Wednesdav. Januarv 11. 1995
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Wife of addict, rapist 'trying to help'
Husband raped girl hours after wedding
The Associated Press
RIVERSIDE, Calif. The 911 caller speaks in a rush, the way children do when they're tattling, jamming every detail into one long, breathless sentence.
"My, um, we were going downstairs and my sister, she was, this one guy was drunk, and he, he tried to have sex with my sister, and she's got blood all over ... and she's all crying and."
Operator: "How old is your sister?"
Caller: "My sister is um, she's 6."
Operator: "How old are you?"
Operator: Howe
Caller:"I'm 10."
In the background, a woman — her mother — screams, "Don't! Don't! Don't!" The phone line goes dead.
It was January 15, 1994, and a child had just been raped by her brand-new stepfather, a crack addict with full-blown AIDS.
No one knew it at that moment, but the assault that stained the girl's polka-dot dress, her cotton underwear and her dress-up white tights with her blood had also infected her with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
The attacker was Frank Cisco Bridges, 44, who had married her mother barely three hours before. So stoned during the ceremony that he picked his teeth with the minister's sermon cards, Bridges urinated in a potted plant at the reception.
Just that morning, his new wife had bailed him out of jail on a petty theft charge so they could be married at her home in an upper-middle class, suburban neighborhood.
Last month, she was convicted of child endangerment and being an accessory after the fact to her daughter's rape. The woman was to be sentenced yesterday and faces a maximum sentence of six years and eight months in prison. To protect the child's identity and privacy, The Associated Press is not identifying the girl or her mother.
"I know of no other case like this anywhere," said Riverside County prosecutor Tim Schaaf. "If she wanted to marry this monster and try to save him, that's fine. But she's not allowed to take her children into this. She is responsible for their safety."
Bridges made a partial confession after the attack. On the first day of jury selection, he pleaded guilty to five felony counts of child molestation and rape. He was sentenced in July to 38 years' imprisonment.
Child welfare authorities sent the girl and her two brothers to live with an aunt in Michigan. Contrary to her brother's 911 call, the girl was actually 7 the night she was raped. Now 8, the girl is displaying diminished motor skills, an early sign of the fatal illness but has not developed AIDS.
The mother is free on bail and remains in Riverside.
She is an educated woman, with a master's degree in special education, but said herself that she makes stupid choices in men. Her first husband, the father of her children, is an abusive alcoholic currently incarcerated on drunken driving charges, her attorney said.
"I obviously have made poor decisions about the men that I've gotten involved with," she said. "But I'm not a criminal."
She was visiting with wedding guests when Bridges lured her daughter upstairs with the promise of a dollar. He locked the master bedroom door, held the girl down by her throat and raped her.
The girl screamed. Her brothers, in another upstairs room, ran for their mother. All three banged on the door
until the girl unlocked it, covered in blood, clutching her tights in one hand.
The boys told police Bridges ran naked from the room. Officers found him later, walking along a nearby road dressed in slacks, children's shoes and his wife's shirt.
In a tape-recorded statement, Bridges first blamed a non-existent twin brother. He chuckled at one point, telling police he became sexually aroused watching his "brother" rape the girl. Eventually he admitted some of the committed offenses.
"I think he's an incredibly selfish man," said Schaaf, who prosecuted both newlyweds. "You add to that the drugs. You add to it the knowledge that he's going to die."
The couple met about two years ago. Both were group counselors for a county probation department. It took six months for the woman to discover Bridges' fondness for crack cocaine.
"I should have said goodbye. I should have never got involved with a person who used drugs," she said. "I wanted to help him."
Last September, diagnosed with AIDS, homeless and sick, Bridges moved in. She decided to marry him.
Vietnam bans firecrackers; residents upset
The Associated Press
BINH DA, Vietnam — As the Lunar New Year approaches, this village should be bustling with young and old making firecrackers so Vietnam can welcome Tet in properly raucous fashion.
Trucks from all over the country should be loading up firecrackers, products of Binh Da's centuries-old cottage industry. Explosions should be shattering the air as customerstest the wares.
But this year Binh Da is quiet: Vietnam's ban on firecrackers took effect Jan. 1.
One of Vietnam's oldest and best-loved traditions has fallen afoul of safety concerns, and no one is quite sure how they will fill the silence when the clock strikes midnight Jan. 30, beginning the Year of the Pig.
For the superstitious, firecrackers scared away evil spirits. For most people, they simply advertised good times
To the 10,000 people of Binh Da. 12
miles southwest of Hanoi, firecrackers provided a better living than farming.
"Making firecrackers was the only way I could pay for their education," Nguyen Thi Hai said of her three children. She said her tiny rice paddy could not even feed her family.
The government argues firecrackers do more harm than good. Last year during Tet celebrations alone, firecrackers killed 71 people, injured 765 and did $3 million damage.
$500,000 on firecrackers last year — money that could have paid to build a school or clinic, one newspaper chided.
"There is nothing good or useful about firecrackers," said Dr. Le Ngoc Quynh, whose burn unit at St. Paul's Hospital in Hanoi is swamped with burn victims each Tet.
Hanoi's 2.1 million residents spent
In late 1994, authorities went door-to-door in Binh Da, asking families to pledge compliance with the ban. Officials elsewhere received promises from citizens not to use firecrackers.
Peking Restaurant 23rd& Iowa St All You Can Eat Buffet Lunch $4.95 & Dinner $6.75
Kansas Sports Club
Best Selection of KU merchandise anywhere!!
--dessert
HATSTOO!!
"Best selection of college and professional merchandise in the area. 837 Mass.Downtown Lawrence.
Mr. & Mrs. Don Booth Instructors
Benefits you can enjoy:
Call Now!
749-4400
★Relieve Stress
★Lose Weight
★Develop Concentration Skills
★Develop Flexibility
★Make New Friends
★Gain Confidence
★Gain Leadership Skills
★Develop Self-Discipline
★Develop Balance & Coordination
★Learn Self Defense
9th & Iowa • Hilkcrest Shopping Center
Black Belt Academy of Tae Kwon Do
Holiday Plaza Shopping Center
25th & Iowa
NO COVER $1 Iguana Shots
Your Car Isn't A Toy, So Don't Treat It Like One.
Keep your car running smoothly with fast, convenient check-ups and repairs. One day service available.
CAR REPAIR ISN'T KID'SSTUFF!
- Complete Car Care
* Transmission Specialist
* Foreign & Domestic
A-1 AUTOMOTIVE
22 YEARS EXPERIENCE
842-0865
1501 W.6TH
--dessert
Keep your belly and your wallet full
Buffet Specials Everyday!
Mon. - Sat. 11:30-2:30 $4.95
Sun. 11:30-3:00 $5.95
Daily Lunch Buffet
Daily Dinner Buffet
7 Days a Week 5:30-9:00 $6.95
"Rated best buffet in Lawrence"
Journal Word
GARDEN
25 items including
聚豊圜
all fruits including soups, salads, appetizers, fruit, entrees, and
2907 W. 6th 841-1688
--proud sponsor of Kansas Women's Basketball
HARBOUR LIGHTS
841-1960
1031 MASSACHUSETTS STREET, LAWRENCE, KS
Monday
$1.00 Draws and $1.25 Premium
Tuesday
$2.50 Premium Jam Jars
Wednesday
$1.50 Wells
LIVE JAZZ
Thursday
$1.50 Jam Jars
.75 Draws
Friday
$1.50 Miller Highlife Bottles
Saturday
$3.00 Big Import Bottles
Sunday
$5.25 Pitchers of premium Beer
NOW
OFFERING
9 BEERS
ON TAP
Payless ShoeSource
100% Pure Krause Beef served with lupacho, mustard, pickles and onions. For just a little more,
top off with cheese and bacon. Offer good for a limited time.
Vista has
Vista DRIVE IN 1027 W. 8th
FIINT HILLS
FOODS, NC
Quality Allergen Products 1989
49¢ HAMBURGERS
9th & Iowa·842-2930
SPECIAL
Double Cheeseburger 99c
Milk Shakes (choc., van., straw.)
Back by popular demand! OFFER GOOD THRU JANUARY
99c
BEDS
DESKS BOOKCASES
Everything But Ice 936 Mass.
Wedjan 11
Head start Benefit
Butter Glory
Acoustic Juice
Blues Head Beggars
Thurs Jan 12
Truck Stop Love
Bitch Witch
18 & up
Fri Jan 13
Billy Goat
Grim Skunk
18 & up
Sat Jan 14
Mango Jam
Blues Head Beggars
10 & up-