Jean Berlinghoff: ‘I am not a victim’

Jean Berlinghoff, a slim 15-year-old with long dark hair and large blue eyes framed by dark lashes, sat on a wooden bench outside her Redding home, where the lighting was better for television cameras, but where the winter air was chilly. She laughed and said she was anxious to get inside, because her feet were cold.

On the last afternoon of 2010, Jean and her mother, Heather Vega, arranged a media interview so Jean -- whose photos appeared for 31 days on missing posters, Facebook pages and television shows across the nation -- could set the record straight on some things. They called the conversation - a sort of "semi-final" access to their family before they went silent, until after the legal parts of Jean's story were behind them. Then, said Heather, Jean could - and would - speak freely. About everything.

Until then, the mother and daughter said that other matters would not be discussed, such as day-to-day specifics regarding Jean's nearly month-long disappearance with her uncle, Charles Berlinghoff, and matters related to the pending court cases against Charles, as well as recent molestation charges brought against Jean's father, Jake (Daniels) Berlinghoff - Charles' brother.

Heather said she saw the New Year's Eve interview as a chance for her daughter to speak, and a means to send a message to the scores of people who worried about Jean, searched for her, feared the worst when she was gone, and rejoiced at her return.

"Jean's entitled to say something, and she will, but there's a lot we can't talk about right now," Heather said. "The main thing I wanted to emphasize to people is that Jean's well, and she's going to be OK."

In many ways, Jean looks every part a typical Redding teenager, with blue jeans, a stylish hoodie and carefully applied makeup and nail polish. She's all-American pretty, with dimples that punctuate her cheeks when she smiles, whether to speak of her little brother, or joke about wanting just the good pictures of her published (none that make her look fat, she says), or to point out her new jeweled facial piercing, a miniature sparkly stud, where a movie star's tiny beauty mark might be.

Inside the warmth of the Vega's modest home, liberally decorated with family photos, Jean settled into one of the couches, where she described her version of events, starting from the day she disappeared.

Jean said she ran away from her father's home after an argument between the father and daughter escalated. He had grounded Jean and then wrestled her cell phone away from her. (The marriage of Jean's parents, Jake Berlinghoff and Heather Vega, ended in 1996. Heather married Robert Vega in 1998, and she's had primary custody of Jean.)

Jean said that she never felt in danger during her absence, that she ate well and had shelter. She said that while she had some impressions of what to expect, the reality wasn't worse, "just different." She said that contrary to some reports, she did pack some belongings for her journey, such as warm clothes. One of the most glaring points she wanted made clear was that she saw her uncle Charles - "Charlie" - as a best friend and protector, not her abductor.

That's why Jean said she feels bad for Charles' being punished. She said she accepts responsibility for her actions, and believes that if he's punished, then she should be, too.

"I'm not a little girl or a victim," she said of her disappearance. "I felt like I didn't have a choice. I felt I had to leave."

Jean added that her recent relationship with her mother had been rocky, so she didn't believe she could go to her, or confide in her, or that her mother would understand.

"I'm glad Charlie went with me. Without him, it would have been scary. He told me that if I ever wanted to go back, he'd do it for me. I didn't want to be found. I thought I'd come back when I was 18. When you're under 18, you don't have a say."

Heather, who's expecting a baby boy in the spring, said she experienced mixed emotions throughout the last few months. Fear, frustration, anger, betrayal, sadness, and finally, joy. Despite her angst at her daughter's disappearance, she said her gut feeling all along told her that Jean was alive, and she'd be OK.



"I'm very happy she's home," she said. "I feel like we owe it to the community to let them know she's safe, she has great goals for the upcoming year, and she's excited about starting school and some projects."

Heather admitted that her first instinct was to "strangle Charles" and that although she and Jean have made huge headway toward improving their relationship and the way they communicate, some of their perceptions of the last months' events still don't match.

"We do disagree about what happened," Heather said. "But this whole thing will eventually be dealt with."



Jean Berlinghoff's mother and step-father, Heather and Robert Vega, say they're just glad to have Jean back home again.

Jean said that while she was gone, she felt bad about what she was putting her mother through, and she worried about how Heather's pregnancy was going, and about her little brother. She said she missed her mother and family and realized how much she loved them. In fact, the teen said, it was out of respect and concern for her family's privacy that she didn't speak publicly after her return to explain things. Even now, she said, there's so much she wants to say about the way things really were, what's true and what's a lie.

"My family wants to move on. But nobody knows the actual situation except the law, my dad and Charlie and me," she said. "I know people judge me, and have left hateful messages on Facebook and said a lot of hurtful things about me. I want people to look at me as I am, a strong, smart, young lady. I want to have a say in things. Take me as I am, or watch me as I leave."

Meanwhile, Jean's moving on, too. She'll start school soon, where she's in an independent study program. And she's working at regaining lost trust and repairing damaged relationships, such as those with her siblings and mother. Jean perks up when she discusses her future, and plans to give back to the community, perhaps at the local homeless shelter. She said her time on the road, when she stayed in homeless shelters and was exposed to down-and-out people, showed her how some subsist on so little. Jean said it made her grateful for what she had, sympathetic to the less fortunate, and the experience instilled in her a desire to help those who need it most.

As to Heather, she looks at her daughter and she sees herself at a younger age.

"Jean's a lot like me," she said with a chuckle. "If she has an opinion, she wants to be heard. I think she now knows she can trust me, and that I'd do anything for her."

Despite that, Heather admits to feeling nervous sometimes that Jean will leave again.

"But she's assured me she won't," Heather said.

"She's a good person, and she has to get on with her life. But she is a drastic child," Heather said with a slight smile and a shake of her head as she looked toward her daughter.

"Drastic young lady," corrected Jean with a laugh.

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She was missing for more than a month, but now the Redding teenager who made national headlines says she wants the community to know why she disappeared with her uncle.
Jean Berlinghoff, 15, and her uncle Charles Berlinghoff, 44, vanished from her Redding home November 10th after Jean says she got into a physical altercation with her father, Jacob, when he tried to take her cell phone away. She says leaving Redding was her idea, not that of her uncle.
"I decided to leave and he decided to go with me," Jean said. "I think it was like a protection thing."
After leaving Redding, investigators say the two traveled to Castella, where they ditched Charles' car. From there, Jean says they spent about three weeks in Portland until she heard she was listed as missing on a website. Jean and her uncle then headed south to San Francisco, where they stayed until eventually being found by a family member.
Jean says they stayed at homeless shelters, and she doesn't regret her decision to leave.
"When we were on the streets, that was the greatest time of my life," Jean said. "I experienced so much. Yeah, times were hard, but I ate well and I slept decent and I was warm."
Now that she's home, Jean says her life is slowly getting back to normal.
"It's changed my life drastically. I go out places and I get stared at," Jean said. "I hear people whispering, and I can't go anywhere without someone saying 'hi' and coming up to me."
Jean is scheduled to return to school next week.
Her uncle, Charles Berlinghoff, is being held in Shasta County Jail. He's facing around 100 counts related to the disappearance of his niece.

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I don't understand why her mother let her do this interview. Jean is famous for being famous. Forget the interviews and try to get this girl's life back on track and try to keep her from engaging in more stupidity. Yup, Charlie went with her to protect her. BS! Uncle Charlie went with her to commit with 30 counts of lewd acts with a minor, 30 counts of incest and 15 counts of oral copulation. Someone better lock Jean in her room or we'll be blogging about her time and time again.

Jean is making it seem like it was fun and games being on the streets.

You are right BJ, "More stupidity out of this girl. Always amazed, never surprised!"

Jean is going to say anything to protect her Uncle Charlie.

Her Mom looks young to me to have a 15 year old daughter.

Heather is only 33.

Teenagers themselves when their daughter was born, Vega and Jacob Berlinghoff were briefly married but then split up. They’ve both remarried since, with Jacob Berlinghoff actually marrying again twice and divorcing twice. He currently is set to wed again next year, he’s told the Record Searchlight.

Boy that sure sounds like me when I was 15 and 16 yrs old. I knew it all. I was not a kid in my mind. I even got married at 16 because I thought I was so worldly. Jeans Mom is going to have her hands full with Jean. I hope her Mom gets Jean some counseling sessions.

This will certainly be interesting once she starts disputing the "lies" that have been told.

Worms and slugs, worms and slugs. Perfect for a movie of the week.

This girl needs a boarding or military school. For girls.

I'll agree that she's not a little girl when she can come up with receipts showing that she's paying for her own food, shelter, and clothing. Until she does that on her own and isn't living off their parents she is a little girl and her mother better clue her in and shut her up. I agree with you Charm, MILITARY school for GIRLS!

The more I think about this girl, the angrier I get.
Since when does a young girl of 15 call the shots? Holding a press conference or doing interviews, hoping the pictures don't make her look fat. Whether she knows it or not, she is a victim of her uncle, quite possible her father, too.
A young girl like this needs to stay quiet. The public does not have a right to know, she should be not looking for more fame.
How does a girl this young get a piercing? I thought you had to be 18. Did her mother approve because Jean said she would leave again? Her threats are meaningless. Let her run.
What a handful.

charminglane wrote:The more I think about this girl, the angrier I get.
Since when does a young girl of 15 call the shots? Holding a press conference or doing interviews, hoping the pictures don't make her look fat. Whether she knows it or not, she is a victim of her uncle, quite possible her father, too.
A young girl like this needs to stay quiet. The public does not have a right to know, she should be not looking for more fame.
How does a girl this young get a piercing? I thought you had to be 18. Did her mother approve because Jean said she would leave again? Her threats are meaningless. Let her run.
What a handful.

She probably has tats too, I hear they want Angelina to play her in the movie. :tongue in chee

Why would anyone want to make a movie about Jean and give her yet another 15 minutes of fame. I bet she's in seventh Heaven because "It's changed my life drastically. I go out places and I get stared at," Jean said. "I hear people whispering, and I can't go anywhere without someone saying 'hi' and coming up to me."Maybe she'll ask to play herself if there's a movie made about her and Uncle Charlie and the 30 counts of lewd acts with a minor, 30 counts of incest and 15 counts of oral copulation. I'm so disgusted with how this is playing out.
Have to excuse myself and go somewhere and now.

Well we are all on to them and their attention getting behavior. No one is going to be interested in this story in a book or on the big screen. So if that is why they did all this it won't work. The whole thing does make you want to

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Sure quiet on this front.