Warning: The following story may be disturbing for some readers.
By Larry Judkins
Glenn County Observer
Willows – At about 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 11, Cynthia Sarah Hardie, 44, was arrested by the Glenn County Sheriff’s major crimes unit (GLINTF) on child pornography charges.
This followed an interview a little more than two hours earlier involving Hardie and Glenn County Sheriff’s Detective Zachery Lopeteguy and Sergeant Dan Felton. The interview took place in a room at the Swift Transportation terminal in Willows.
Ten days before, Det. Lopeteguy was informed by Javier Dominguez, a security investigator for Swift Transportation, that Swift tractor driver Cynthia Hardie had experienced a medical emergency and parked her tractor in Dunnigan. Swift employees drove to Dunnigan and brought the tractor to the terminal in Willows.
At the Willows terminal, Swift employees began removing garbage and Hardie’s personal items from the tractor. Among the personal items were a camera with an SD card and an MP3 player.
In checking the SD card, the Swift Transportation shop foreman opened a file and found titles like “Sex with a 14-year-old,” “Sex with a 16-year-old,” and “Rape of a minor”. He then turned the camera, SD card, and MP3 player over to Willows Terminal onsite leader Claudia Stone, who notified Swift Transportation Security.
On Tuesday, March 9, Judge Alicia Ekland signed a warrant allowing Det. Lopeteguy to search the contents of the SD card and MP3 player. The MP3 player was found to have only music on it.
A separate search warrant was obtained for the camera. It apparently did not have any pornography, but it did have indicia as to the owner of the device. This included a photo of a Christmas stocking with the name, “Alex”, written on it.
However, on the SD card, the detective found 122 videos or photographs depicting adults having sex with children ranging in age from about a year to about 17.
On Thursday, March 11, Det. Lopeteguy was informed that Cynthia Hardie would be at the Willows terminal “shortly after 1700 hours” (5 p.m.). At about 5:23 p.m., Det. Lopeteguy met Hardie in the terminal lobby, and they then went into a private room.
Once inside the room, Det. Lopeteguy explained that the door was not locked and Hardie was free to leave. According to the detective, Hardie was very nervous and asked, “What did I do this time?”
Hardie sat in a chair next to the door. Sgt. Felton and Det. Lopeteguy sat across from Hardie, facing the unlocked door.
There was nothing between Hardie and the door, Lopeteguy explained in his statement of probable cause. Hardie could have left at any time, and Lopeteguy reminded Hardie of that option several times.
Sgt. Felton placed his Lenslock camera in the room, behind Det. Lopeteguy, to record the interview. Lopeteguy also had a digital audio recorder on his person as he interviewed Hardie.
In his statement of probable cause, Det. Lopeteguy explained, “Hardie is transgender and legally had their name changed to Cynthia Sarah Hardie from Alexander Brian Riegert. In the following summary your affiant [Lopeteguy] will attempt to use the correct gender pronouns.”
In his interview summary, Det. Lopeteguy uses gender-neutral plural pronouns in reference to Hardie: they, them, their. Many but not all who reject binary gender classifications prefer such plural pronouns, but since they can be confusing when referring to a single individual, this reporter will use traditionally feminine singular pronouns – she and her – in reference to Hardie, who is transitioning from male to female.
Hardie says she lives in Rapid City, South Dakota. In December, because she needed to have surgery, she dropped the Swift truck off in Dunnigan and locked it.
Hardie did not have anyone else in the truck. She thought when she left the truck, she left CDs, a laptop computer that had also belonged to her late partner, and a digital camera.
A photo of a camera was shown Hardie, and she said the camera was hers. The camera, she said, was a gift from years ago.
Although she said she could not remember what was on the camera, she admitted she took a photo of a Christmas stocking with the name Alex on it, and there was a screen shot from a Bug-Off game with the name, Cynthia. However, Hardie at first denied knowing about child pornography on the camera or the SD card.
Hardie at one time lived with a transgender partner, Lanie, until Lanie’s death. Lanie had a daughter and, according to Hardie, when Lanie died, the girl told Hardie that Lanie had molested her and her sister since she was two years old.
Hardie lived with Lanie for seven years. During that time, Hardie had the camera.
In 1998, in Las Vegas, Hardie admitted she was arrested for molesting a little girl in a water park. She pled no contest to a different charge than the one for which she was actually arrested.
Hardie claimed she was not guilty, but it was her word against the child’s. Hardie said she really did not understand the charge when she pled.
Hardie told Det. Lopeteguy she did not have a very good memory. However, Lopeteguy noted, she seemed able to remember the things only Hardie wanted to talk about.
After a while, Hardie reportedly admitted she knew about the child pornography on the device. She said she found it on Lanie’s computer and downloaded it.
Hardie said she had not seen the contents in about two years and could not remember what exactly was on the SD card. However, she could explain she knew the content was children having sex with adults.
Hardie explained she has sexual urges, and the videos help to keep her from acting out. She also said she has “deterrents,” communications in which Hardie writes about sexual abuse survivors and how the abuse affected the survivors.
Hardie said she had a doll dressed as a child, which she left in the Swift tractor when she had the aforementioned medical emergency. She said this doll helped her with her sexual urges.
Hardie told Det. Lopeteguy she has never touched any children, although she claimed she has had children solicit sex from her. Hardie said a seven-year-old girl named Stephanie wrote a note many years ago, asking Hardie for sex.
Hardie said she made sure to keep away from the child and never touched her or accepted her offer. Hardie said Stephanie is now in her 20s and Hardie would have been 19 or 20 when Stephanie allegedly propositioned her.
All of the other children who reportedly propositioned Hardie would also now be adults. Hardie insisted she never took the children up on their offers.
Hardie admitted to being a victim of molestation. Her now-deceased sister reportedly took her to bed and molested her when Hardie was seven years old.
During the interview with Hardie, Det. Lopeteguy discovered that Hardie was in possession of numerous digital media devices. Hardie allegedly admitted there was child pornography on them.
Hardie allowed Det. Lopeteguy to search her truck and collect the items, which included several media devices, thumb drives, and DVDs. The detective requested a warrant to search the various items.
Following the above interview, Hardie was booked into the Glenn County Jail. A call Wednesday afternoon, April 7, revealed that she is still an inmate there.
The Glenn County Observer 