( A Quest Magazine Investigation.)
"I am lying here bound and helpless, watching the clock tick on, as the darkness slowly envelopes the room. It's all I can do, other than think about what will happen to me. The boy has done a good job of trussing me up, for, I cannot move from where he has left me. My hands and feet are tightly bound together as I lie on top of his bed. I am also gagged to prevent me from crying out to reveal my whereabouts.
I curse myself for allowing him to trick me. I should have known better. He is not much older than a boy, but, I should have known that all men are all the same. I am under no illusions as to what he plans to do with me when he returns.
Before he went down for dinner, he lifted my maid's uniform up high around my waist to reveal my stockings, suspenders and bare thighs. After that, he ran his hand over my exposed skin and I shuddered at his touch. I saw how he looked at me then, with pure unbridled lust. There was that sickening grin of triumph and a tell tale bulge in the crotch of his jeans. Oh yes, I have learned to read such signs over the years and I fear he plans to have me this long night. And my heart sinks when I realise that there may be very little I will be able to do about it........"
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
This is an extract from the testimony of Maria Fernandez, a 33 years old female servant employed by the Walton family of Santa Monica in California. Maria came to work as a maid for the Walton's just 3 months ago from Venezuela. The family live in a large exclusive property set in extensive grounds and by any standards are extremely wealthy. They have several other servants to assist them run their house and grounds, all of them from South American countries.
There are 5 members of the Walton family comprising Mr and Mrs Walton and Mrs Walton's mother, together with 2 children; one daughter aged 25 and a son Robert aged 19. The family bedrooms, together with 2 guest rooms are located on the upper floors of the house, while the servants sleep in a low rise building behind and to the side of the main house.
What happened to Maria on the night of 4
th
March 2017 has been the subject of an investigation by Quest magazine.
With the victims cooperation, the full details of her ordeal can now be revealed for our readers. The transcript of interviews held with Maria is set out below. During the course of these interviews, our investigator was aware of many inconsistencies and factually incorrect statements made by Mrs Fernandez. Later, we were fortunate to interview Robert Walton who added a slightly different slant to the events which occurred there. For legal reasons, names have been changed, including the name of American family used in the report, otherwise nothing has been changed. The full story will feature in the June edition of the magazine.
Quest Magazine was first alerted to this story by a reader who was at the time a boy friend of another female servant working at the house. As this was a possible bondage and rape case, we felt it our duty to investigate and find out exactly what had occurred. As it turned out, Maria Fernandez declined to press charges and pleaded with us not to involve the Authorities or mention the name of the family involved. She was anxious to retain her job and carry on as before. She only agreed to talk to us, if we agreed to make a compensatory payment and to shield the family and herself from exposure.
In accordance with these conditions, she agreed to be tied up, again, exactly as she had been at the time of the incident and pose for photographs for our magazine article. We were then able to carry on with the story.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
What follows is the transcript of the interviews carried out. As always, our experienced investigative reporter, Julia Montello, did an excellent job of coaxing out intimate details and shameful confessions.
Please read on............
Quest:
(Julia Montello) We are interviewing Maria Fernandez on the 15/4/17 at the Red Robin restaurant in Santa Monica about her experiences at the Walton household, where she is employed as a maid.
"Maria, you are agreeable to talk to us about what happened there aren't you?"
Maria
: "Yes, I will tell you what happened. But you must understand I am only doing this under protest. That interfering busy body had no right to go telling anybody about it."
Quest
: "You are referring to Eduardo Diaz, the boyfriend of Sandra Ventaro are you not?"
Maria
: "Yes, he had no right to do what he did. It could cost me my job and have me deported."
Quest
: "Maria, you have nothing to fear from revealing what happened. I assure that no one will be able to identify you or your employers from what will appear in the publication.
Now let us begin. First of all tell me about your background and how you came to be working in the U.S.A as a maid."
Maria:
"I come from Caracas in Venezuela and I am the eldest of 3 daughters in the Lopez family. I married in 2012 to Manuel Fernandez and we have 2 children. Unfortunately, our marriage broke up last year and I needed to get away from Venezuela and start a new life. My husband's family took control of the divorce proceedings and the court awarded custody of the children to them. Fortunately, a friend knew that there was a vacancy in the Walton household for a maid and put my name forward. Because my mother was an American citizen, I have dual nationality and was able to obtain a work visa. I came to work in the Walton house a few months ago."
Quest
: Subsequent investigations revealed that Maria's answer was not completely honest. Apparently, her husband found out that she had been having an affair with her boss when she worked at the local hospital. Evidence of this was produced in the Court hearing and was mainly responsible for her failing to win the custody of her children.
Quest
: "Maria, why don't you continue where you left off when telling us about the events of that night? Would you begin by describing your relationship with young Robert and how you came to be tied up in his bedroom?"
Maria
: "O.K. I'll do my best".
(At this point Julia Montello noticed that Maria had helped herself to several glasses of white wine during and after their meal. As it helped Maria to relax and relate the story more vividly, she encouraged Maria to keep on drinking.)
Maria continues......
"Robert and I got on just fine. There was never any difficulty with him, not until that night. He was a shy boy, but, he seemed to like me, and, as time went on, we often exchanged pleasantries and had the odd joke going. But, he was never too familiar and I was always aware that I had a job to do and it was necessary to keep things proper and make sure he respected me. After all, I was 33 and he had only just turned 19."
(It is interesting to hear what Sandra Ventaro, a fellow worker, had to say about this in her statement)
Sandra
: "Huh, she is not telling you the truth, that one. From the beginning she set out to flirt and seduce the male members of the household. Every chance she got she was swinging her hips and showing off her legs. Her uniform was too long for her liking so she made it shorter by several inches. And, she was always bending over when the men were around, showing off her the bare thighs above her stockings. She giggled when Robert started the practice of looking up her skirt when she walked up the stairs. It was just what she wanted. In my opinion she encouraged him and I was not shocked when I heard what had happened that night."
Quest
: (When I read out what Sandra had said, Maria burst into tears.)
"Look Maria I want the truth from now on not a pack of lies. So come on be honest with us."
Maria
: "Alright ...so I flirted a little with Mr Walton and Robert. It's not against the law is it? And I am not afraid to show off my legs, they are good legs, yes? And men like to look."
Quest
: "Let me get this right. You bent over on the stairs fully knowing that Robert was standing at the bottom looking straight up your skirt?"
"How often did this sort of thing happen?"
Maria
: "A couple of times a day. Sometimes Mr Walton had a look too, but, he wasn't as interested as Robert."
Quest
: "Did Robert ever try to kiss you or put his hand up your skirt? Be truthful now?"
Maria:
"Yes, on a couple of occasions. But, I just wanted to tease and be popular with the men. That was all. That way I would always keep my job.....you understand. I never wanted things to get out of control."