Washington, DC (TLS). The attorney representing one of the teenage boys who accused Clinton, South Carolina teacher Allena Williams Ward with sexual misconduct stated late today that the teacher had sent text messages to one of the boys urging him to 'keep his mouth shut.'
This revelation was made today obviously in response to growing suspicion about the charges.
In the news release, however, the attorney did not specify what, exactly, the student was to keep his mouth shut about. This raises suspicions even further.
As The Liberty Sphere has reported since this riveting news story broke, there is much about this case that makes no sense. The allegations made by the boys must be held up to suspicion simply because of the reputation of the one accused. This does not mean that their allegations are to be dismissed. It means only that every avenue must be undertaken to arrive at the truth. And that means questioning the nature of the allegations to insure authenticity.
If the charges against Ward are to be believed, then corroborating evidence must be produced since the allegations specify that the sexual acts in question took place all over town, in public areas, including the very school where Ward taught.
Text messages between the teenagers and Ward are certainly important evidence. But what, exactly, did these messages say? When Ward told to boy to 'keep his mouth shut,' was she speaking of sexual acts between them, or was she reacting to a threat made by the boy to 'ruin her reputation?'
Teenage boys 14-15 years old these days can be quite intimidating, scheming, and given to retaliation. Did one of the boys threaten Ward by stating he and his cohorts would spread lies about her to ruin her career and her life?
Since the attorney in question publicized this small piece of information without stating exactly what the text message was referring to, then this lawyer succeeded in only adding more fuel to the fire of doubt. Thus, the subject nature of the text message in question is a key ingredient.
A text message that merely states that the boy should 'keep his mouth shut' could refer to any number of things, including sexual activity AND a threat to ruin Ward's reputation. If the attorney representing the boys plans to try his case in the court of public opinion, he certainly cannot do it without providing the exact nature of that text message, verbatim, within its full context.
So far, I see only more evidence of a hoax.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
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8 comments:
I have been following this case as well and I find it very suspicious.
No one claimed to know what the text message was about at the bond hearing. Did the boy suddenly "remember"? Did the attorney suddenly "remember"? This is strange indeed.
Another thing that is suspicious is that the allegations go back to January 2006, but she has only been teaching at the school since the beginning of school in August.
The solicitor has an agenda. That was clear at the bond hearing. He wants to put a sex predator behind bars, and Ms. Ward is the sex predator. Fortunately, for her, her attorney seems competent, and the judge and even the police chief seemed a bit skeptical of this description.
If not for his agenda, this case would be settled quietly. Either it would be dismissed, if it were not true, or we'd have a confession and a plea bargain in the near future.
That being said, I know of plenty of "good Christian girls" who one day decide to act out sexually in very self-destructive ways. She may indeed be guilty of at least some wrongdoing. But I can guarantee that this case is not what the media is making it out to be.
If she is indeed guilty, at some level she wanted to get caught. She wasn't careful at all. There's something else going on here.
Excellent observations. The amazing elusive text message may well be at the heart of the unraveling of this case.
My preliminatry opinion--and it is only an opinion--is that if Ward is guilty of anything it could be her naivete which led her to inappropriate communication with the teenagers. I have a hard time believing the allegations, if for no other reason than the nature of the accusation, the places they supposedly took place, and the fact that no one seemed to know anything about it in a small town.
The circuit colicitor may get his hand slapped over this one!
Martyn
I don't know if she actually had sex with these boys or not. I have reason to believe either could be true. Since I do not know all the evidence, I can't determine what actually happened.
Ms. Ward strikes me as very naive more than anything else. She is more of a danger to herself than anyone else in society.
If she did engage in sexual relations with these boys, I believe that the predator quickly became the prey. Those boys knew they could destroy her, and would have been sure to make the most of this.
(We must remember to think of the victims in this case. If the allegations are indeed true, those poor boys had to endure multiple sexual encounters with an attractive young teacher. As a former teenage boy, my heart goes out to them, it really does.)
If, indeed, the boys were blackmailing her in exchange for sexual favors, then she wouldn't have been too careful about not getting caught. Getting caught would destroy her, but it would also end the blackmail and the sexual humiliation that went along with it.
By the way, blackmailing someone in exchange for sex is third degree criminal sexual misconduct under South Carolina law. (Why do the boys have a lawyer in the first place?) If this happened and the solicitor is ignoring it in order to throw the book at Ms. Ward, then yes, he may get his hand slapped.
Whatever did or did not happen, this will make a great episode of Law & Order: SVU.
Your point is well-taken. Why would the boys need lawyers? If what they accuse Ward of doing is the truth, why would they need legal representation? Normally the state's attorney, in this case called the 'circuit solicitor,' would represent the position of the victims in prosecuting their case.
Is there some pre-conceived scheme in the works for the boys to sue and thus make this a civil as well as a criminal case?
It is highly suspicious that they would have their own attorney this early in the process.
As for the Solicitor, if he is prosecuting a shaky case just to 'score a victory,' then not only should his hand be slapped but he should be severely disciplined by the State Bar.
Martyn
The more I learned about the normal behavior of circuit solicitors, the more unusual this case is.
As a general rule, solicitors like to plead out sex cases. They also like to keep them as low profile as possible, out of respect for the victims.
Sometimes this doesn't work as well as expected, if they draw a lenient judge.
http://www.foxcarolina.com/global/Story.asp?s=3622745
On the other hand, she got a higher bail and tougher conditions of release than most accused murderers. As unusual as this is, the solicitor asked that bail be denied.
While the solicitor does have a fair amount of discretion, given the age of the victims (thanks to a loophole in the Age of Consent law, this wouldn't have been a crime had she not been a teacher since the boys are 14), the age of the accused, the sex of both victims and accused, and the likely consensual nature of the contact, if the solicitor had a strong case, he'd be trying to plead her out. Jail time would be unlikely, although she would never teach again and may have to register as a sex offender. If he did not have a strong case, they'd still be investigating.
It seems like he would rather throw the book at her and possibly miss than to try to seek justice. This is a strictly political decision that is highly ethically questionable to say the least.
Sounds like we may have another Mike Nifong on our hands here. Does the S.C. BAR seriously investigate misconduct on the part of state's attorneys, or do they normally sweep things under the rug?
I went to undergrad with Allena - we had Biology and some Math classes together. I remember her as being newlywed and a little naiive, but certainly never someone who would do something like this. I remember her being extremely sharp, encouraged by her Chemistry instructor to pursue that avenue of education. I also remember her being a bit shy, but easy to warm up to. Definitely too shy to come on to a teenager, as she is alleged of doing. The more I read about this, the more I am convinced too that she is being falsely accused, which breaks my heart.
If she is the recipient of false charges, then somebody's head needs to roll, so to speak.
See my article today entitled, 'Has Allena Williams Ward Been 'Nifonged?'
Martyn
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