PHOENIX -- Wal-Mart released a statement Thursday in response to the lawsuit filed by a Valley couple claiming they were unfairly accused of sexual abuse.
The couple is suing the state, the city of Peoria, and Wal-Mart and released their own statement on Tuesday.
ABC15 received the couple's remarks via John MacDonald, who works at a Valley public relations firm, and said he is not a paid spokesperson, but is simply helping the couple as they deal with the media.
In the statement, AJ and Lisa Demaree encourage the public to listen to recently released interview tapes in their entirety, rather than the portions "pulled out of context" by the Peoria Police Department.
According to the statement, "These interviews were conducted on the very day Peoria officers and CPS workers ignored the law, snatched our crying children from our arms and violated their own policy by tossing our girls into separate foster homes when they knew family members were readily available."
The Demarees also asked in the statement, "Why, despite immediate evidence that nothing harmful or illegal had occurred, and despite the quick and clear opinions of at least three independent professional reviewers, including a judge, that our children were in no danger whatsoever, did Peoria Police, CPS and the Attorney General's Office prey on our family for nine months?"
The couple was separated from their children for a month after a Peoria Wal-Mart employee considered their developing photos inappropriate and contacted police.
The attorney representing the Arizona couple told ABC15 he will add another claim to the lawsuit against the city.
"It pisses me off," said attorney Dick Treon, after learning the Peoria Police Department released audio recordings of detectives' interviews with his clients, AJ and Lisa Demaree.
Some of the pictures included bath time photos that showed their three young daughters partially nude, according to Treon.
He said a Wal-Mart employee turned the pictures over to police, and Child Protective Services then took custody of the children for an entire month while the state investigated.
"On August 30, 2008 at about 9 a.m., we answered the door to four Peoria police officers and were questioned over photos of our children that were developed at Wal-Mart from a memory stick of 144 photos," said AJ Demaree. "We were in shock."
According to a police report released by the Peoria Police Department, officers viewing the pictures felt that eight of the pictures could be considered child erotica or five could be considered child pornography.
Police detailed each one, "The girls...have their buttocks stuck up in the air and their legs are spread apart showing their anuses and vaginas."
In another photo, an officer wrote, "The next photo is of the girls in the bathtub, the middle daughter appears to by lying on her back ...her younger sister is on top of her also on her back...the youngest girls vagina is exposed to the camera."
The Demarees said the photos were innocent family fun.
"They're just bath time photos, girls getting out of the bath, drying, wrestling, playing around."
On the audio recording, Lisa Demaree said one of her daughters frequently runs around naked.
"She's a nudist," Demaree said. "We tease her all the time that she's going to live in a nudist colony."
She said the pictures were not pornographic in any way.
"I can totally understand why you're here," AJ Demaree told one detective on the audio recording.
"Do you know why somebody would be taking a close up of her bare vagina?" a detective asked.
AJ Demaree responded by saying he and his wife were taking pictures of something else.
"It's more of her little butt," he said. "They're not troubling to me because I know the intent."
In his report, an investigator who interviewed the girls wrote that one told him, "her mom tickles around her private and it feels good."All three girls were given medical exams and the findings of the exams were normal, with no signs of sexual abuse. The Demarees were cleared of any charges and their children were returned.
In a court statement from October 3, 2008, Judge Richard Gama said, "It is clear, based on the evidence, that these photographs were taken at these children's bath time...The court finds that these children are not at risk for neglect or abuse."
Treon said releasing the audio recording on October 12, 2009 "is highly offensive to the parents."
He explained he would be adding a claim onto the current lawsuit against the city for continuing to release information in a case that has "all of the false claims," he said.
"The Peoria Police Department is continuing to maliciously persecute the parents and the children and holding them up to a false light," he said.
"They should be closing this file and say, 'Sorry, we made a mistake,'" he said.
The Peoria Police Department would not make any statements in response to the possible new legal claim.
The couple, meanwhile, claims the incident has caused lasting harm and are taking action against both Wal-Mart and Arizona.
"We' re trying to be strong for our children, but when they are being ripped away from you and you can't make sense or answer their questions... 'Where am I going?' And you can't tell them where they are going, You tell them that mommy and daddy will always be here. You wonder if your kids can ever trust you again," said Lisa Demaree.
The children were ages 1 1/2, 4 and 5 years old at the time they were taken away.
"If Wal-Mart is going to act as a censor, they need to notify their customers. If CPS has concerns they need to have trained individuals who actually conduct investigations. The Peoria police department and Attorney General must no longer abuse their power," said AJ Demaree.
The couple is seeking monetary damages from the state and Wal-Mart, but is not asking for a specific amount.
In a statement to ABC15, Wal-Mart Spokesperson Michelle Bradford said, "At Wal-Mart, we're committed to providing quality service and convenience to our photo customers. These are sensitive allegations, and we're taking them very seriously."
City of Peoria officials told ABC15 they were aware of the accusations, adding "The fact is, when we are contacted about children who may be at risk, we investigate. This is what we should do."
According to City Attorney Steve Kemp, “The City stands behind the appropriate actions of our officers. The City will vigorously defend against these accusations."
The Demarees have filed two lawsuits, one directed at the State Attorney General's office, the City of Peoria, and the state. The other lawsuit is directed at Arkansas-based Wal-Mart.
"We now realize how much power the state has and they can pull any one of your children out of your home right now," said Lisa Demaree.
In the Wal-Mart suit, the couple said the company failed to inform them of an "unsuitable print policy" which allows the company to turn over any photos to law enforcement.
The couple claims the state defamed them with false accusations of sexual abuse and child pornography.
The Arizona Attorney General's office said they won't comment on ongoing litigation.
Response from Wal-Mart regarding the case
"We recognize that this is an emotional matter for everyone involved, as well as a sensitive situation that we take seriously. Given state law, we believe our associates acted appropriately in notifying authorities who then made the decision whether to investigate."
Daphne Moore Director Corporate Communications
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