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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Jan. 27, 2007

WOMAN ORDERED ARRESTED OVER BLOG EXPOSING EX-HUSBAND’S MILITARY FRAUD

A California woman who posted information on her blog exposing crimes and military fraud by her ex-husband was charged with contempt of court by a Florida judge on January 25, 2007 for refusing to take it down. A warrant was issued for her arrest.

Kristen Rhoad, of Chula Vista, California, had previously been accused of domestic violence and cyberstalking because of her blog, The Rhoad Warrior ( http://rhoadwarrior.blogspot.com/), by Phil Haberman, her ex. On September 7, 2006, Judge Robert B. Bennett Jr., of the 12th Judicial Circuit for Sarasota County, ordered Rhoad to “remove or cause to be removed all blogs, e-mails or other web-based communications” about Haberman. Rhoad, believing her First Amendment rights were violated, has not complied with the order.

Haberman was first profiled in the media by the Dallas Observer on September 1, 2005. An article entitled “G.I. Jerk–Haberman claims he fought with Special Forces in Iraq, but he’s about as real as Rambo,” cast doubt on Haberman’s story of military accomplishments and Iraq war injuries.

Haberman was next profiled on Lovefraud.com, a website based in Atlantic City, NJ, that teaches people how to recognize and avoid sociopaths. In a story posted in November, 2005, Lovefraud published Rhoads’s contention that Haberman married her simply to collect more money from the military. ( http://www.lovefraud.com/03_trueLovefraudStories/Phil_Haberman_military_fraud.html )

Articles disputing Haberman’s military claims were also posted by the P.O.W. Network, ( http://www.pownetwork.org/phonies/phonies1065.htm http://www.pownetwork.org/phonies/phonies257.htm ) which has been unmasking false military credentials since 1998, and by Greensickle.com and the Irritated Vet blog, both written by military veterans.

Judge Bennett refused to admit Rhoad’s evidence that her allegations were true in the Sept. 7 hearing. His order, issued in Sarasota family court, demanded that all these websites take down their information about Haberman. “I don’t know how you go about doing that, but that’s going to be required,” Bennett said during the hearing. Lovefraud.com published an extensive story about Bennett’s initial ruling. ( http://www.lovefraud.com/03_trueLovefraudStories/Phil_Haberman_cons_legal_system.html )

Creative Loafing, an alternative weekly newspaper in Sarasota, published a story about the controversy on January 24, 2007. Legal experts cited in the Creative Loafing article said that Bennett’s ruling probably violated the First Amendment.
( http://sarasota.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A112941 )


For more information, contact:
Donna Andersen

Lovefraud.com - teaching the public to recognize and avoid sociopaths
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