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ISSUES WITH JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL

Child Goes Missing in Maine; Man Who Found Caylee Anthony`s Remains Suing Casey Anthony

Aired December 21, 2011 - 19:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST, "ISSUES WITH JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL": Tonight the father of a missing girl finally speaks. Ayla Reynolds dad says he has no idea what happened to his 20-month-old daughter who vanished right from his home. This as investigators comb the area for any sign of little Ayla. What happened to this precious little girl? And is her father really telling the whole truth?

Another sports related pedophile scandal in Pennsylvania. Prominent sports writer Bill Conlin retires after three women and one man accuse him of sexually molesting them when they were children. One of the accusers is his own niece, and she claims he molested other relatives too. Will more alleged victims come forward now?

Plus more drama for reality TV`s royal family. The Kardashians hit with claims they use child slave laborers to fuel their multimillion dollar clothing empire and allegedly pay workers a dollar an hour despite what some claim are brutal conditions. This on top of Kim`s controversial 72- day marriage. Is the public getting fed up with the Kardashians?

We`re taking your calls.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: A desperate search tonight in Maine for missing toddler Ayla Reynoldss.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We canvassed the neighborhoods and talked to neighbors and produced nothing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A neighbor on the opposite side of the house on the backside of the house from where Ayla went missing did hear a loud noise around 3:30 in the morning, so loud in face that her dogs woke up and started barking.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Someone in his family or someone himself has done something with Ayla.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If anybody out there knows anything, and I suspect that probably someone out there may know where the little girl is, please call us. To the parents and other family members and relatives all I can say is they are completely cooperative at this particular time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to see her face. I want to see her eyes. I want to feel her touch. I want to tell her I love her, and I feel like I can`t protect her right now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Good evening. Jane Velez-Mitchell coming to you live from New York City. Jaw dropping new developments tonight as missing baby Ayla`s father finally breaks his silence. Tonight Justin DiPietro, the father of the missing 20-month-old Ayla Reynolds, is fighting back against insinuations by the missing child`s mom that he had something to do with his daughter`s disappearance. Cops say they have no suspects but the two of them were in the middle of a bitter tug of war over this beautiful, angelic child.

Little Ayla was at her dad`s house when last Thursday the mother, who just got out of rehab filed for custody. The next night the dad says he put the little girl to sleep at 8:00 p.m. and discovered her missing the next morning. So nobody checks on a one-year-old child for 12 hours? A small army of cops scour the area searching woods, draining streams, sifting through dumpsters and neighborhoods, going into houses. No sign of the child. Ayla`s mom has not been shy about laying the blame squarely on Ayla`s dad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRISTA REYNOLDS, MOTHER OF MISSING AYLA: Somebody in his family or him himself has done something with Ayla. And if he has, all he`s got to do is come out and just say it. Just come out and talk to me. Come out and just tell me where she is, because I want to know where she is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: But tonight the dad is fighting back, saying he knows nothing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have no idea what happened to Ayla or who is responsible. I will not make accusations or insinuations towards anyone until the police have been able to prove who`s responsible for this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: We had to have someone read the dad`s statement because he wouldn`t read it himself. Why not? Don`t parents of missing kids go on camera and beg for the child`s return? The dad also accused the child`s mom of lying herself, denying her claim that she had been kept from the child since last month.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have had no contact with him. He`s had no contact with me. All I know is he`s the last man to see my daughter, and all I want to know is where she is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Contrary to some statements floating around out there, I have been in communication with Ayla`s mother over the last couple of weeks. The Waterville police have the transcripts from my phone for verification of those communications.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So who can we believe? Is little Ayla a pawn in a power struggle between her parents who are estranged? Call me. 1-877-JVM- says. Straight out to CNN`s Chris Knowles live on the scene in Waterville, Maine. Chris, there was just an emotional church vigil for the missing girl. Tell us about it. And were either of her parents there?

CHRIS KNOWLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jane, her parents weren`t there nor have they been for the search in the area today. They were not here tonight. No family members as far as we could see tonight. We had heard earlier in the evening late afternoon we heard from one of the event organizers who told us that both Trista Reynolds and her father had planned to be here tonight. The other issue complicating that might be the weather. Again, according to this event organizer, the weather was forcing her grandfather, Ayla`s grandfather, to take it easy on the roads and was delayed. However, this vigil was going on for more than a little bit, and we did not see him or Trista here tonight.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Or the dad, the dad either, the one who issued the statement that we had to read because he didn`t read it himself?

KNOWLES: That`s right, Jane. The dad hasn`t been here and as far as we can tell from police and other officials here that he has not been part of the search.

Now, Trista said at one point this week that she was told to stay away from the search and stay away from the investigation. The police chief was asked about that today and denied that and doesn`t know where that is coming from. The only place where they are denied access is the home where Ayla was last seen and that home where she was sleeping when she reportedly went missing. That home is now guarded by a police officer, and no one except police is allowed to go in and out.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And according to police sources, there`s no sign of forced entry at that home from which the child disappeared mysteriously.

I want to go to Ronnie Reynolds who is the missing girl`s uncle on the mother`s side. Ronnie, can you hear me? Ronnie?

RONALD REYNOLDS, JR., AYLA REYNOLDS UNCLE, (via telephone): I can.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. I know you have an explanation as to why Trista, the mother of little missing Ayla, was not at the vigil tonight. Tell us.

RONALD REYNOLDS: Let me clear that up real quick, OK? We did not go because of the way the weather was. My father was afraid that if we got into a car accident because of the way the weather was, you know, we wouldn`t be here for Ayla. So that --

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right, just take a deep breath. I know it`s frustrating and you`re going through a lot of emotions right now, Ronnie. So just hang in there. I have some more questions for you. The missing girl`s dad also explains why Ayla was in his custody instead of Trista`s. Listen to what the dad said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ayla was in my sole custody at the time of her disappearance per agreement between her mother and I because she was temporarily unable to care for Ayla. I have shared every piece of information possible with the police.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right, now, Jessica, Ayla`s mom, went into rehab for alcohol abuse back in October. She left the child with her sister, and my understanding, Ronnie, is that the father came in while the mom was in rehab and took the child with the help of child services. So he says they had an agreement. To me it sounds like they had a disagreement. What do you know, Ronnie?

RONALD REYNOLDS: OK, first off, they did have an agreement, OK. When Trista was in rehab, they did have an agreement for Justin to take care of Ayla while she was there. Now, DHS, on the other hand, said when Trista got out of rehab, she could take back Ayla. Ayla was supposed to go back to her mom. And that never happened.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So Trista got out of rehab and she was trying to get her child back. And are you saying that dad wouldn`t give the child back?

RONALD REYNOLDS: No. Her father would not bring her back. He canceled doctor appointments. He canceled visitations with Trista. I`m sorry. This doesn`t make sense. Where is my 20-month-old niece? You know, he had the agreement with Trista and then violated it.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: We all want to know where the niece is. That`s why we`re all here right now. Let`s talk a little bit about what was going on in the house that night. Police seized two cars from the father`s home. The last place Ayla was seen was in that home. One car belonged to the dad, Justin. The other one we`re going to show you is being towed here. It belongs to an unnamed woman. We`re hearing reports that some claim it`s Justin`s girlfriend. OK, meantime, the father reportedly lives in the house with his mother.

So we got lots of people potentially in the house that night. Cops say there was no sign of forced entry. So Lisa Bloom, how can a child disappear from a house with all these adults and other people including a little baby who was sleeping with her in the same room hearing anything? And who doesn`t check on a child who is 20 months old for 12 hours?

LISA BLOOM, ATTORNEY, AT THEBLOOMFIRM.COM: OK. Let`s get real and rule out some factors. If she had been kidnapped by a stranger, there would be forced entry and there would be a demand for ransom. That has not happened. She`s frankly awfully young to be the victim of a stranger abduction. That would be very unusual for a 20-month-old child.

In the context of this custody dispute, the father is naturally the one we`re going to look at first. I think all fingers point back to him. Having said that, of course, he`s presumed innocent. He`s not a suspect yet. There may still be a good explanation, but we need to hear that pretty soon or everyone is going to be looking very, very hard at this father.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Exactly. We`ve gotten a written statement that we have to read. We had to have a producer read it because we haven`t seen him. We don`t have a picture to show you of the dad.

We`re going to go out to Carla in Maine. Carla, you`re there in the state where all of this is going down. Your question or thought?

CARLA, CALLER: Yes. First of all, Jane, I want to say I absolutely love your show. I`ve been following you for years. I commend HLN on being an advocate for all of these wonderful little children that we absolutely need to find.

I have just moved to Waterville from a major metropolitan area, figuring myself I am a single parent of a nine-year-old little girl, figuring it would be a very safe place to bring up my daughter. I actually made the decision about a month ago to move back to this major metropolitan area that I just left because of what I have seen around here and in this state since we have moved here, Jane.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I have to ask you to cut to the chase. What are you talking about?

CARLA: There have been -- I have seen young parents who are definitely under the influence who actually have physical custody of their children walking down the street screaming and yelling at them. I want to know where is DHS? What`s the biological connection? Is DHS, is the state doing their job?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Carla, you`re making great points. Why wasn`t children`s services on top of this situation? This little girl has a broken arm right now, which she got on the father`s watch. She disappeared with a broken arm.

We`re taking your calls. 1-877-JVM-says. More on the search for Ayla Reynolds, next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Trista is a single mother of two. I wouldn`t call it problems. I would call it situations. And Justin, on the other hand, he didn`t want to be the father. He said that many, many times.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRISTA REYNOLDS: I think maybe he knows where she is. I sometimes think that maybe, like, you know, did it get a little rough for him? He refused to send me a picture and refused to let me talk to her. Now I`m starting to think, has she been missing for a little bit and he`s just now doing something about it, or did she really go missing Friday night?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Baby Ayla`s mother, Trista, announcing she hasn`t seen her daughter since last month and now questioning if her daughter really went missing on Friday night as the father contends.

Pat Brown, criminal profiler, a neighbor reportedly heard a noise at about 3:00 in the morning that caused h d her dog to start barking. Another neighbor claims she saw or heard a car pulling up. All of this commotion, adults in the house, nobody notices the child is missing until the next morning?

PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER: Yes, Jane, you`ve got a father in there who is supposed to take care of his child and apparently there`s comings and goings and things happening and he`s sleeping through it.

I find his statement amusing where he says I don`t know what happened to Ayla. Well, let me see. There`s two choices. You did something to her or she was abducted. Which one is it? If you don`t know she was abducted, then you must know that you did something to her. So his demeanor has been extremely cold and uncaring. It doesn`t seem like he`s concerned about finding her or helping in any way. He has no ideas. That`s just ridiculous. Everybody has ideas if their child goes missing. They have tons of ideas. You have to knock them down and say it`s ridiculous. It`s not aliens. He`s thinking of nothing. He knows nothing.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Throughout all of this search, by the same token, Trista, the missing child`s mother, has been holed up in a hotel in Portland. We have video of the hotel more than an hour away from where the child disappeared. Nancy Grace asked Trista, her mother, Trista`s mother, the grandmother of the child about this last night. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY GRACE, HLN HOST: Explain to me why the mom is staying 80 miles away from where the baby disappeared, because I have to tell you, ma`am, I would be laying in the street screaming "Where`s my baby" trying to find the baby. What`s she doing 80 miles away?

BECCA HANSON, GRANDMOTHER OF AYLA REYNOLDS: She was told by the Waterville police department not to be in Waterville.

GRACE: I don`t understand why.

HANSON: She came with me and her dad and her brother and her sister and we`re waiting patiently for something to come up with this child.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: That doesn`t make a lot of sense to me because, Chris Knowles, CNN correspondent, I understand you asked the police about that. What did they say?

KNOWLES: Jane, they don`t know anything about that. They were asked that question directly and their response was, well, we don`t know about that. We`re not sure where that`s coming from. They did say, and I asked again about that statement given by the father, Justin. I said do you find that statement to be credible? The police chief said that statement is what it is. It comes from Justin, not from an attorney. And that`s all he would say regarding the statement.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right, well, we`ve got another caller from Maine where this is going down. Pauley from Maine. Your question or thought?

PAULEY, CALLER: Hi, Jane. I was wondering, a child at that age would be getting routine checkups, shots, et cetera. Was there at any point there that the doctor had seen old injuries or supposedly how he had fallen on his daughter and broken the arm, if the doctor suspected old injuries as well?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: It seems like a lot of people drop the ball in the case of this missing child. The child had a broken arm at the time of her disappearance that occurred on the father`s watch. He claimed he fell on her by accident. Ronnie, you are the child`s uncle. You have said that you claim that the child often came home from visits with the dad with injuries?

RONALD REYNOLDS: She used to come home every time from her father`s house and she would have bruises, or one time she couldn`t walk for three weeks. And now she has a broken arm, and now she`s missing? It doesn`t make sense. It doesn`t make sense.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Just on the surface, I happen to be spending the evening last night with a man who has a child, and he checked on that child every 15 minutes or every 10 minutes. There was a noise that the child made or just a concern on his part, and I was visiting and he would run off and check on the child.

So right there that tells you just on the basic child rearing ABCs that you don`t put a child to bed at 8:00 p.m. and then check on the child the next morning 12 hours older. Little kids that are 20 months old, they need to eat, they need to drink, they cry, they burp. They need to be attended to.

All right, thank you, fantastic panel.

Up next, more legal trouble for Casey Anthony. You will not believe who`s suing her this time.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roy Casey is an interesting guy. He`s the one who found little Caylee`s body blocks from the Anthony home.

ROY KRONK: I just found a human skull.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know I haven`t done anything wrong so I don`t have a reason to be fearful or troubled by any of this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Is Casey Anthony headed back to court? You bet you, because three people are now suing her. Meter reader Roy Casey is filing suit against Casey Anthony. Casey is suing Casey for defamation, and he wants a trial in front of a jury. Whoops. We all remember kronk as the man who found little Caylee Anthony`s body and made the 911 call.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRONK: I am in a wooded area down by the school. I need you like now. I just found a human skull.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Kronk says during the infamous trial that we all watched, Casey through her lawyers published false statements about him. Quote, "In an attempt to find someone other than herself to blame for the tragic death of her child, Casey Anthony authorized her attorneys to make false and malicious statements against Kronk and to portray him as the murderer of her child." Casey`s attorney Jose Baez did attack Kronk during opening statements.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSE BAEZ, ATTORNEY FOR CASEY ANTHONY: You will not be able to trust a thing having to do with Mr. Kronk, because he had control of Caylee`s remains for obviously several months. Where he found her, we do not know, nor will we ever know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Why is Kronk suing for $15,000? That doesn`t seem like a lot of money. Is this about money or just about something else? Straight out to criminal defense attorney Joe Episcopo. Do you think he`s got a case? Will we see a civil trial? Is Casey Anthony going to have to show up in court again?

JOE EPISCOPO, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: No, no, no, to all those questions. First of all, you can`t sue me for something my lawyer says. Secondly, you can never sue anybody for things said in the courtroom. That`s privileged. So there really is no lawsuit here against Casey Anthony. In fact, I`m not aware of any statements that she would have made that could be used.

Secondly, this is just a publicity thing. Let`s see if we can get involved in the Casey Anthony case and help my law practice and get my name out there. I think it`s a frivolous lawsuit that will go nowhere. And if he ever does take her deposition, she can take the Fifth Amendment because federal authorities could always prosecutor her for violating Caylee`s civil rights. So it`s not going to go anywhere. Morgan and Morgan won`t get anywhere nor is this attorney.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I have to say that Casey Anthony has taken the Fifth recently in another suit against her. Kronk isn`t the only one suing Casey. Texas Equusearch, Tim Miller, he is suing for the money they spent looking for little Caylee, when, as you learned on the first day of the trial she was already dead. And the Zenaida Gonzalez is suing Casey for defamation. She says when Casey named her as Caylee`s baby sitter, it destroyed her life.

I wonder if all of these people have frivolous lawsuits or do you think any of them can stick against Casey?

EPISCOPO: You know, let`s just say Morgan and Morgan gets their judgment on Zenaida`s case because she did commit some defamation there. They`re not going collect it. That`s the point I`m trying to make. She doesn`t have to have money. You can conceal your money. You can set your money aside and be paid in different ways.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Excuse me, the state wants any money she makes because they want to get repaid for investigating and searching for a missing child who was already dead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had basically seven people go on record.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m sickened by these allegations.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will do everything that I can do first to vindicate Bill Conlin.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four alleged victims, two family members.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m very, very concerned about the age of these accusations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HLN HOST: Good evening, everyone. Jane Velez- Mitchell back with you live in New York City.

Another child sex scandal comes to light in the wake of charges against Jerry Sandusky. New allegations have once again rocked the world of sports; this time against a Hall of Fame writer.

This man, you`re about to see, Bill Conlin, was a columnist for the "Philadelphia Daily News" for decades until he suddenly retired just yesterday. He was one of the few sports writers in the world to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. But he is now facing allegations that he sexually assaulted a string of young children both male and female back in the 1970s.

Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STAN WISCHNOWSKI, EDITOR, "PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER": We had basically seven people go on record. Four alleged victims. Three family members who were corroborating what they were saying. So that sort of sped things up quite rapidly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: One of the accusers is Conlin`s niece who is now a prosecutor in New Jersey. She came forward when she learned that Conlin had grandchildren and she couldn`t stand by and allow them, she says, to be victimized.

Back in the 1970s, the parents of the alleged victims did not go to the police. The furious father of one of the alleged victims even heard what his daughter told him and confronted Conlin. "I was going to kill him he told the `Philadelphia Daily News` but then all of a sudden, Conlin started crying and the father thought it was so pitiful he did nothing." He now regrets it. "I wish I had done something more," says the father. "He swore to me that he had only touched her leg. I believed him."

So Conlin was never brought to trial. If these allegations against him are true, how many other children might he have allegedly assaulted in the decades he`s been out there with all that power and privilege?

His attorney, by the way, denies the charges and we invite his attorney or Bill Conlin himself on our show any time. We want to get all sides of the story. I want to hear from you. 1-877-JVM-SAYS, 1-877-586- 7297.

Straight out to my exclusive guest tonight, Paul Lauricella, the attorney for several of the victims. Paul, thank you so much for joining us tonight. Why did your clients decide to come forward now all these many decades later?

PAUL LAURICELLA, ATTORNEY FOR VICTIMS: You know, I think the real reason they wanted to do it was because it was the right thing to do. They`re not out for financial gain or at this point even criminal retribution. Those avenues aren`t even available to them.

I think what they really want to accomplish here is to increase public awareness and maybe get the word out to other people, other victims, either in this case or in other cases and to let people know that, you know, they don`t have to just hide in shame all these years. That sometimes the best way to prevent these things from happening is to come out in the open with them. I mean that`s the reason why this all happened in the first place because nobody did anything at the time.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, I understand that part of what prompted these victims to come forward after decades of silence was the Penn State scandal -- that`s what I`ve heard any way -- and watching Jerry Sandusky deliver bizarre interviews such as this one from the "New York Times". Check this out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JERRY SANDUSKY, FORMER ASSISTANT COACH, PENN STATE: If I say no, I`m not attracted to boys, that`s not the truth because I am attracted to young people, boys, girls --

JOE AMENDOLA, ATTORNEY FOR JERRY SANDUSKY: Yes but not sexually. You`re attracted because you enjoy spending time.

SANDUSKY: Right. I enjoy -- that`s what I was trying to say -- I enjoy spending time with young people. I enjoy spending time with people. I mean my two favorite groups are the elderly and the young.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So there Paul you see that the attorney for Jerry Sandusky has to jump in and say but not in a sexual way. Did the Penn State scandal and Jerry Sandusky`s bizarre interviews inspire these four accusers to come forward now?

LAURICELLA: You know, that interview reminds me when they say anything you say can and will be used against you; I think they were thinking about that interview. It did. It played a role in it.

If you look at this, this is like a trickle-down theory. The accuser comes forward in the Jerry Sandusky case and emboldens my clients here and hopefully they`ll embolden somebody else down the line. That`s the point of bringing these things out into the open.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. And here`s the really incredible part. Bill Conlin had written a column about Jerry Sandusky just last month. He wrote about why people stay silent in cases like this. This is a quote from his column. "Everybody says he will do the right thing. Get involved. Put his own butt on the line but the moment itself has a cruel way of suspending our fearless intentions."

Oh my gosh, I have to go out to Arnie Spanier, sports radio host; the arrogance of a guy who obviously knows that these allegations anyway are in his past because a dad had confronted him all those many years ago and he has the nerve to write a column about Jerry Sandusky?

ARNIE SPANIER, SPORTS RADIO HOST: Jane, first of all, just add him to the list of people that we need to go ahead and put a needle in his arm also. But you`re right. I heard that quote. Does that just make you sick?

It`s like he`s saying, until it comes down to deal with it, nobody is going to do anything. It`s like he`s thumbing his nose up at us saying you don`t have the guts to stop me and all my sick buddies out there because you had the chance to stop us and we did nothing about it.

That just eats me away and eats my heart away that we had a chance and he put this down on paper. Next time there won`t be a next time. We`ll get you and all your sick buddies.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. And by the way, I want to mention that this guy is 77 years old and all this stuff happened allegedly back in the 1970s. Bill Conlin has not spoken out. And his lawyer says the allegations are completely untrue. Let`s listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE BOCHETTO, ATTORNEY FOR BILL CONLLIN: I`m very, very concerned about the age of these accusations and the vagueness of them. And I will do everything that I can do first to vindicate Bill Conlin, his name and his wonderful reputation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Well, criminal charges can`t be brought. The statute of limitation has long passed. I had read, Lisa Bloom, that one of the reasons that these accusers came forward is that they want a change in this whole issue of statute of limitations when it comes to alleged child molestation.

LISA BLOOM, ATTORNEY, BLOOMFIRM.COM: Well, that`s a very important issue and one I`ve dealt with for many years. But first of all, the man`s presumed innocent. I think it`s completely irresponsible to talk about putting a needle in his arm. We don`t have a death penalty in this country for child molestation even if he were guilty.

But the statute of limitations is a real problem. I think it needs to be changed nationwide. People should at least be able to bring a civil suit later in life if they can prove it. They should at least get into the courthouse and be allowed to bring on their evidence and to prove a case if they have that evidence. No child molester should be able to rest easy on a technicality while I`m ok because the statute of limitation has run.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I find it very ironic that he was a commentator, Bill Conlin, for ESPN, the very network that broke the Sandusky story that inspired his accusers to come forward. That is really fascinating to me.

Paul Lauricella, what I don`t exactly understand is how these four got together at the same time and agreed to do all this at once. How did they know of each other? How did they learn of each other?

LAURICELLA: Yes. And just -- I`ll get to that in a second -- the statute of limitation issue is important because in New Jersey 1996 they changed it so that if there are victims out who were violated after 1996, those cases are still valid.

How did these people get together? It`s kind of a curious sequence of events. It basically had to do with one victim leading to another who talks to a mother who says well I knew about another thing that happened.

The interesting thing is you find out in cases like this that children think that nobody else knows but it`s whispered about and so everybody or more people in the community know than you think they knew and often the children are walking around in silence thinking that this is some deep dark secret that they have and then as they get older they find out, I knew about that. Didn`t you hear about so and so and who had so and so and that`s exactly what happened here.

I mean Blanchette was put in touch with the people who lived down the block from Mr. Conlin and one thing led to another and they decided they were going to do the right thing.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Ok. Let me go to the calls. Kenny in Indiana, your question or thought, Kenny?

KENNY, INDIANA (via telephone): Hi, Jane. Thanks for taking my call. My question is there is so much of this, when is the government and authorities going to do anything to correct the problem? I mean it`s been going on and on and on.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. But you can`t correct a problem you don`t know about. I think that the lesson here is for parents, if your child comes to you and says somebody touched me in a bad way or a funny way or it creeped me out, listen to the child. Don`t take the adult side automatically. Investigate it. Report it.

All right. Next, Kardashians.

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VELEZ-MITCHELL: It`s the holiday season and we`re out doing modest reasonable holiday shopping. Just a little bit to show love and, of course, we`re too busy to eat healthy, right? Wrong. There`s health food all over the place. You just have to find it.

Look at what I got at a cart on the street. These are chestnut. And believe it or not, they were actually roasting on an open fire. So, even when Jack Frost is nipping at your nose, you can make a healthy choice.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She wanted to have sort of a fairy tale wedding with all of her family and friends.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kim Kardashian is calling it quits on her husband number two.

KRIS JENNER: Certainly it wasn`t a sham. Certainly it wasn`t something for TV. We have enough going on, you know, on our show that we don`t have to make things up. She really felt like she was in love with him.

KIM KARDASHIAN, REALITY TV STAR: I married for love. Anyone that would, you know, get married for a TV show, it`s just, you know, ridiculous. It`s just sad that I even have to defend that.

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VELEZ-MITCHELL: First it`s a marriage meltdown and now a new drama for this infamous or famous reality TV family, the Kardashians.

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KARDASHIAN: How am I going to have my career and live in Minnesota?

KRIS HUMPHRIES, FORMER HUSBAND OF KIM KARDASHIAN: Baby, by the time you have kids, no one will probably care about you.

KARDASHIAN: He fell in love with me and I fell in love with him and now my feelings have changed. I failed at this. You don`t think I feel bad?

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VELEZ-MITCHELL: This time they are under fire for allegedly using slave labor to produce some of their fashion lines. "Star" magazine claiming the Kardashians are endorsing selling products that are manufactured in foreign sweat shop; they claim workers as young as 16. The magazine also claims the workers are abused and virtually imprisoned under terrible conditions.

Now an investigation has reportedly been launched to look into these disturbing allegations. I have to tell you. I have no idea. Not a clue as to what`s going on, on the other side of the world.

We want to be fair in this story. We have reached out to the Kardashians. We haven`t got a response. We`ll tell you what some of the other folks have said. They are invited on our show any time, any of them or their representatives to give their side of all this.

And we`re taking your calls. 1-800-JVM-SAYS.

Joining me now with the very latest on these charges, Alexis Tereszcuk, reporter for RadarOnline; again we have no independent confirmation but what is the claim?

ALEXIS TERESZCUK, REPORTER, RADARONLINE: Well, the claim is that the Kardashians they have quite a few product lines. They have their clothing line; they do shoes with a company called Shoe Dazzle. And they are having these products made in China.

They are made in factories that have absolutely horrific working conditions for their employees. They are very young. They are as young as 16. We`ve had reports that they`re making maybe a dollar an hour. They have just horrible working conditions. They`re not allowed to get up and go to the bathroom. These are basically slave labor and it`s in a sweat shop. And this is where Kardashian products are being made.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, I just want to point out that would be horrific, horrific, horrific if true. And it certainly wouldn`t be the first time we`ve heard about conditions in China being horrible. I`ve covered that story regarding many different products that are made.

Remember a couple of years back there was a Christmas ornaments that were being made and children were being exploited and this is a common theme beyond the Kardashians.

But everybody`s interested in the Kardashians. They have an empire worth many, many, many millions. They have clothing in stores -- clothing lines. And of course, they have "Keeping up with the Kardashians" on E!

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KARDASHIAN: You need to leave.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thanks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s all on camera.

Go with you Bentley that no one could afford. We don`t want your Bentley.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They`re rude.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Look, she`s crying. Do you hear her crying?

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VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. You know, it`s fun and games but it`s also very profitable. They racked in $65 million last year alone reportedly.

Now, I got to tell you, we reached out to the Kardashians for a response. We did not hear back. Again they are invited on our show any time. But Kris Jenner did speak to TMZ. And said, quote, "As far as I know the factories that are used to manufacture the Kardashian clothing and shoes have nothing terrible going on at all and the factories are very well-policed and meet factory standards." But then again, she also admitted she has not visited the factories.

So Lisa Bloom, my suggestion is that the Kardashians pick up and get on a private jet and go to China and do a surprise inspection and find out what the heck is going on and keep those cameras rolling and put it in their TV show. I think they have a moral obligation to do just that given that these allegations have surfaced.

BLOOM: Yes. And let`s be clear about the human rights report allegations. It`s even worse than a dollar an hour. It`s more like $15 a month because people are charged for rent and for uniforms and they`re not allowed to leave and they work very long hours in squalid condition.

But I want to emphasize that not all factories in China are like this. I mean there are many responsible companies that farm out their manufacturing to China now who do very tightly police what`s going on in those factories because they don`t want a scandal like this and maybe because they have a heart too.

And I think the problem with the Kardashians is they seem to just put their name on anything to make a buck. They`re very beautiful on the outside. But I question whether they`re soulless on the inside.

If you`re a celebrity and you put your name on something, you better make sure from beginning to end it`s done right or it`s going to blow up in your face and everyone is going to question what kind of a person you are. I think it`s a very important story, Jane.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I think it`s a very important story. And it appears that this is blowing up in their face a little bit. You have to wonder though, are people just getting sick of the Kardashians on some level. There was that 72-day marriage and then the filing for divorce. Millions of people watched the marriage and may have felt betrayed. They got emotionally invested in the marriage and then all of a sudden it`s over and people are claiming that it was just a big TV stunt.

On the other side of the break, we`re going to talk to a man named Frank who has started a Web site. BoycottKim.com. That`s right. You won`t believe how many people he`s gotten to sign up to BoycottKim.com. Frank on the other side.

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JOY BEHAR, HLN HOST: Probably -- what`s her name -- Kim. I get them all mixed up.

JENNER: I know. Me too. How do you think I feel?

BEHAR: The girls have been having a terrible week, the whole family. But in a way, it`s not a terrible week. Look at all the publicity you`re getting.

JENNER: You know what; what`s important to me is that Kim is ok and that she`s happy.

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VELEZ-MITCHELL: Is there blowback against the Kardashian empire? A Web site, boycottkim.com has gotten more than a quarter million signatures. Frank is with BoycottKim.com; why does this exist, this petition?

FRANK, FOUNDER, BOYCOTTKIM.COM: You know, Jane, Americans are having real problems right now. Your typical American family, they have to deal with issues of educating their children. They have to deal with issues of making sure that they have food to put on the table. And they`re frustrated to see, you know, a carnival barker or a clown like Kim Kardashian exploit their goodness just to make a profit for herself.

In your last segment you talked about child labor in China. We don`t have any facts relating to that but when so many Americans are out of jobs, our subscribers are asking us how did Kim Kardashian even dare to produce products within a different country and sell them to Americans?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let`s be fair. She`s not the only one. I mean I`ve gone to stores saying I`m going to buy American and have been unable to find anything that was made in America.

That`s why I like to use natural health food store products because when I go to the health food store a lot of it`s made in America.

FRANK: Correct.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I make a point of going out and buying that stuff and it dovetails also with the fact that I like health and natural products.

Kim`s getting more unwanted attention for unfashionable statements. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals mounted a new billboard in Beverly Hills criticizing her. It shows a picture of Kim wearing fur and reads "Kim these babies miss their mother. Is she on your back?" You can read all about PETA`s campaign on hlntv.com.

Lisa Bloom, wow.

BLOOM: Yes. I love that billboard because PETA also points out that Kim actually saw a video of how fur is made. You know animals are electrocuted, they`re skinned alive. Nobody should be wearing fur in this day and age. I certainly don`t. I don`t even wear leather or any animal products nor do I eat any.

But I don`t ask people to go that far. But fur? Do we really need it? I mean dozens of little animals that looked like this are killed in the most brutal possible way to make fur. It`s completely unnecessary. And you know, I think it will be nice if celebrities like Kim Kardashian would say I`m going to engage in cruelty-free shopping. I`m going to wear something that doesn`t harm animals.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: You know, Lisa, it may be a good way to her to turn her image around now that she`s taking some hits and say hey, I`m a good person and here`s how I`m going to show it. I`m going to go cruelty free.

BLOOM: And her sister doesn`t wear fur.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, really. Well, I certainly don`t.

BLOOM: Yes.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I want to say that I think that Kim Kardashian -- and I`ve never met her so she could be the nicest person under the sun -- but I think that she`s kind of a metaphor for our culture. We`ve become very superficial as every five seconds somebody, a child dies of malnutrition around the world. We engage in ever more consumption which is why I`m doing a Secret Santa with my family this holiday season where we all give each other one gift alone and that`s it. We`re trying to use recycled paper like newspaper or maybe my script copy for wrapping paper so we don`t destroy forests.

Kim Kardashian seems to just epitomize the me, me, me, me, me, anything I want I need at my pleasure. That`s what counts. And really what counts in life is being of service. That`s really the way to true happiness.

Thank you, fantastic panel.

BLOOM: Hear, hear.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Kim, if you`re watching, join our team.

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VELEZ-MITCHELL: We`re debating the Kardashians. Quick question or thought. Deni in Pennsylvania. Deni?

DENI, PENNSYLVANIA (via telephone): Hello.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Hi Deni, quick question or thought, dear?

DENI: Pardon me? I`m having a hard time hearing.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Quick question or thought. All right. Well, I`m going to give you a quick question or thought. My question is why are we so entranced with the Kardashians, Alexis Tereszcuk? If they do seem to epitomize a lot of the superficial values that are not what made America great.

TERESZCUK: It`s escapism. Not reality despite the fact that they have a reality show. It`s something that most of us will never have: tons of money, amazing clothes, private jet trips. But you know what; it makes us feel better about ourselves that we can say, you know what; we are not those people. We might not have that money but we`re a lot happier and we didn`t end our marriages in 72 days.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. And again I do feel there is redemption out there for Kim. Kim, give it all up.

Nancy Grace next.

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