Pageant officials want crown back : Local News : Ventura County Star
I'd love to hear Miss South Carolina's take on this.
Two years after she was dethroned as Miss Ventura County 2005 for being married, Hilary Gushwa still hasn't returned her crown and other prizes, and now pageant officials are looking to law enforcement for help getting them back.
Gushwa was stripped of her title when it was revealed she was married at the time of the contest, a violation of pageant rules. In a subsequent small claims court hearing earlier this year, she told a judge she was on medication and too drunk to remember her own wedding.
The Ventura County Scholarship Association sued Gushwa for $5,000, alleging she misrepresented herself as single in order to compete, knowing she was married before she signed papers to compete in the regional contest. The association was awarded $3,121, excluding franchise fees, in Ventura County Superior Court.
Gushwa paid the debt in July, according to a family friend.
But the crown, a commemorative ring, a pin and other prizes valued at more than $2,600 have not been returned, according to pageant officials.
The scholarship association filed a report with the Moorpark Police Department at the end of August, claiming Gushwa's actions measure up to theft of the crown and other items. The association claims she perjured herself in civil court. Police said this week they have forwarded the information to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
Trust broken
"Only girls that are entitled to it are deserving to own the crown," said Jackie Youngern, an association committee member. "This program runs on trust, and she's broken that trust."
Gushwa did not respond to repeated requests from The Star for comment for this report.
Gushwa was crowned Miss Ventura County in October 2004. The marriage was leaked eight months after the contest by an anonymous phone call to officials at the Miss California organization.
It was too late for the county's runner-up to have a shot at the Miss California competition, which was held the next week. No one represented Ventura County in the competition that year.
Clark County, Nev., records show Gushwa married David Patrick Scanlan in Las Vegas on Oct. 10, 2004, less than two weeks before the county contest.
Family friend Carolyn Schrimpf said Gushwa tried to return the crown and other items in the past, in exchange for the pageant agreeing not to pursue any further legal action. But the organization didn't put that in writing, she said.
"It's a sad situation, and they want to make her suffer," Schrimpf said.
Organizers explain action
Organization officials said they did agree to put in writing that they wouldn't pursue further legal action, but Gushwa backed down on returning the items.
Some in the pageant community wonder why the scholarship organization continues to pursue criminal charges since Gushwa already has paid the small claims court debt.
"The reason we took it to the next level was because the new evidence showed that Hilary had full knowledge of the wedding, and even planned the wedding herself," Youngern said.
In the court hearing in April, Gushwa told the judge she was taking medication and was too drunk to remember the wedding. But the groom's family produced wedding pictures they said were evidence to the contrary. The photos show a smiling Gushwa, now 24, getting married at a chapel in Las Vegas.
The groom's family has said that said Gushwa was not intoxicated at the time of the wedding, nor the rehearsal dinner the night before. The statement in the investigation files also says the Scanlan family wanted to hold off on the marriage but Gushwa insisted.
The Clark County documents show Gushwa sought an annulment on June 15, 2005, just days after the anonymous phone call to the state pageant about her marriage. Nevada confirmed to pageant officials she had been married three days before she signed documents to participate in the Miss Ventura County contest.
Her annulment was granted in July 2005.
After the annulment, Gushwa moved on to be crowned "Miss Ventura County International" by Crowning Glory Productions, a pageant organization started by her parents, Connie and Marty Gushwa. There was no formal competition, and Gushwa passed her crown to another winner this year.
Connie Gushwa was out of town Tuesday and would not respond to questions from The Star.
State group following case
It is against the Miss Ventura County International, and all local, state and national pageant competition rules to be married or divorced. An annulment, however, erases the marriage completely and is not considered a divorce.
Bob Arnhum, executive director of Miss California Organization, which runs the state pageant, said there are very specific rules in the contract all contestants enter into, but it excludes annulments. He added he has been following Gushwa's case.
"We are very supportive of Miss Ventura County's (Pageant) efforts to retrieve the crown and other items in her possession," Arnhum said.
The Miss Ventura County Scholarship Organization is aligned with the Miss America Organization, which makes more than $40 million in scholarships available to young women at the local, state and national pageant levels.
Gushwa was stripped of her title when it was revealed she was married at the time of the contest, a violation of pageant rules. In a subsequent small claims court hearing earlier this year, she told a judge she was on medication and too drunk to remember her own wedding.
The Ventura County Scholarship Association sued Gushwa for $5,000, alleging she misrepresented herself as single in order to compete, knowing she was married before she signed papers to compete in the regional contest. The association was awarded $3,121, excluding franchise fees, in Ventura County Superior Court.
Gushwa paid the debt in July, according to a family friend.
But the crown, a commemorative ring, a pin and other prizes valued at more than $2,600 have not been returned, according to pageant officials.
The scholarship association filed a report with the Moorpark Police Department at the end of August, claiming Gushwa's actions measure up to theft of the crown and other items. The association claims she perjured herself in civil court. Police said this week they have forwarded the information to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
Trust broken
"Only girls that are entitled to it are deserving to own the crown," said Jackie Youngern, an association committee member. "This program runs on trust, and she's broken that trust."
Gushwa did not respond to repeated requests from The Star for comment for this report.
Gushwa was crowned Miss Ventura County in October 2004. The marriage was leaked eight months after the contest by an anonymous phone call to officials at the Miss California organization.
It was too late for the county's runner-up to have a shot at the Miss California competition, which was held the next week. No one represented Ventura County in the competition that year.
Clark County, Nev., records show Gushwa married David Patrick Scanlan in Las Vegas on Oct. 10, 2004, less than two weeks before the county contest.
Family friend Carolyn Schrimpf said Gushwa tried to return the crown and other items in the past, in exchange for the pageant agreeing not to pursue any further legal action. But the organization didn't put that in writing, she said.
"It's a sad situation, and they want to make her suffer," Schrimpf said.
Organizers explain action
Organization officials said they did agree to put in writing that they wouldn't pursue further legal action, but Gushwa backed down on returning the items.
Some in the pageant community wonder why the scholarship organization continues to pursue criminal charges since Gushwa already has paid the small claims court debt.
"The reason we took it to the next level was because the new evidence showed that Hilary had full knowledge of the wedding, and even planned the wedding herself," Youngern said.
In the court hearing in April, Gushwa told the judge she was taking medication and was too drunk to remember the wedding. But the groom's family produced wedding pictures they said were evidence to the contrary. The photos show a smiling Gushwa, now 24, getting married at a chapel in Las Vegas.
The groom's family has said that said Gushwa was not intoxicated at the time of the wedding, nor the rehearsal dinner the night before. The statement in the investigation files also says the Scanlan family wanted to hold off on the marriage but Gushwa insisted.
The Clark County documents show Gushwa sought an annulment on June 15, 2005, just days after the anonymous phone call to the state pageant about her marriage. Nevada confirmed to pageant officials she had been married three days before she signed documents to participate in the Miss Ventura County contest.
Her annulment was granted in July 2005.
After the annulment, Gushwa moved on to be crowned "Miss Ventura County International" by Crowning Glory Productions, a pageant organization started by her parents, Connie and Marty Gushwa. There was no formal competition, and Gushwa passed her crown to another winner this year.
Connie Gushwa was out of town Tuesday and would not respond to questions from The Star.
State group following case
It is against the Miss Ventura County International, and all local, state and national pageant competition rules to be married or divorced. An annulment, however, erases the marriage completely and is not considered a divorce.
Bob Arnhum, executive director of Miss California Organization, which runs the state pageant, said there are very specific rules in the contract all contestants enter into, but it excludes annulments. He added he has been following Gushwa's case.
"We are very supportive of Miss Ventura County's (Pageant) efforts to retrieve the crown and other items in her possession," Arnhum said.
The Miss Ventura County Scholarship Organization is aligned with the Miss America Organization, which makes more than $40 million in scholarships available to young women at the local, state and national pageant levels.
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