From The Free Lance-Star: Spotsylvania deputy faces abuse charge:
A Spotsylvania County sheriff’s deputy has been charged in Caroline County with sexually abusing a child.
Richard E. Lloyd Jr., 38, of Dawn is charged with aggravated sexual battery and taking indecent liberties with a child.
Spotsylvania Sheriff Howard Smith said Lloyd is on administrative leave from the office and that the issue was a personnel matter.
Lloyd was arrested Jan. 23 on the charges and was released from Pamunkey Regional Jail on a personal recognizance bond. The child is related to Lloyd, authorities said.
Caroline Sheriff Tony Lippa said Lloyd’s arrest stemmed from a call from the Department of Social Services requesting assistance.
Online court records show that Lloyd is set for a jury trial May 28 in Caroline County Circuit Court.
A special prosecutor from the Goochland County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office will be trying the case.
UPDATE: The article from The Caroline Progress.
And the Court of Appeals of Virginia opinion on the prior custody battle.
Funny, the only name I recall seeing was Ricky’s and that was printed in full by the FLS. Then the FLS printed that the child was related to him. The posted opinions came to express outrage that Cyndy was getting away with destroying his life again. Links to their court case were provided to prove just what a nut case she is! Unfortunately the court case has the children’s names but no one posted them in their opinions. If anything,everyone has agreed that the children here are the true victims. It’s just a shame they have been left in the hands of their true abuser. But once Ricky’s name is cleared, yet again, he will ensure that they receive all they help they need to be happy well adjusted children! Despite all the poison the Weaver’s poor into their little heads.
“Sheriff Lippa (posted by billmoney , Feb. 1, 2008 6:42 am)
There goes lippa again claiming he jumped to the rescue of social services.In sexual abuse cases its standard procedure to notify the sheriff office.What a joke…”
“After reading the .pdf file, I understand that Caroline County has a sheriff with an ex-girlfriend who would say anything to keep her kids.”
the 2 above quotes…….i’m lost…can somebody explain to me????
The first one looks like it was a dig at Lippa for trying to take the credit for doing something that was routine procedure (SO following up w/ DSS complaints).
The second one – the author corrected later. When she first read the story, apparently she thought Lloyd was a Caroline deputy.
be real – I was pretty surprised they put so much identifying info in the FLS article too.. that’s why I didn’t particularly buy their reasoning for taking the comments off. But I’m pretty sure we’ll see another, much more complete article from them at some point… just a shame it hasn’t happened yet!
justice4all-I was shocked & outraged at the identifying info! I followed up to inquire when they were going to write a more indepth article. According to FLS they will “write and post a more indepth article as the case proceeds, when Deputy Lloyd goes to court in May we will follow his trial at that time.” I inquired if, in the meantime, they were going to write an article clarify any of the misinformation that has already been printed, again all they said was they were doing “research” and would post an article as the case proceeds. I get the feeling that we wont see a more indepth article clarifing the misinformation, even when Ricky is able to disprove the allegations, yet again, and the charges can be dropped. It just makes me sick that not only can the Cyndy Weaver and her family continue to destroy Ricky’s life, but then to have your name & reputation dragged through the mud because somebody didn’t want to get their facts straight and do their job right the first time. And yes, I’m referring to the Investigator, the reporter, the Commonwealth Attorney that signed the Warrant, all of them. Granted VA is not a “child friendly” state when it comes to protecting it’s children-we either jump the gun or we ignore it & loose them in the cracks. But come on, their has to be some medium/common ground where law makers, health care professionals, etc. can agree how to protect VA’s children’s. And do so fairly and justly; because this was not.
~
I have no doubt that this will effect the children, b/c really they are the ones who will lose in this. Who wants to grown up knowing their Mom tried to drag their dad through the mud just b/c she wanted them back…well that’s love for ya. Unfortunately for Mr.lloyd he will be treated like any other citizen with these charges – these charges in every case be it wrong or not should be handled the same, b/c this happens on so many different levels that are “actual”. Is this fair to him? No. Innocent until proven guitly? I think not. Hopefully when all is done, the court will see through the mothers miserable attempt, yet again, to hold onto a sense of what it feels like to be a mom. Maybe then she will realize the difference in playing mom and being one.
Obviously she’s grasping for reality with a feel for insanity.
My thoughts go out to Mr. lloyd and his family for having to retain the useless knowledge that she breathes the same air.
For anyone wondering about the legality/process of an “information”… it is the CA (and not a judge or grand jury) that initiates it the prosecution this way.
Relevant sections below…
—————-
§ 19.2-216. Definition of indictment, presentment and information
An indictment is a written accusation of crime, prepared by the attorney for the Commonwealth and returned “a true bill” upon the oath or affirmation of a legally impanelled grand jury.
A presentment is a written accusation of crime prepared and returned by a grand jury from their own knowledge or observation, without any bill of indictment laid before them.
An information is a written accusation of crime or a complaint for forfeiture of property or money or for imposition of a penalty, prepared and presented by a competent public official upon his oath of office.
—————–
§ 19.2-217
“An information may be filed by the attorney for the Commonwealth based upon a complaint in writing verified by the oath of a competent witness…”
——————
Virginia Rules of the Supreme Court
Rule 3A:6. The Indictment and the Information.
…”(d) Form. The indictment or information need not contain a formal commencement or conclusion. The return of an indictment shall be signed by the foreman of the grand jury, and the information shall be signed by the Commonwealth’s attorney.”
Sorry, you’re right about the process for information. My mistake.
Although, I would say the use of information could be to Lloyd’s benefit. Right now he’s slated to be tried in May, if they had waited and gone through JDR Court for a preliminary hearing, he probably wouldn’t have been tried until after July or October (since the grand jury in Caroline County only meets four times a year). In the mean time, he’s not working and has this hanging over his head.
I would say not being able to work for months, having these horrible accusations hanging over your head, and not being able to see your kids is just about as bad as it gets.
Is it safe to assume that this is Deputy Lloyd’s father?:
http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2008/022008/02272008/359429
Yes, it is. Not only has Ricky been dealing with the “horrible accusations” his entire family has been dealing with this also.
Yes Timothy, it is. This family has been through more so far in 2008 (and the past few years for that matter) than any family should have to endure.
Of course, The Free-Lance Star couldn’t even get the content they published in the obituary in the above link correct. Ricky isn’t married. Thankfully, The Times-Dispatch ran the information correctly.
§ 19.2-217
“An information may be filed by the attorney for the Commonwealth based upon a complaint in writing verified by the oath of a competent witness…”
——————
>>regarding this, who on earth was the “competent witness” for the information capias??? I can’t imagine!!! Certainly not the Investigator (Sue Call) on this case…she didn’t even do 1/2 of her job…maybe she was out to make a name for herself. And a name for herself has she made….no wonder female officers and detectives get such a bad rap–when you’ve got people like Inv. Call handling cases like she did on this it makes it look like just because she’s a female she sided w/ the mom. Looks like to me she took the mom’s word without doing any more investigating…
Deputy Lloyd’s father has been sick for over a year…Cindy has known this and did not allow the kids to see their grandfather–they had to go to court for a judge to order ONE visitation for the kids to see their grandfather before he passed away….and it was only for 45 minutes, and WITH SUPERVISION (who happened to be a uniformed police officer from {you guessed it!} Caroline County!!!) That right there tells you what kind of person Cindy Weaver is–she would not allow her kids to go see their dying grandfather (who they are crazy about) so it had to be court ordered….what a waste of air & space she is. Hopefully justice will prevail sooner rather than later, for the kids’ sake. We’re keeping them in our prayers….
Yeah, I was wondering who the “competent witness” was also. But no matter who it was (and I’m guessing it was Call), the Commonwealth’s Attorney should’ve never signed off on it without looking into it(or directing the Sheriff’s Office to look into it) more. They’ve all made a name for themselves with people from Richmond to Fredericksburg… and not a good one. And Sue Call certainly isn’t the only woman involved in this case that’s giving female police officers (and women in general) a bad rap…
Hopefully next week will bring some new (and positive) developments!
I have know Cynthia Weaver for well over 20 years. I have spend a lot of time with the whole Weaver family. They are not nut cases, they are not monsters like some here seem to think. They are a loving family who only want what is best for those two precious children who by they way in my opinion had been living in hell while in their fathers care. I have looked into those two children’s eyes while they were in their fathers care and I saw the pain and suffering in their eyes, have you? I’m sure you haven’t! Cindy lives for her two children they are her whole life. She would do anything to make sure they are safe. Her and those two children are the ones that have suffered while that monster was allowed to have custody of them, my heart aches for those two children and the horrible pain and suffering they have had to go through while in their fathers care. Thank god they are now in a safe environment with their Mother. The simple truth is Ricky hates the Weavers and will stop at nothing to hurt them and destroy their good name, even if it means hurting his own two children to do it. I can only hope and pray that justice prevails and Ricky Lloyd is sent to prison for a very very long time!
AMothersLove – I think it’s pretty obvious here that Cindy would “do anything.” She’s done it — and gone far beyond what people would ever imagine. Ricky isn’t a monster. If he were, I doubt the counselor, guardians, social workers, and judges (of 3 different levels of the court system) would’ve elected to give him custody over Cindy if he were causing horrible pain & suffering. Not to mention the investigators from at least 3 different LE agencies that cleared him before. The truth is that he was awarded custody before because he was the more fit parent. If there was so much obvious pain & suffering, why didn’t any of those trained professionals see it? Or the kids’ doctors? Or their teachers? Or any other mandated reporter they came into contact with? I bet I know the reason: it didn’t exist.
And before you accuse him of hurting his kids based solely on the charges- let’s remember who has now instigated this situation (twice now). A second time – even though she eventually admitted after the first time that she didn’t think anything had happened. As much as Ricky & Cindy may not have gotten along – he didn’t isolate those kids from an entire faction of their family. She did. He allowed extra visitation time to let them participate in activities, let her occasionally pick them up from school even though she wasn’t supposed to, and generally tried to work with her. How did she respond? She abused it — even threatening legal action one weekend when the kids were going to be late for visitation because they wanted to participate in an event to raise money for their dying grandfather.
What else did she do? She tried to make them think that half her family didn’t care about them by not allowing them to take calls from anyone in Ricky’s family (including their young cousins) when one of them was ill earlier this year. She taught them that it’s not really important to rally around your family and support each other in times of crisis; after all, she wouldn’t allow them to spend more than 45 minutes with their grandfather (with supervision) before he died. That is the legacy she’s created for her kids. I hope that she’s proud of herself.
And I can only pray that those kids will understand some day how hard EVERYONE in Ricky’s family (as well as their friends) has fought for their well-being since day one.
And as for ruining a good name? Ricky has said nothing about the Weavers to try to “ruin their name” or harm them – but they have certainly done that to him. I can’t possibly think of someone who’s name has been DRAGGED THROUGH THE MUD as the result of another person as much as Ricky’s has because of Cindy. Their hostility has cost him his livelihood and his children temporarily.
I hope that justice prevails too – for the children’s sake. You should start preparing yourself for that day too– when that “justice” is not Ricky in prison, but his name cleared, his kids back with him, and Cindy finally feeling the repercussions of everything that she has done.
Virginia Court of Appeals opinion: Cynthia Weaver v. Richard E. Lloyd, Record No. 0224-06-2:
Lloyd must have known a lot of judges if he knew the JDR judge and the three judges on the Virginia Court of Appeals.
justice4all, So all of this hasn’t been hard on the Weaver family? Oh please, they have been living in hell since this whole thing started. The children are the victims here lets not forget. I get so sick of reading post after post here saying Cindy is an unfit Mother and the Weavers are unfit people. They ARE not the ones awaiting trial for child sexual abuse. You can not tell me that if you were in Cindy’s shoes and your children came to YOU and said their father was sexually abusing them that YOU as a parent wouldn’t do anything in YOUR power to remove them from that situation.
Someone said it best early on here and I quote, “She lost custody because the judge had ties to his parents”. That right there is why Cindy wasn’t given custody of those children.
AMothersLove – This should be what is the best interest of these 2 children. The facts from the past speak for themselves. I’m sure that facts from the currect accusations will prove the same! This is all a game to Cindy and her mother. A game that them love to continue to play using their children/grandchildren as pawns !
This will be proven again; Parental alienation !
You say that “Cindy lives for her 2 children and they are her whole life”. Everbody
know the nobody should ever make their sole existence surround their children. THAT IS CALLED OBSESSIVE ! You, a family friend even called Cindy a obsessive mother. You consider this a positive trait for a stable mother ? You consider these 2 children to be in a safe enviroment with a obsessed individual? COME ON !
You say “Cindy only wants what is the best for her children”. Then please explain why she feels that these 2 precious children MUST be alienated from the entire Lloyd family not just Ricky? Tearing them from their family, home, school, teachers, friends is not in their best interest, it is not healthy. They are not balls to be bounced around from place to place !
Cindy/Weaver family should have looked for another solution that was truly in the childrens’ best interest. A true mother would not have just reacted !
If you are a true friend, as you say you are, then you would find a way to help Cindy and her mother get some help for the own issues and insecurities.
This would only help these 2 precious children and their entire family!
Let’s help the children !
Good points Driven. I won’t rehash them.
AMothersLove – Trust me, I haven’t forgotten that the children are the victims. That’s why everyone should be looking out for THEIR best interest. You should read them and see Timothy’s post above. The “obsessive” behavior that Cindy has exhibited and even you have referenced is what all of the courts have said was damaging those children. Not Ricky. The alienation is what was damaging those children. Not Ricky. And yet she continues to attempt to prevent them from seeing their siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins? That’s in their best interest? You support that?
And one more thing – the prospect that Ricky was awarded custody because his family “knew people” is outrageous. First of all, custody and visitation hearings were postponed a number of times in this case so they could find a neutral judge FOR BOTH PARTIES (given their respective professions). That’s why they’ve had a different judge almost every time they’ve been to court. And even so, if Cindy and her attorney really felt they were wronged, any decent attorney would’ve known that he/she could file a JERC complaint. A commission would’ve investigated that allegation, disciplined the judge if that were the case, and potentially even reheard the matter. Wonder why that wasn’t done? Because everyone knew there was no impropriety there.
AMothersLove – First of all I doubt that the children came to Cindy and stated that their father was sexual abusing them. As in the past Cindy is persistance in digging into everything and putting words into one of their mounth and thoughts into their head.
You have no idea whether I have ever been thru something like this or not. But if I was in her shoes. Absolutely I would have addressed it. I would have first talked to Ricky and heard his side. Then I probably would have seeked immediate professional attention. NOT LAWFUL/LEGAL ATTENTION. I would have take them to their primary pediatrician/physican for answers. I would not jumped to a snap decision expecially when I knew I was found on numerours occassion of not having inacurate information. She should have tried to help the children not be so quick to point the blame wihtout research first!
Oh, please think for your self, stop allowing the Weaver family to brain wash you.
First off I do think for myself and I never once said Cindy showed obsessive behavior, so stop putting words in my mouth! Cindy did take the children to the doctor when they first told her of the abuse, but Ricky was slick in how he did the abuse and it didn’t show up in exams. Also, no one is brain washing me I have complete faith in all of the Weavers. The Lloyd’s, now that is a whole other story. Any grandmother that sits by why her own grandchildren are being abused is just as guilty as the father is IMO! The grandmother I am talking about is grandmother Lloyd herself. Ask her what she told one of the grandchildren to do when said grandchild came to her with what the father was doing to said child!
“[…] but Ricky was slick in how he did the abuse and it didn’t show up in exams.”
Virginia Court of Appeals opinion: Cynthia Weaver v. Richard E. Lloyd, Record No. 0224-06-2:
Well, apparently Lloyd is like John Gotti if he managed to fool that many people.
Grandma Weaver & Cindy are guilty of Parental Alienation !
Grandma and Cindy are guilty of doing what ever they can to isolate these children from everyone but themselves.
Guilty of encouraging the child and grandchild to cloud the facts !
Just let the Court Records Speak the fact !
We can all have our own opinions but FACT is FACT !
So I guess you are saying that all the Judges, social workers, doctors, ect are all misinformed and Ricky Lloyd and his family are so slick they have been able to fool everybody but Cindy, her mother and you ? HA ! Don’t make me laugh.
Cindy isn’t the one awaiting trail for child sexual abuse. But she could be if someone made the same allegations about her and her actions!
Hopefully, this time the court system will punish Cindy for the false allegations.
Hopefully, Richmond City Police Department will punish Cindy for her actions thru all these false allegations.
God will punish the ones that are saying false information.
AMothersLove–when the Weavers get counseling, you need to go with them!! Your accusations are outrageous about the Lloyd grandmother knowing about the abuse and allowing it–and be careful, you’re bordering on slander there. The other comments are based on facts–just look at the court document!!! (And by the way, the date/time of your comment is interesting–I know the significance!)
As for your other statement, “You can not tell me that if you were in Cindy’s shoes and your children came to YOU and said their father was sexually abusing them that YOU as a parent wouldn’t do anything in YOUR power to remove them from that situation.” CINDY admitted herself that her kids have been coming to her for 3 YEARS with accusations and she never reported it during those three years because she didn’t want to lose any of her visitation time with them–that sounds like to me the GREAT MOTHER that she is supposedly is allowed her children to be abused and did nothing about it!!! You know why? Because she KNOWS the abuse is not occurring–any sane mother who thought their child was being abused WOULD NOT allow it to go on for 3 years and do nothing about it, that’s ludicrous that she thinks someone would actually believe that!! And I have first hand knowledge that she said that, I heard her say it myself!!! And why does she think that the kids wouldn’t disclose these allegations of abuse to any other trusted family member, teacher, bus driver, Sunday School teacher (the list could go on and on…) over those three years? But no–the ONLY ones they have supposedly disclosed statements of abuse to are the “MOTHER” and cuckoo GRANDMOTHER WEAVER. If AMOTHERSLOVE really looked into the eyes of the kids she would see that they were happy and healthy kids–Take a closer look, you might now see the emotional and psychological abuse they are now enduring by being put in the middle of this horrible nightmare.
I’m sure a lot of people that know Cindy will support her, and she does love her children more than anything–its just a distorted kind of love. Andrea Yates loved her children too, and look what she did to them. And its obvious she will do anything she can to “protect” them–she has pulled out all of the stops already. This time she got her child to say the words that Cindy said back in 2004–as a police officer, she knows that if a child makes a statement to a health care professional it has to be reported to the police and CPS. She learned from her mistakes in 2004 and this time put her daughter up to it. How disgusting is that??!! And as far as the arrest and (lack of) investigation, well we’ll just have to wait and see how that works out–I mean, we are talking about po-dunk Caroline County–its pretty clear what they have done and haven’t done.
I’m curious, what does AMOTHERSLOVE have to back up that Lloyd & his family are monsters? Are you basing your name-calling solely on what you’ve learned from your good friend Cindy? Look back over those 20 years you’ve known her and think about the changes in her personality and behavior during that time, especially in the last 7 years. If you’re such a good friend to her, you’ll do something to help her get straightened out before she loses all contact with the kids forever. Its a shame to stand by and let a friend bury herself….
AMOTHERSLOVE – You’re big on these “conspiracy theory” things, aren’t you? Cindy didn’t get custody because Ricky’s family knew the judge (and not because he rightfully deserved it). The abuse didn’t “show up” in medical exams because Ricky was too slick (not because it didn’t happen)… and now their grandmother was participating in some kind of cover up? Wow – you’ve really hit a low there. I’m sure that when Ricky’s name gets cleared, it’ll be because he paid off the jury or had some kind of improper influence with the special prosecutor too, right? (Special prosecutor that had to appointed because Cindy’s custody attorney works for Caroline, I might add).
Maybe your friend forget to mention to you & everyone else that there is no active protective order or DSS/CPS finding of abuse in this case. Those are civil sanctions – not criminal – and involve lower burdens of proof. Still: nothing. What does that tell you about the strength of the allegations here?
I could go on and on and dissect every point you’ve attempted to make. But it’s not worth it – you’re more concerned about people exposing your friend’s actions than the actual well-being of the children she’s supposedly trying to protect.
Read HolySmokes! post. You might not want to be so quick to talk about what your friend did/didn’t do or said/didn’t say. You should consider the fact that she might not be telling you the same thing she has sworn to under oath and that is documented in courtroom transcripts and other official documents.
And HolySmokes! has some good advice too. If you really want what’s best for the children as you suggest that you do- try an intervention with your friend first.