Pastor’s Wife BEGS for Mercy After Daughters’ Abuse

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: All right. Can you pull that microphone, and ma'am, if you'll stand to the microphone, and I'll hear you. All right, go ahead. [00:00:22] Speaker 2: Now I want to thank you for the opportunity to speak to the court. I'm happy to bring all of us in the joy, hearing the thing that I can't do. Excuse me. The worst thing I could possibly imagine is the worst thing I could possibly imagine. There's not a day that goes by. I do not cry and pray for the Lord to heal the pain and trauma my girls have had to endure. [00:01:03] Speaker ?: My heart breaks for them every single day. I trust in the man that should have never trusted, and I will carry him for the rest of my life. [00:01:13] Speaker 2: I'm the one who went to the authority. My daughters are safe now. They are in loving homes where they are cared for and protected, and I am very grateful for them. And that is what better is most to me. I have not seen my children for more than three years. My love for them has never wavered and never will. And I will keep praying for the healthy, their happiness, and most of all, their healing for us both. Since the verdicts, I have been in the county jail. I have used that time to look hard at myself and to set goals for my life. I have a fight for the programs offered at the detention center, and I'm on the waiting list. While I wait, I have been leading Bible studies and teaching Spanish classes to the other whether in my unit, because I want to be useful and to do some good where I am. In prison, I plan to enroll in every educational program available to me to earn the highest degree I can. I intend to spend my time becoming a better person. I ask the court for mercy and for the chance to show that for the rest of my life, the rest of my life will be different. I respect this court. Thank you, Your Honor, for your time and for your hand. [00:02:33] Speaker 1: You are very welcome. [00:02:36] Speaker 3: Okay. State your name and if you can, spell your last name. [00:02:40] Wolfgang Vargas: My name is Wolfgang Vargas. My last name is V-A-R-G-A-S. I am an assistant pastor in Santa Ana Baptist Church. I work there full-time and I'm here to testify on behalf of my sister. Growing up, she was my parents' favorite daughter. I'm not ashamed to say that. Me and my other sister, we tried our best, but... She always stood out. Everyone she met, can't say a bad thing about her. Growing up, she was always listening to what my parents told her, always followed their advice. She always listened. She did what she was told to do. She went to nursing school for a bit and she made friends there. They all loved her. When word got out about what happened here, we had people who were praying, asking for her because they know the type of person that she is. I know the type of person that she is. And it saddens my family, they tried. And it breaks our hearts. But we try our best and we know that our God will work and help her out. And Mr. Vargas, did you travel here today? Yes, I traveled here with what we could to someone to be here for her because someone needed to be by her side and know that we support her and we're all here for her. Anything she needs. We sacrificed a lot. My dad had to close his business to move over here to try to help her out. My mom, Rod, they drove over here just to be here and support her. We've done everything for her and we'll keep doing everything we can for her. Okay. So who in the family is standing by her? My mom, my dad, my sister, our family in Mexico, our churches, my pastor, their pastor, everyone that's close to us, aunts. We're all here in support. And Mr. Vargas, will you remain in your sister's life while she's incarcerated? Yes, I speak with her every single weekend. I will keep on talking to her and never lose that connection with her. [00:05:19] Speaker 3: Okay. And when she's released, whenever that may be, would you still be willing to provide support to her? Of course. Okay. Is there anything else that you would like the court to know? [00:05:35] Wolfgang Vargas: Uh, simply that, um, my sister's in the coffee room person and I don't think it can be a single person in this world that knows my sister and can say one bad thing about her. That is all. [00:05:53] Speaker 3: Thank you, Mr. Vargas. [00:05:56] Speaker 1: I'll cross-exempt. Uh, I have a brief question. It may have been covered. I want to make sure. So prior to this, uh, uh, I guess this trial, if you will, were you close to your sister? [00:06:09] Wolfgang Vargas: Yes, but the long distance she made it hard since I lived in California and Tennessee. But she would, whenever they came over, we would spend time and we always, we would, she was the closest I was always with, with not my smallest sister, but her because I'm the oldest. [00:06:24] Speaker 1: All right. All right. Any follow-up to that? [00:06:27] Speaker 3: Well, um, I guess do you remember whenever your sister relocated? [00:06:35] Wolfgang Vargas: Yes, it was, uh, it was a sad day that, uh, that day she just called the family and crying and just, since we've always been together, just at that moment had to come where she had to move to a different state and start a new life. So it was hard. It was a part of just seeing, you know, having family pictures and she's not there because she's all across the, the states. Uh, she's always been part of our family. Say that, yeah. She's always been part of our family. [00:07:06] Speaker 3: Okay. And all of your families in California? All of our families. Well, I guess aside from Mexico, is that right? Yeah. All right. Okay. And, um, and so would you still see her from time to time, even though, due to the distance? [00:07:21] Wolfgang Vargas: Uh, yes, they would come over and when they, when they would travel, they would come visit us and we, we, we would be there with them, spend time. We went to, uh, we got to go to Yosemite, uh, as a family, for the family trip, so we, we did where we could. Okay. [00:07:38] Speaker 3: Okay. And then did she ever change as a person after she got married? [00:07:49] Wolfgang Vargas: Uh, no, if anything, she, she became, I saw her mature a lot. Being a parent gives them a change as you and seeing the way that she, she, she, she knew now. But she, she always stayed the same. We always spoke about the same things. We have a lot of things in common. So we always make each other laugh the same way, talk about the same things we enjoy. So nothing ever changed in that, in that aspect. Okay. And I saw her grow up to be, uh, an adult woman. [00:08:13] Speaker ?: Sorry, Mr. Burgess, anything else you can think of? [00:08:13] Wolfgang Vargas: Thank you for being here. Sorry. All right. You might step that. Watch your step. [00:08:17] Speaker 3: All right, Ms. Rocky? [00:08:18] Wolfgang Vargas: All right, Ms. Rocky? Thank you. Thank you. [00:08:21] Speaker ?: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for being here. [00:08:25] Speaker 1: All right, you might step that. Watch your step. All right, Ms. Rocky?