Protesters Show Support for Arrested Monrovia Youth Instructor as Alleged Kidnapping Victim Testifies

A 14-year-old girl testified in court Monday that she was frightened as she was handcuffed and hauled away by a Monrovia youth boot camp instructor who was charged with kidnapping her and extorting money from her parents.

The youth instructor, Kelvin McFarland, 41, of Monrovia, on charges of kidnapping, false imprisonment, child abuse, extortion and unlawful use of a badge.

McFarland, who also goes by the nickname "Sgt. Mac,"runs the Family 1st Growth Camp, which has an Altadena address for its office, according to several online directories.

McFarland's lawyer, former Pasadena Mayor Bill Paparian, was quick to contest the alleged victim's testimony, and accused her of lying both during the hearing and afterwards to reporters.

"She has not been truthful with her parents or with police officers," Paparian said.

Monday was the first day of the preliminary hearing, and witnesses were ordered to return on Tuesday, when the hearing will likely be completed. Assuming the charges are not dismissed by the judge in the case, then the next step will be a new arraignment and setting a date for a full trial.

Testimony

The alleged victim testified Monday that she skipped school on May 16, the day that the events happened. She said a man who identified himself as "Sgt. Mac" found her on Orange Grove Boulevard while driving by, pulled over, and asked her which school she went to and how to contact her parents.

The girl admitted in court to not telling Sgt. Mac which school she attended, and Paparian suggested the girl deliberately misled him about how to contact her parents and attempted to stop him from getting in touch with them on the phone.

Paparian also denied the contention of both the girl and her aunt, who also testified, that McFarland told them he represented the Pasadena Police Department.  The alleged victim told the court she went with him because she believed he worked for the department.

One of the key contested issues was the $100 that the girl's parents paid to McFarland. The girl's aunt, Nelly Maldonado, testified that McFarland had suggested the money would be necessary as a kind of bail, and likened the process to getting a car out of an impound lot.

Paparian, on the other hand, said that the victim's parents had paid out the money as a down payment for enrolling in McFarland's youth program and did so voluntarily.

Oddly, neither the girl nor her aunt was able to identify McFarland in court as the person who introduced himself as Sgt. Mac on May 16. However, Paparian did not indicate that he intended to deny that McFarland was the one who picked her up, and referred to the events of May 16 while using his client's name.

The girl's last name was withheld at court, and Patch will also withhold her first name out of an abundance of caution.

Supporters

Supporters and detractors of McFarland also had strong words to say about him at Monday's hearing.

At least 25 parents, students, and other supporters in McFarland's program showed up to protest his arrest, chanting "Free Sgt. Mac" outside the court room.

The court room was also packed with program members dressed in dark red and yellow sweatshirts. When McFarland was brought into the court room after spending more than two weeks in county jail, he immediately broke out a huge smile after seeing the room full of his program members.

But McFarland supporters were not the only ones to show up to the courthouse on Monday.

New Claim

An Eagle Rock resident, Ray Travis, told reporters following the court hearing that his daughter was physically abused by McFarland after Travis's wife called him to her home in January. Travis, who is separated from his wife and shared custody at the time, was not present when it happened.

He said that his daughter told him that McFarland came to their home and pulled her off her bed by force and threatened to slam her head into a wall. He said McFarland then drove her to the Rose Bowl and forced her to do intense levels of exercise. He said his daughter had to be hospitalized the next day.

When asked why he has not filed a police claim over such serious allegations, Travis said that he is now in the process of doing so, and has spoken with Pasadena detectives about the complaint.

His daughter Carolyn also spoke to reporters about the incident, and said she was "happy" that McFarland was on trial and said she "hopes he goes to jail."

Sgt. Mac's Approach

Travis and the 14-year-old girl both talked about his methods, highlighting similar habits of yelling at minors and confronting them about their choices. Travis's daughter Carolyn also talked about exercising to exhaustion and feeling unable to stop for fear of being yelled at.

Supporters of McFarland also described a similar approach though in a much more positive way. Brent Ramos said he had to do high numbers of push-ups, jumping jacks, and other hard physical exercise after making a mistake of some sort.

The alleged victim testified that the issues went beyond intimidation. She said that even after McFarland had handcuffed her, brought her home, and gotten $100 from her parents, he then took her to a friend's home and told her to end their friendship, suggesting she was a bad influence on the girl. She also testified that he threatened to put her in a juvenile facility in Sylmar.

Paparian, while talking to reporters, dismissed any concerns about his approach and claimed that judges at the Pasadena Superior Court have referred juvenile suspects to McFarland's program.

He described McFarland as a veteran of the Gulf War and said that until four years ago he was a homeless veteran on the streets, who then got his life together and now just wants to help others.

And he said he is confident he will be able to demonstrate Tuesday why McFarland's actions were not criminal.