Carol Allen was provided headphones in the courtroom due to hearing issues.
A Cape May County woman accused of allowing the sexual assaults of children at her home for two decades is back in jail for violating the conditions of her release.
Carol Allen, now 82, allegedly befriended people with children and grandchildren through her church, encouraging them to come to the home even though she was barred from having minors there.
In that case, an investigation into the alleged rape of a preschooler by one of Allen’s sons and another man led to allegations that the family’s Dennis Township blueberry farm had hidden child sexual abuse dating to 2001.
Ryan Roach and Willis Allen Jr. were arrested for first-degree aggravated sexual assault in 2019.
Months later, it was discovered that the victim’s mother, Teresa Millard, used walkie-talkies to serve as “lookout” for the men during the assaults while the girl was visiting the Allen home. The girl even told investigators that Millard was present when she was assaulted.
Neither Millard nor Roach was allowed to be alone with the girl as the result of a Division of Child Protection and Permanency case.
Carol Allen was supposed to keep watch over the visits.
Further investigation led to even more allegations of abuse, with claims that at least four children were assaulted at the home over the years, all while they were supposed to be under Allen’s supervised protection.
Allen’s adopted daughter alleged she was assaulted by all four of the woman's sons.
Anytime a child tried to report the abuse to someone outside, they were removed from school and got into trouble, Assistant Prosecutor Bryna Batten said at a previous court hearing.
Carol Allen, center, with (clockwise from left corner) Teresa Millard, Willis Allen Jr., Ryan Roach and Vincent Allen."What happens in this house, stays in this house," Allen allegedly told a boy who disclosed to school officials that he had been assaulted.
Allen was released from the Cape May County jail in September 2020, with the judge at the time citing her age, health issues, lack of prior record, community ties and letters attesting to her character.
She was not to be around children due to the pending charges.
But an Aug. 30 “play date” led to her arrest again days later.
Allen allegedly befriended another grandmother at her church, and urged her to bring her own grandson to the farm.
The boy’s 3-year-old sister also came.
But when the children’s mother saw pictures from the visit, she recognized Allen from previous news stories about the case.
That sparked another investigation that found the grandson — Willis Allen’s son — was living at the property with his mother and father, even though DCPP had closed the case under the impression that the boy and his mother moved out of state.
Willis Allen at one of his three detention hearings.Defense attorney Jake Bayak denied Allen’s grandson was living at the home.
Instead, he said that Allen was allowing the boy’s father to have supervised visits with his son and fiancee.
But while the boy is a student in Pennsylvania, he attends class virtually from his grandmother’s home, the state alleges.
“The state believes that this defendant, despite her age, has been a master manipulator when it comes to working and gaming systems and rules that are put in place,” Batten told the judge during a detention hearing Wednesday.
She labeled “ridiculous” Bayak’s claims that Allen kept all children outdoors under the belief that they were barred only from being in the house.
Both Allen’s grandson and the boy’s mother admitted that they were living in the home, Batten said.
The boy who visited also told investigators he played video games in the grandson's bedroom, which he was able to described including that there were bunk beds where the grandson slept “on the top bunk not the bottom bunk.”
Allen is additionally charged with resisting arrest when police tried to take her into custody Sept. 3.
She sustained some injuries to her forearms as a result, Batten told the judge.
The prosecutor said there were also concerns “that it’s not just a one-time instance,” as other children apparently came to the farm to play with the young boy.
The Allen Family Farm is a popular spot where people can come and pick blueberries. The family business’ Facebook page shows it has been renamed to Belleplain’s Best Blueberries and More.
It’s not clear if the name change came as a result of the family’s criminal cases.
The detention hearing ended with Carol Allen ordered held in jail
Meanwhile, a motion to revoke Willis Allen’s release was set to be filed, Batten said in court. But as of this writing, the accused child rapist is charged only with summonses of obstruction and resisting, court records show.
Allen already has had three detention hearings after his subsequent arrests, and was released each time. The judges who released him cited his compliance with the terms of his release. He also is said to have developmental disabilities.
The older case also included charges of first-degree sexual assault and child endangerment against one of Allen's brothers.
Vincent AllenVincent Allen has pleaded guilty in the older case, but will face no jail time or even probation, according to the plea agreement obtained by BreakingAC.
It calls for the endangering charge to be amended to a harassment charge, and the sexual assault claim to be dismissed.
Vincent Allen faces only fines, “no jail, no probation,” the agreement states.
Roach also pleaded guilty in the rape case.
Under the agreement, the first-degree charge is lowered to second-degree aggravated sexual assault. He faces a seven-year sentence with 85 percent of parole ineligibility under the No Early Release Act.
He also must register under Megan’s Law with lifetime supervision.
Roach is cooperating with the state.
