Things appear to be getting worse by the day after the arrest of “Sons of Guns” star Will Hayden, 49, for alleged forcible rape of a juvenile. First, the show itself was recently cancelled after Hayden’s arrest. Now another woman has reportedly come forward with additional charges against Hayden from when she was a 12-year-old girl staying with his family. Hayden has the distinction of being arrested twice with two different celebrity mug shots on charges of rape, including reported allegations from his daughter that she was raped at age 11. Two daughters are now making allegations of rape.
Hayden became the star of the Discovery Channel series “Sons of Guns,” a reality show that followed his family as they ran his Red Jacket Firearm company in Louisiana. Red Jacket has also now severed all ties to Hayden. If the charges are true, it was a dangerous decision by Hayden to agree to star in such a show (which would put a spotlight on him and his family).
Hayden’s daughter has reportedly accused her father of oral and vaginal rape on virtually a daily basis, adding that he threatened her and allegedly told her “Don’t tell them nothing, because I’m all you got.”
Hayden was arrested in Livingston, Louisiana. After he first arrest, Hayden is quoted as saying that his ex-girlfriend — and mother of the child — was making false allegations in retaliation for breaking up with her.
However, another women has come forward to say that she was raped 22 years ago when she was staying with the Hayden family in their apartment.
In the ultimate parallel reality show universe, Hayden’s daughter insisted that she would not speak with anyone publicly until she appeared on Dr. Phil McGraw’s show. The reality star insisted that she would seek treatment from a television doctor “exclusively because I know he would take it seriously.” This cathartic experience played out in front of millions if part of what Ford described as her effort “to begin living in truth and getting help for myself and my sister.” It is truly something out of the movie “Serial Mom” when the brother of a victim and the son of Serial Mom (Chip Sutphin) briefly scuffle and then talk agents and movie deals. After getting punched by the brother, Chip Sutphin asks “But have you signed off yet?” and the victim’s brother responds “You mean for TV or print?”).
After first coming to her father’s defense against rape allegations, Ford is now reportedly adding her own rape allegations via Dr. Phil. Before the cancellation of the show, Stephanie Hayden Ford who starred with her father in the show publicly insisted that “There was never any impropriety in our home. He was and is a good father.”
She added at the time
‘”This was a false allegation and unfortunately that’s all it takes. My father is a good man, and ALL of his children love him very much and are truly sickened that a person would try to do this to our family. Its not right [sic]. You see the love we have for our family…
The one thing that really hurts us is that my sister is heartbroken that anyone could think this of her father. Its a nightmare…please stand with us.”She was particularly adamant at the time that the show was not cancelled and could still survive if everyone just stood by Hayden and presumably against his accuser. She reportedly went to Facebook and declared:
“Guys the show is NOT cancelled! We so appreciate the outcry of injustice but its not true, I guess some ppl just need ratings lol! We are on a hold with filming while my family takes care of a few things. You guys are the best fans ever & we love you so much! Thank u for standing strong with us!”
In an added bizarre twist, Kris Ford, Stephanie’s husband, posted a poem on Facebook that appeared to aimed at her father and reportedly was posted with her consent (according to a Facebook statement). The poem below includes the lines “You fooled with my wife when she was young. Sucking and groping, do you remember what was done?”
Hayden’s lawyer has been scathing in response to Stephanie flipping her account and insisted that “After 45 shows and 20 years, this is the first I’ve heard of it. Her complaints arose only after her income from the show and [gun] shop stopped.”
That is certainly going to make for a blistering examination if this goes to trial. The could include a demand for communications from the Dr. Phil show or even a demand that the good Doctor himself appear to explore the motivations and any agreement with the daughter in appearing on the show. A plea deal may be more difficult given the public attention to the case and the extremely high sentencing for child rape defendants. The possible attacks based on the prior girlfriend and the second daughter’s flipping her account would make for extremely harsh cross examinations after if the prosecutors take the standard step of bringing out the conflicts on direct. The question however is what Hayden has to gain from a plea beyond avoiding a painful trial for him or his family. That could still be an issue for him but, at the rate that this is playing out on television, reality is stranger than fiction in the Hayden household.
I JUSST WATCHED A MOVIE CALLED ::”THE CAREGIVER”I THOUGHT IT WAS A VERY GOOD MOVIE AND AS PART OF THE MOVIE THEY GO AFTER THE FATHER AT FIRST IF SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPENED TO ME. I WOULD GO STRAIGHT TO A HOSPITAL AND GET SOME SODIUM PENTHATOL THEY SAY IT IS THE TRUTH SERUM AND EVEN IF I DIED FROM TAKING IT AT LEAST THE COPS WOULD KNOW THAT IT WAS NOT ME BECAUSE I WOULD RATHER BE DEAD AND INNOCENT THAN ALIVE AND BE CALLED A PEDAPHILE
What a mess. It will be awhile before this is all sorted out. If this father is guilty of these allegations, he should be behind bars for his enter life.
ruth, Sorry for your pain as a child. I worked for a prosecutors office and helped prosecute sexual abusers. I applaud you for being open and forthright about your abuse. As you know, secrets are the tool of the abuser. And, some never overcome that manipulation of keeping abuse secret. Good luck w/ those boys!
It is a sensitive subject. And, at this point we know nothing factual. We have aligations which merit investigation. If this man is guilty, the truth shall prevail and victims have a long road ahead. If the allegations prove false, this man has a long road ahead. I have experienced childhood sexual abuse by a family member however, I am now a mother of sons and have seen what girls are capable of manipulating. Bottom line is we know nothing until we no something.
Amazing that someone suggests that because some of the women on Turley didn’t comment in this thread is because they may have been incest victims themselves?? That shows you the character of certain people. Disgusting.
@Annie
What is there to say. Once the comments have gone down the rabbit hole to the extent of lie detectors, there is nothing left.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll reiterate…it’s really painful to post on any thread. The latent hostility is palpable. Of course, say anything and you are brought to task.
By now, it’s useless, like howling in the wind.
Yes, seems so Maxcat, sadly.
I’m surprised more women did not comment on this thread. Maybe too painful for some to think about.
He must have gotten confused with the “this is you rifle, this is your gun, one is for fighting and the other is for fun.”
Warmongering will do that.
People who claim they were raped or violated need to have a lie detector test. If they are lying then they need to be prosecuted. It is common for kids to be prodded into saying that daddy touched me. Mommy does the prodding. These lies happen all the time. Give this person a lie detector test now.
BarkinDog – lie detector tests are not reliable which is why the results cannot be used in court.
wrxdave:
I agree. I have no interest in “rehabilitating” pedophiles. There are some people who just should never be let out of prison. There’s no community that wants them. We’d never trust them. And the price of recidivism is too high. I’ve heard about the welcome they receive in prison from the other inmates, who must be thinking of their own children that they are unable to protect.
It’s a common problem for child assault cases to be prosecuted long after the fact, when all evidence is lost. Kids get cowed, frightened, threatened, and shamed into not telling, and it sometimes takes years before they come forward. This is also the case among predator teachers and clergy. But then there is the problem of proof.
I hope justice is done, and that, if he is a pedophile, that he never gets released from prison.
max,
Why do you hate the public statement of incest? I don’t like reality T.V. either. Only a court of law can prove these charges but incest should never be kept in the dark. That is exactly where this kind of crime hides best.
An incest victim has a lot to lose by speaking out. It takes courage to do so. Putting it out there in full view is possibly safer for the victim and it certainly brings this crime to the attention of other victims–people who may also be terrified of speaking out.
@Jill
Why do I hate the public statement of incest? I hate it in the context of his public persona, where he will be treated differently from others who are charged with the same crime. I hate it that his children, who had to be doubly brave to speak out, since their utterances are now fodder for the tabloids, will be dissected in the media along with their father. This is the Ray Rice of incest. I hate that he will be able, due to his “fame” to hire top notch lawyers who will drag his children through the mud, knowing that all will make the press. Public statements of incest happen frequently, albeit not frequently enough, but the publicity generally doesn’t go nationwide.
Neither here nor there, but I’ve always had an aversion to reality TV. Why would one want their whole life out there for all to see? Even in cases like this, I understand that his shows were only about his guns (gun store?), but once you hit the public, it’s over. Would we know about these charges if he were a nobody? I hate the crime, but I also hate the public display of it. He’s a nobody; the faster he regains that status, the better off society will be. If he is guilty, and it seems likely, he now, unfortunately, will be able to afford slicker counsel.
Here is information if you have been raped by a trusted adult, including a family member:
https://www.rainn.org/get-information/types-of-sexual-assault/incest
Status crimes…. Sick Bast’d…..
The alleged victims should have gone to the sheriff before going public as far as for a criminal prosecution. But, victims have differing ways of announcing the events. I can see where a person is coerced into silence might feel it is less risky to tell multiple individuals rather than trust only one and be betrayed.
As for “Dr. Phil,” the evidence available to me, including from Wikipedia, suggests to me that “Dr. Phil” has both a bachelors degree and a masters degree in psychology, and a doctoral degree in clinical psychology. His doctorate would, if that is true, be a professional degree and not a research degree, so I surmise.
According to what I read on Wikipedia, he is not, presently, a licensed psychologist.
It is possible to think many thoughts which are contrary to objectively truthful reality.
As for parents abusing their children, it is my nearly lifelong observation, and a basis of my research doctorate in bioengineering, that social traditions established for many generations are a profoundly oft-tragic factor in the prevalence of child abuse.
In my work in theoretical and applied-theoretical biology, the most abusive belief that I have ever found, which belief is the most neurologically damaging belief I have yet come to recognize, is the mistaken belief that, had some event in the past been other than as it was, things would be better now, and those whose belief kept things from being better than they are now are at fault.
J Brian – you are correct. He is a Dr. but he cannot treat.
I think I am going to wait for more information to come out on this one. Going to Dr. Phil is a major tip-off. I think his degree is in education or something. And he makes people sign a statement saying they are not really emotionally unstable to begin with.
There are so many interesting conditions in the world – nature, wildlife, climate change, asteroids, nuclear energy, human behavior generally. It seems such a waste that so many people are focused on depraved lifestyles for entertainment in their lives.
Now they have a TRUE Reality Show. This poor girl is wounded for life. When a father does this to his child it destroys her view of men and makes it nearly impossible to have any kind of normal relationship w/ a man. It often creates an angry, bitter woman. And to go through life like that, w/ that darkness, is maybe the worst part of a betrayal like this. I pray for the child. God bless her.
One would like to give any defendent the benefit of doubt, especially when the accusers seem bent on publicity themselves. But as a man who’s sister was systematically raped by a stepfather (while I lived with my father), from the time she was eleven to the time she was seventeen, all I can say is that I hope, if the allegations are proved true, that he receives all of the counseling and rehabilitation from his fellow inmates in Angola, that our prison systems have so famously offered those who rape children.
Of course, I may be biased.