a demented person about the book. You can't talk with Randy rationally, at least when I knew him. And, he was always talking about his book, how he was going to expose the system of corruptness. He never really discussed his fascination with young girls. He said he was in a loving, nurturing and party environment with this young teenage girl back in 84. There were a number of neighborhood 'rejects' that clamored around Randy in his apartment. He provided shelter, food and probably some grass. He felt totally betrayed when the girls grandparents filed charges against him. I don't think he has ever been the same. Something in his head clicked, I think. I didn't meet him until '88 and after he was released from prison. The only thing he ever said in 'defending' himself against the charges in YP was that he didn't like little girls or children. He liked teenage girls. BUT, he had befriended a man in prison who became his Father figure who believes in his twisted mind that sex with children is perfectly natural. Upon release this guy stayed with him. I understand what happened is some neighborhood children came over to swim in his pool while this character was staying with Randy. Not a good decision. If anything happened, he said it was the other guy, not he.
Randy has a hug conspiracy obsession. Mother and Brother were very concerned at the time and tried to convince Randy that he would be guilty by association. I met one of them on my last trip to YP. It was in 1992 or 3 when I flew up to say goodbye to Phil's mother. There was a guy staying in YP with Randy. He seemed normal enough to me and I had no idea at the time that he was a pedophile. I saw nothing during my visit that was out of norm. The friend, and I can't remember his name' and I took a long walk one day and talked about Randy's obsession with this book.
Randy told me a few years ago that the guy is now serving a life sentence. He sent me a newspaper clipping. Made me shiver. Randy lives in his mind and his drive to write his book takes up all of his brainmatter.
He really seemed to like his wife and she is small, petite and youthful enough to satisfy his instincts. So no, I do not think Randy has committed any acts.
If you want, I will try to get a copy of his book. I am sure it has been confiscated, by the authorities. I don't know if he made any backups or not. Yes, I think he has issues, many. But I do not think Randy guilty of PF

It's sad that he is that obsessed with this book of his. It is also sad that he has such poor confidence that he would need to befriend a child molester and make him a father figure. Kind of surprises me though that he would let a guy like that live with him if he truly believed in conspiracy theory against him. You would think that he would try to do as much as possible to avoid any possible links that would help police or the system implicate him under these theories.

Yeah, a copy of his book, or what he has written so far, would be an interesting read. If you could get a copy I would be interested in reading his thoughts on how the system is so corrupt. My question is, have you actually read any of this supposed book? Does it really exist or is he all talk? "The authorities confiscated it" would sound real good in a conspircay theory, especially if there never was a book for them to take. It sounds like it is real, but I have to wonder, ya know? :)

Also, if you happen to find that clipping of the guy who was sent to prison for life, let me know his name. I am interested in how bad a decision he made bringing this guy into his home.

It has been a week and I have heard nothing from Ginny. Her last visit was on the 19th. Will we hear any more about Randall's book or the newspaper clipping? Hope so.

Sorry, I've been too busy to follow up. I'll look in my files this week to see what I can find.

Thanks:)

Went through old files tonight and could not find any of Randy's rants except for one he wrote as a eulogy for his Mom. To give you an example of Randy's mind, at the end of the OB: "Donations....$15 to the Detroit Sunday Journal for three months subscription to suport the strike efforts for which her son and their union are on strike against the Detroit Newspaper, would be appreciated, in lieu of flowers". Later in an addendum ""She did not pass on without leaving me with the knowledge I need to complete my book project of 13 years. She'll have the last word, just as I will". That was in 1996.
I did receive another letter from him today, and it is as scattered and bitter. He fears for his life.. He says out of three computers there was ZILCH, nothing. No downloads, no uploads, no credit cards, no chatting, NOTHING on child porm. Said he contained himself to adults sites. "I think all the publicity is to make people aware of me an discourage what they really found: my conspiracy theory on the MDOC & AG & Governor. I have no one to rebutt or tell what I was going [?]."
The guy that was sent up for life is "Bill" and he was the one that was with Randy back in YP in 1990. If you do some research, you may be able to discover his identity. I'll ask Randy too. The father figure in prison had a uncommon name and I'll try to get that info too. I still don't understand WHY he was arrested. What precipitated the arrest? Randy feels certain he will be killed in prison as he has already sustained a beating. He thinks it is all because of his expose'
that he was arrested and these trumped up charges are resurfacing. Randy says the 14 year old he was accused of molesting back in 84 was street smart and experienced and had sought shelter as she was a runaway. Her story is different than the one she told when the original charges were filed, but perhaps she wants her fifteen minutes of fame. I don't know what the truth is, but as a woman, I know that all fourteen year old girls are not particularly innocent and pure and, of course, Randy claims she came on to him. It makes no difference now as they can go back to the records and see the statements made back at that time. There is a hearing tomorrow 7/27

Where are the hearings taking place? I have not been able to quite figure that out yet.

The Preliminary Examination date on the Ypsilanti Township Criminal Sexual Conduct (CSC) charges will be July 27 at 1 p.m. in 14-A District Court; if convicted, he faces up to life in prison. He is held without bond on the CSC charges.

I can find no updates on a trial for him yesterday. Any idea how it went? Was it possibly rescheduled?

I've not heard anything either. I've written him a letter asking questions about the contacts. In his first letter to me after this incident
"All done to cover up my book project of 22 yrs exploiting the corruption in the criminal justice system and Corrections. Just like move "Enemy of the State w/Will Smith. How I believe it developed: I wrote my local rep a startling letter telling my conspiracy theory in Feb. It even spooked me. He wrote and said he sent the letter to the MDOC and I believe the 'bells' rangs. I wrote a GOP senator (Sonborn) in Thumb area w/more updated rattling letter and details of my find of 11,500 parole and probation abscenders (major reason for crimes happening (carjackings, child killings, robberies, car chases) - and believe he sent letter to my senator who may have done the same. And its an election year. What is so ironic is three months after three adults and one fetus died by a parolee who was released from prison because of human error. Oddly, I had just received this guys complete control prison file next to my computer when the raid happened. I was inputting data on CPU and indicated it was not human error but MDOC's SOP. Many letters to inmates (my diary of finds) showed how state was purposely releasing high recidivism attendees and denying releases to low recidivism offenders (many w/statistical 3% rcvd rates). I was finding newsclips in various newspapers and electronic articles showing arrests of characters but not indicating theywere on parole or probation, many w/fees (up to 9) that they had to pay or return to prison and finish big 'tails?? Obviously, they robbed to pay fees. The public fed stories mixed with national raids tracking down parole and probtioner abscenders only to show 1300 + found (mostly emphasizing sex offenders). Where would state put them if found? Very political problem @ state. I was uncovering how these characters were killing cops and kids and homeowners and how state officials were negating public safety for their own political gains. Mayor of Detroit 2/17 or 4/17 of 03 or 04, 10 p channel 50: the problem w/crime in Detroit are parolees and probationers" Story died + a few hundred caught to appease the public. Who was policing the media? Me!
So, I sit in jail, waiting for 6/30 prelim.
Randy continues to say:
They have othing to show . but my book scares the cops and AG. It's dynamite!

As you read, you can see the obsession Randy has with this book.

I have been pondering this whole thing a bit and would like to go back and make a brief comment. On July 27th, you wrote: "I did receive another letter from him today, and it is as scattered and bitter. He fears for his life.. He says out of three computers there was ZILCH, nothing. No downloads, no uploads, no credit cards, no chatting, NOTHING on child porm. Said he contained himself to adults sites. "I think all the publicity is to make people aware of me an discourage what they really found: my conspiracy theory on the MDOC & AG & Governor. I have no one to rebutt or tell what I was going [?]." The news reported that police said they found child porn and were comparing pictures from the Ypsilanti girl to see if she was in any of them. It was also reported that they found video with child porn. If they found this stuff, how can Randall tell you that they had "zilch"?

As for your last post, I find it hard to believe that the CJ system would have SOP to release more dangerous criminals with the understanding that the criminal would pay the system money for their freedom. Criminals would run or they would tell the media somehow. These are not people who like the system and would not easily go along with paying the man for their freedom. Not saying it is impossible, but saying it is very unlikely. My ears are open and I would like to hear more to make me a believer.

Any chance you could send me a copy of any of his letters to you so I can read and maybe post them here? Do you have the address where Randall is now so I could maybe contact him? Thanks.

Of course we hear his side of the story. Like I said, he is off the charts when it comes to this conspiracy theory. I can send you his address, but I choose not to post it on the web. All I know is there are a number of stories, his, the authorities and of course, the truth, which I think, is somewhere in between the two. E mail me and I'll send you the address. He is in Wayne County Jail and he was supposed to see the judge on the 27 of July but I have heard nothing. Yes, I agree with you that some of the statements Randy makes don't seem logical. He has little common sense.
He did have a photo book of women he had dated.

You can reach me at my address link in this post or by clicking on the "contact me" on the main webpage.