This is a Glass Box Media Podcast. Why do you seem so scared? All I wanted to do is play with you. Please come and play with me.

I am so lonely. You're not afraid of the doll, are you? Don't be afraid. Come with me. I will show you where I play hide and seek. Do you want to play hide and seek? You hide and I'll find you. And then. Joel Rifkin was born on January 20th, 1959 in New York City. His mother was 20 years old. His father was a 24-year-old college student. Neither of them was equipped to care for a child, so Joel was put up for adoption.

Benjamin and Jeannie Rifkin became his parents. They adopted a baby girl three years later. They moved to East Meadow, Long Island.

Joel would live there well into adulthood. Joel did not grow up in a dysfunctional household. He was not treated differently by Genie and Benjamin just because he was not a biological relation.

They enjoyed the quality of life, typical of the upper middle class.

So Joel wanted for nothing and grew up in a neighborhood that was safe for children.

Things were not always so pleasant for Joel outside of his home.

He was very shy and awkward around other children.

He became a target for bullying at its school.

Joe also faced difficulties academically.

Those IQ was tested with the results of 128. He struggled with learning disabilities. His grades never reflected his

level of intelligence. Joel was dubbed Joe the Turtle by his peers at school.

This was due to his unusual gate.

He had a sloping posture and walked at a very slow pace. He was never selected to participate in

sports due to an assumption of incompetence. The bullying began with teasing and jokes, but soon escalated to more malicious treatment.

They humiliated him by playing pranks and jokes at his expense.

His books and lunch were frequently stolen.

The bullies would sneak up behind him and pull his pants down.

From there he was assaulted regularly.

Joel became so afraid of being bullied that he wouldn't leave the school's

property to go home until he was sure all the other students had left.

He didn't play with the other kids from his neighborhood because he feared that they too would

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