[MR] re: announcement from SCA Pres

[Lord Mungoe]

On the one hand innocent until proven guilty is a truth. On the other hand we do not want to convict someone in a puiblic forum before they go on trial. However if one is charged it is a matter of public record and not a secret. 

Reason I bring this up is that a member of our kingdom was recently convicted of child abuse. Yes, it occurred in the mundane world, and apparenlty there was a descision to keep it quite until he was convicted. As far as I have been able to find out, nothing improper happened at a SCA event or meeting.

Now my problem with this is that this individual confessed from the get go. He admited guilt, his lawyer admited guilt, and everyone in the know knew he was guilty. However it was kept quite well after he was convicted and went to jail. I, a parent that had this individual over to my house around my children, did not know about any of this until he was recently banished. 

Now this angers me on a couple of levels. One I would have liked to know as soon as possible that a child molester was in my home. Secoundly if this person had been charged, and was on bail, and people/officers in my Barony and Kingdom knew he had been charged and kept quite, said Barony and Kingdom would have been liable if he did anything to my kids. 

I would also find it the lowest form of a human being if someone in my barony allowed my kids to be put in a position of danger in order to protect someone's legal standing.

So, I see a quandry, Privacy and Innocent until proven quilty vs. Safty of children and Liability of our Kingdom and the SCA.

This is a difficult thing. I do not want a innocent's reputation ruined due to some emotional overreaction and rumor mongering(Which has happened in our Kingdom). However, under the above circumstance, I would have liked to have know about a convicted child molester being in my home a lot sooner then what happened.


----- Original Message ----- 
  From: james barker 
  To: atlantia at atlantia.sca.org 
  Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2003 4:44 PM
  Subject: Re: [MR] re: announcement from SCA Pres


  Erich I think your post is what the earlier post about avoiding this topic 
  wished to avoid. Remember this guy is innocent until proven guilty and there 
  are many cases of children lying about this kind of thing. A jury will hear 
  all the evidence and make a ruling.

  That said I read some of the children's testimony and if he is found guilty 
  he deserves every beating he takes in prison.

  I hope this does not start some panic, it did not happen at an SCA event, 
  and not all the victims are in the SCA. As already stated you can't predict 
  these things and without previous history of such acts how could we weed a 
  person with this perversion out? Parents just have to be there as much as 
  possible.

  Remember innocent until proven guilty. We will all know the truth soon 
  enough.



  James de Biblesworth










  From: Dexter Guptill <dguptill at mindspring.com>
  To: atlantia <atlantia at atlantia.sca.org>
  Subject: Re: [MR] re: announcement from SCA Pres
  Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 13:00:28 -0500

  Belphoebe,
  I think you mean "prosecuted" rather than "persecuted". In any case,
  frequently all that needs to be done is to tell the other inmates what
  the molester is in for. Note the photograph in
  http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/Northeast/11/12/abuse.sleepovers.ap/ --
  somebody in the jail found out.

  Erich

  Belphoebe wrote:
  ...
   > And of course, follow up with everything we have on
   > these kinds of incidents.  This sort of thing leaves
   > lifelong scars on children. Individuals who molest
   > them should be persecuted with all the weight of the
   > law and quite often they get away with it because
   > people are too embarrased to follow through.
   > Particularly the victims.
  ========================================================================
                      The Merry Rose Tavern at Cheapside
       List Info: http://merryrose.atlantia.sca.org/
     Submissions: Atlantia at atlantia.sca.org
  Subscriptions: http://seahorse.atlantia.sca.org/mailman/listinfo/atlantia

  _________________________________________________________________
  Save your conversations with Messenger 6.1.  Get it FREE! 
  http://www.msnmessenger-download.com

  ========================================================================
                     The Merry Rose Tavern at Cheapside
      List Info: http://merryrose.atlantia.sca.org/
    Submissions: Atlantia at atlantia.sca.org
  Subscriptions: http://seahorse.atlantia.sca.org/mailman/listinfo/atlantia