Transcripts For WJLA ABC 7 On Your Side News Special 2015092

WJLA ABC 7 On Your Side News Special September 27, 2015

Station, advocating for you. Now, we have a bigger, boulder, bette on your side team better than before. Tonight, we want to share the way the 7 on your side investigators have helped residents and identify ways they might be able to get action for you, too. Now, first up, there are an estimated 750,000 child predators out there online and all o them have a key to get inside your home, by way of the internet. Especially if your child lets them in. Our 7 on your side consumer investigator shows us gaming devices makes it easy for the stranger in the consul to get insiside. A mother of a teenager is aarm that had her son is able to access pornographic sites from the game consul. This Northern Virginia boy, just eight years old when it happened to him. Someone claiming to b be a 16yearold girl messaged him midgame. She started saying to me, hey, send me a picture of you and i did. And she asked for a date via text. It was scary. His older brothers explain how easy it is. Parentsts let their kids pla and they dont know what the danger is. Theres the gameme, and if y click a few buttons, it goes to a whole new world one world so close to e other. If youre bieving this is fe. The childs brain does not detect danger. Kids who have gotten into gaming and found their ways into chat rooms, ive had several families tell me theyve received phonee calls and received visitors. This psychologist witnessed the treme, in 2010, a patient in his practice murderered by a man he met line. Its the perception youre interacting with an Electronic Device but theyrelaying with fire. What about all of this scares you the most . Somebody is going to show up to my fryont door. When hess home alone, he doest understd people want to hurt him. She put strict restrictions but didnt dream the gaming devices can be portals, too. Also, the Fairfax County Police Child Exploitation unit tracking pedophiles. Theyre asking for n naked selfies and inappropriate videos and there asking to meet the kids. Thathowing up time and time again in 2015 court records. Victims target online, through faceboo and at least one child important case through a sony play station. I just was as stoneished at myself. That report aired acrss the country. Anand the mother of a teenage mother in alabama, lured away from a predator onlinanted to contact our Fairfax County detectives and he gave her critical idane. Im 7 on your side investigator. Fear set in at aairfax county Police Station, where employees and a number of poli ofcers, an Alarming Number of them have been diagnosed with cancer. They tell the government wch dog investigator that the county hasnt done enough. The investigation started back in february with a tip. A man reached out to us who used to work ass a Police Officer in Fairfax County and i can hear the fear in his voice. He said hes terrified he could develop cancer after working for years in theolice station, and he needed help from 7 on your side. Ive never been more afraid of dieing in my life. For 16 years, he worked the streets in Fairfax County as a Police Officer, but it the work he did inside the Police Station that scared him most. Its a 23yearold building that earned the chilling nickname. The cancer station. 7 on your sie learned tt 13 people worng he have battled cancer, all of them ununder the a of 50. Thre of them already died. I dont think its a coincidence. Katherine buried her mother last june. Sheorked her 15 years. She was 45. If my mom was still alive, she would be hearsayire saying timeo get out. Last ly, the department tetested airir and water and we the results which called for no corrective action but radon was not tested. And benzene aeadingirborne carcinogene was also not tested. Its possibl these uld be an includes a cluster related to the ilding. He studies health at the university of maryland, and he says a broader investigation looking at types of cancer and patients meedical histories ar needed. Cancer histories are the hardest. An investigation, weve learned, have just begun. This is of grave concern to me. Hes the Fairfax County police chief and spoke to us with t countyealth director by our side. This is the only station that you perceive to he a problem. Thats a correct statement, yes. The county stepped up its efforts to solve the mystery. Patient medical records are being analyzed. Possible toxins associated with policeequipment, like vests or gun belts are also being studied. And three days before the chief agreed to sit d down with us, h sat down with his employees to address their concerns. Ive lost good friends to cancer, some of which have worked at the station, and im going to try to do everything i can to determine if theres a problem. The county expects the result from the medical record analysis soo the outcome will determine the next steps in what could be a lengthy process. Since our story has aired, more people have come forward. Retirees of the Police Station, saying they too have developed canc. Seven on your side watch dogog investigator. Do you have a story idea or something you think our 7 on your side teamam should look ino, call 18662363401 or email us tips at www. Wa. Com. Our team of reporters is also on facebook and twitter. Another wayou can reach us is through the 7 on your Side Help Center and weekly phone banks. Members of the 7 on your side team regularly take calls and can point you in the right direction. Our 7 on your side phone banks bring in experts to give you advice. Viewers he been helped by our ask the attorneys forums and we brought in investigators from the u. S. Postal service to help protect you against Identity Theft and advise you what to do if your identity was stolen. Coming up, would you pay thousands of dlars too find love . Dont do it. Its not worth your money. Some d. C. Women did and now they want a refund. Fighting back against crime investigator hits thetreet to address repeat dui offenders still driving on marylands roadways, thats story next. Thanks for joining us for this 7 on your side special tonight. Just how many driving under the influence arrests can a person get . Well, critics will argu a lot, that is if you drive in maryland. But as fighting back against crime investigator reports now, efforts to toughen marylands laws keeeep running into roadblocks. We found repeat offenders with five, six, even seven dui arrests. So we hit the streets with the Maryland State Police and saw the lockup firsthand. But critics are arguing that the laws in the state of marynd arent tough enough. Have you had drinnks tonight . Critics say maryland is a great place to drive drunk. You canrive and be a repeat offender for countless times and not be charged with a felony until you kill somebody. Okay. Good. Mothers against drunk driving, says maryland is only one of five states that doesnt have a felony dui statute, nor does d. C. So while alleald drunk drivers are being locked up, they keep drinking and driving. We saw it firsthand on a warm april night w with a dui Enforcement Team of Maryland State Police. Im going to drink a little. Records reveal it was his third dui arrest. We were here on this corner when the drivever in that red blazer literally crashed into the back of another state police vehicle. Not one drink whatsoever . No. Are you sure about that . Records show its his second dui arrest. We tried to ask repeat offenders what would stop them to stop drinking and driving. You have a dui in 2001, 2003 and 2014. Madd believed part of the solution iss a proposed bill on interlockks on the fit dui charge and bathalyzers on cars. 45 duion of fatalities in arizona. Thats what we need in maryland. The alhol institute disagrees. They got a majority of the House Committee to pass a bill. And they point the finger at the commite chairman for sitting on the bill. Hes a defense attorney by trade. Let me speak with you. No. The most sobering of all arguments for tough dui laws is death. I cry every day. Last year 22yeyearold university of maryland student was run over and killed on route one by a 2time drunk driver. He got two years in the plea del, pushihing for more, would have been a struggle. It doesnt do anything for us. It didnt help solve it wont bring corey back. So we just took the plea. [crying] one after the other this is a normal night. Critics argue the all night, all out fight to make the roads safe in maryland. Right in front of it will stumble , until theres a better answer. So organizes like madd, and lawmakrs who wanted to tough instate laws ththis past sessio fail. But there vowing to keep u thee battle. Im your fighting back against crimeme investigator. Coming up, local women looking for love, say its not anything but that. Despite he will shelling out thousands of dollars to a match making business. What 7 on your side uncovers about the company. And an 84yearold woman asks for 7 on your side for assistance. And we confront her mechanic. And 7 is on your side to get results. When i was a little girl, i heard about 7 on y your side d i knew they did great thingsgs r people. Thank you very much. It wouldnt happen without their help. Hey, call 7 on your side. It shows good will on alll sides. 7 on your side, they do your side. Theyll get it done for you. Call 7 on your si. Somebody has to help vo you can pass down a subaru forester. dad shes all yours. vo but you get to keep the memories. Love. Its what makes a subaru, a subaru. Some local women turned to a atch making company and it turns out they were risking more than a broken heart. They were shelling out big bucks to a company tt didnt make good on its guarantee. The 7 on your side eye team discovered that it was a nationwide network, the same business, the same kind of complaints about a guarantee that used to be listed front and center here, until 7 on your side got action. Pam has fallen out of love. Dont do it. Its not worth the money. With a match making Service Called d. C. Singles. I paid 2,500 for seven dates. Im thinking this is 300 sitting in front of me and its not 300 worth. In 20 months, she says none of her dates met the criteria she listed. Like location. The last match lived an hour from her house in virginia in another state. She ensured me they had men in the right age range that lived in my area, that were businessmen. When people go to a match making service, youre looking for someone more than to go to the movies with. Kimberly found someone shell consider after spending seven months and 2,500 for four matches. She said one didnt match her preferences. Another never called back. The fourth she calls a phantom date. No voicemail. Complaints of money and love lost are not exclusive to customers in d. C. Who thought they were dealing with a local company. But the 7 on your side eye team dug through records through more than a dozen states and discovered that d. C. Singles are a huge network with the same owner. Its a nationwide organization. And more than 100 cities and towns, we found the same vague promise. 100 guaranteed. What does that mean . I dont have any idea. Neither do we. The Company Tells the eye team what looks like a blanket guarantee, its changing its website after 7 on your side contacted. And we uncovered the bigger picture, linking together at least 130 complaints nationwide over the last three years. It was like a big red flag. Many of them about the contracts that singles sign that make it tough to do anything more than just complain. The paperwork asks for a lot of money, but makes no official promises other than a certain number of refers. Customers like pam say in person they heard another pitch, promises of lasting love, worth way more than money. They owe me something. Something. The 7 on your side eye team repeatedly asked the company to talk on camera. They declined. And they sent us a statement and the Company Changed the 100 guarantee. Ful and they said everyone is verified, going through background checks and inperson screening. As for the bbb complaints, they say they makee up 7 of their clients. Just ahead. I want my car back and can i get my money back that i paid for . What happened to this womans car . And how to trouble shoot. Well bring you that next. For the past year, a local woman has been battling with her mechanic to get her car fixed. And this is after she paid some 2,000 for him to do the job. So she called 7 on your de for help. And the trouble shooter stepped up. 84yearold ruth had a problem on her hands when she contacted us. Her car had brokenn down and sh had nodea when she put it in the shop, it would still be there one year later. Thats when she contacted 7 on your s side and when we got involved, this story took a lot of twists and turns. Im 84 years old. Shes 84 but ruth is not going to back down. I want my car back. And can i get my money back that i paid for . She said shess out 2,100 d her car after taking it to g fixed at ginder auto repair. We got involved and found her cacar in front o the shop. Thats out of my pocket. Paid to the shop owner to fix the front e damage. After sever months of hearing nothing from ginyard, she said she took h him to cour and had him summoned to appear on several occasions so 7 on your side wentt out to him and we didnt have trouble finding him inside h shop. What aboutt her car . What abobout her car . She said youve had it for a year. Are you going to give it back to her . Hat legal rights to coconsumers have . We would not usually advise for someoneo engage in a selfhe remedy like going onto the property and getting the vehicle back. Maryland lgal aid says take the issue to court. Two days after 7 on your sides visit, ruths car appeared parked d just a few hundndred fefeet, wit the transmission not attached to the engine but sitting on her seat. We sppoke with the owney phone. Why has it tken a year to give ruth her c back . He says hes gonone through 3 transmight goes trying to get o transmissions and he tried to contact her. So there would be no more trououble he told me. He returnedhe car. Are youappy at all . Im happy i got my car. Now ruth is tryg to get the transmission back in her car. Shes working with lega aid to get a remedy. Im 7 on your side trouble shooter. Folks, you can contact us any time. Were always here to help you. You can call 18662363401 and email us at tips at www. Wjla. Com and investigators are always available to you on facebook andtwitter. Thats it for night. We look to hearing from you down the road. Remember, always, 7on your side. Good night. Announcer starting right now on abcs this week two stunning shakeups. The House Speaker abruptly resigns. Rocking the gop and a brandnew poll showing ben carson now in a dead heat with donald trump. Are outsiders now in charge . Dr. Carson is here. And pope francis in america. Record crowds going wild in philadelphia for the pontiffs powerful message of hope. What hes about to reveal on his final stop on the u. S. Announcer from abc news, this week with George Stephanopoulos begins now. Good morning, im martha raddatz. As we come on the air this morning, we want to get to two stunning developments in the 2016 race. First, to the republics,

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