Washington, DC (TLS). As a high school and college student, Allena Williams Ward once decried teacher scandals that often made their way into the news. According to friends and acquaintances of the middle school teacher who finds herself embroiled in a sex scandal involving young teenage boys, Ward would express shock and outrage that teachers would behave in such as fashion as to bring reproach upon the teaching profession.
Friends who knew Ward back in those days describe a clean-cut, wholesome Christian girl who always wanted to become a school teacher. The entire family, in fact, displayed the wholesomeness that people in the Bible belt appreciate in Christian folk. Ward's parents are heavily involved in Christian ministry through their local church. The consensus of the community seems to be that Ward and her family have always been considered some of the finest people one could ever meet--'salt-of-the-earth' types who have reputations above reproach.
Yet if Ward is convicted of the crimes of which she is accused by local law enforcement, her lifelong dream will be coming to an abrupt end. Not only will she face prison, but her days of teaching school will be over--permanently.
According to county records, Ward graduated from Clinton High School in 2001. She immediately enrolled in the prestigious Presbyterian College in Clinton, from which she graduated in 2005 with a degree in Middle School Education. At the time of her arrest, Ward was the 7th grade teacher of Language Arts at Bell Street Middle School in Clinton.
In short, this woman grew up in Clinton, was educated in Clinton, and worked in Clinton. Her entire life was spent there. And believe me, small towns in the South know no secrets. If Ward had been viewed as a person lacking in the character and judgment to be entrusted with school children, someone--many someones, in fact--would have known about it in this small town.
Further, all prospective teachers in South Carolina are required to undergo a complete background check conducted by the state law enforcement division, called 'SLED.'
Without a blemish on her record or reputation, Ward was hired to teach students in her hometown...the town she never left, not even to get a college education. Apparently everyone knew her and trusted her with the education of their children.
These facts all beg the following questions:
Did Ward carry a dark secret for a number of years that was only unleashed recently--a secret that previously she had kept hidden within the confines of her own mind until they burst forth in a fury of 'acting out'?
Was Ward always engaged in this behavior throughout high school and college, but somehow managed to keep it all quiet? If so, how many knew this was going on?
Are the allegations made against her patently false? Was she framed? Is this a scheme cooked up by school kids seeking revenge on a teacher for some unnamed offense, such as discipline?
Did the cops get it all wrong? Do they have the wrong person? Were the accusations made against her designed to cover up someone else's wrongdoing?
All of these questions, and more, MUST be considered in order to arrive at the truth. Only the complete truth will satisfy the burning question of how such a thing could happen in such a nice place as Clinton. And the only redemption that will come to the guilty is in the disclosure of the complete truth.
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Tuesday, March 06, 2007
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2 comments:
The more I learn about this case, the less the charges against Ms. Ward make sense.
It seems the biggest piece of evidence against her is the "inappropriate note". Is this note evidence of a crime, or is this flirtation by a naive 23 year old teacher that went a bit too far? It hasn't been released, so I can't say.
The actual charges seem like the workings of the mind of a teenage boy and not the schemings of a child predator. In a park? Behind The Clock restaurant? At the school? If Ms. Ward had a secret life all these years, you'd think she'd know by now not to have sex in broad daylight where she could be easily caught. The motel should be easiest to verify. Was she or was she not a guest there at the dates on which the alleged contact took place? That should be easy enough to prove or disprove.
I find it hard to believe that a young woman who had wanted to be a teacher her entire life, knew better than to get involved with students, was newly married (to a husband who is standing by her) and had no history of sexually acting out would suddenly go on a wild sex rampage with 5 young boys in December.
Unfortunately for her, this is the third sex-scandal involving a teacher in a Laurens County school in the past couple years. The administration is understandably concerned about anything that might hint at it happening again, the parents are scared, and the solicitor wants to put someone away. (He couldn't do anything in the Ware Shoals case because the girls were 16, which is the age of consent in SC.)
I hope she has a good lawyer.
I think you may be onto something. None of this has made any sense to me, and the more I have delved into Ward's history and background the less sense it makes.
She will need competence counsel to insure that all of these avenues of suspicion can be tracked down to their fullest extent.
Needless to say, at this point I am quite skeptical of the charges.
Martyn
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