Guilt by accusation

     Accusations are powerful. The most powerful of those are sexual assault allegations, and for someone in a position of responsibility or trust, allegations involving children are by far the most devastating. Case in point: former Fort Lupton track coach and teacher Ray Brown. Brought up on charges of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust and sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust as a pattern of abuse, Brown found himself in the court of public opinion from day one, over a full year before his actual day in court.
    Found not guilty by a jury of 12 peers, officially acquitted on all counts, Brown nonetheless lost everything, the exception being his personal freedom. Even that remains tarnished, as a case of such notoriety inevitably creates two camps, those who stand by the accused despite the allegations and those who will always believe that Brown is guilty, no matter the verdict.

Gene Sears

    Out tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees, out of the job he held for 12 years, finished as a coach, left virtually without references or reputation, Brown now has the unenviable task of rebuilding his life. This, while news accounts and tabloid sites such as Badbadteacher.com and a dozen others continue to run full, uncensored accounts of the accusations. Few, if any, will bother with the actual outcome, a dichotomy that says more about the media than most of us in it would like to admit. 
    It’s simple. Acquittals don’t make headlines, at least not sensational ones, so the rest of the story rarely makes the news. The adage, “If it bleeds, it leads,” has never been truer, a maxim for a business reputedly based in facts, but often at odds with fairness and good judgment in favor of sales.
    It’s a shame, but far less so than the chilling effect sagas such as Brown’s have on the future of men in education, or women’s sports. How many potential role models will turn away from careers mentoring children, faced with the specter of a single allegation destroying their lives? Male teachers are already disproportionately low, a particular weakness in high schools, where adolescents form the basis of their worldview within gender roles. Protect the innocent, certainly. But make sure that protection extends to the unjustly accused, particularly those in a position of trust. It’s the very least we can do.