{"id":221,"date":"2026-04-09T08:51:38","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T12:51:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fafojustice.com\/?p=221"},"modified":"2026-04-09T08:51:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T12:51:39","slug":"battle-creeks-victim-support-circus-when-proclamations-protect-predators-not-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fafojustice.com\/?p=221","title":{"rendered":"Battle Creek\u2019s \u201cVictim Support\u201d Circus: When Proclamations Protect Predators, Not People"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>FAFO Justice Op\/Ed By: Autumn Smith<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/fafojustice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/EpsteinCityHall-1024x683.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-224\" srcset=\"https:\/\/fafojustice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/EpsteinCityHall-1024x683.png 1024w, https:\/\/fafojustice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/EpsteinCityHall-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/fafojustice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/EpsteinCityHall-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/fafojustice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/EpsteinCityHall.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>April 7, 2026 <\/strong>\u2013 The Battle Creek City Commission put on a show for the cameras. Under Mayor Mark A. Behnke, the city declared April as National Child Abuse Prevention Month, Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and Crime Victims\u2019 Rights Week. Photos were snapped, speeches delivered, and the Battle Creek Police Department (BCPD) smiled for the obligatory \u201csupporting victims\u201d photo op.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"907\" height=\"749\" src=\"https:\/\/fafojustice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/agenda4_6_26-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-223\" srcset=\"https:\/\/fafojustice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/agenda4_6_26-1.jpg 907w, https:\/\/fafojustice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/agenda4_6_26-1-300x248.jpg 300w, https:\/\/fafojustice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/agenda4_6_26-1-768x634.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 907px) 100vw, 907px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">But behind the pomp and banners, the story is far darker\u2014and far more disturbing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>The Hypocrisy is Blinding<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">While the Commission applauded victims in the chamber, the city allegedly turned its back on actual victims outside of it. A multi-jurisdictional sextortion ring, linked to former Michigan State Police Detective Kris Douponce, has reportedly harmed dozens of women. And yet, according to victims and investigative reporting from FAFO Justice, the BCPD and city leaders have allegedly lied, denied, hid, buried, delayed, &amp; concealed the investigation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Translation: Victims cry for help. The city stages photo ops. The predator allegedly walks free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/fafojustice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/coveruppicc-1024x768.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/fafojustice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/coveruppicc-1024x768.png 1024w, https:\/\/fafojustice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/coveruppicc-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/fafojustice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/coveruppicc-768x576.png 768w, https:\/\/fafojustice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/coveruppicc.png 1195w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Victims vs. Optics<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">On Stage: \u201cWe support crime victims!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">In reality, allegations point to a systematic cover-up to protect someone in law enforcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">For the women coming forward, proclamations don\u2019t help. They aren\u2019t justice\u2014they are an insult. Every banner and speech feels like a performance while the people who need protection are being silenced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"559\" data-id=\"226\" src=\"https:\/\/fafojustice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/BCHypocricy-1024x559.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-226\" srcset=\"https:\/\/fafojustice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/BCHypocricy-1024x559.png 1024w, https:\/\/fafojustice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/BCHypocricy-300x164.png 300w, https:\/\/fafojustice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/BCHypocricy-768x419.png 768w, https:\/\/fafojustice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/BCHypocricy.png 1408w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>The Public Deserves the Truth<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">This isn\u2019t a minor misstep. It\u2019s a full-blown contradiction between words and action. Until the BCPD prioritizes accountability over image, the City Commission\u2019s proclamations are just hollow slogans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The question Battle Creek residents\u2014and the victims\u2014must ask themselves is simple: Are these proclamations real advocacy, or just a shield to hide inaction?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The community deserves transparency, not theatrics. Every staged \u201csupport\u201d moment rings hollow when victims are ignored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">For the full investigation, victim voices, and continuing updates on the Douponce case, visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fafojustice.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"www.fafojustice.com\">www.fafojustice.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FAFO Justice Op\/Ed By: Autumn Smith April 7, 2026 \u2013 The Battle Creek City Commission put on a show for the cameras. Under Mayor Mark A. Behnke, the city declared April as National Child Abuse Prevention Month, Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and Crime Victims\u2019 Rights Week. Photos were snapped, speeches delivered, and the Battle Creek [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":225,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fafojustice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fafojustice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fafojustice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fafojustice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fafojustice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=221"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/fafojustice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":228,"href":"https:\/\/fafojustice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221\/revisions\/228"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fafojustice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fafojustice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fafojustice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fafojustice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}