GUARDLING Posted May 3, 2018 Share Posted May 3, 2018 4 minutes ago, IllianaLancerContra said: Bigger issue than just Drum Corps. Maybe lawyers could come up with a clause in the contract that requires the hire-ee to swear that they have never been convicted of these kind of offenses, whether the record was expunged or not If individual lies and is found-out, immediately fired & has to pay back any monies paid by the Corps since they were hired (to give it some teeth). 2 Hmmm..well I have to admit.. there was a little sarcasm there..lol..BUT, seriously, the key word there is a conviction, many are not convicted. BUT I hear ya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted May 3, 2018 Share Posted May 3, 2018 24 minutes ago, BRASSO said: The fact the victim was not present in the appeal process, and that as a result, the guilty verdict was expunged, does not mean such a person is fit to be rehired in a setting that involves minors in the future... especially one that involves presumably school shower facilities on tour. The fact that other Corps/MB's likewise hired this guy only bolsters how safety lax the activity had really become, imo. Shockingly so, imo We don't have to debate whether it was legal or not for schools to expose other people's children to a person found guilty of secretly videotaping a female minor in a school shower. The sad thing is that the laws of California allowed such expungement. So it was legal. But thats not whats at stake here, nor the question. The fact is that this guy never should have been hired ever again in settings similar to what had him become untrustworthy before in those settings. Why ? Because such a guy with a checkered past does not belong around female minors in organizations that embark on 9 week summer tours, thats why. Its interesting to note that when the info came to light on his hire, he was let go . Why was he let go ? It reportedly was not because he could not perform his duties. It was because people found out about this hire, and pressure was brought to bear on the guy that hired him, George Hopkins, to let him go. George Hopkins complied and terminated him. Had the info on this hire become public knowledge in Drum Corps circles before, its likely that this guy would not have been allowed to work in environments where he most egregiously violated a parents trust by violating their child's right to shower without that trusted adult acting so shamelessly in a shameful act of what can only be called deviant, despicable, and a betrayal of the parent and the public's trust. Its indefensible the act. The fact that he found his way back to youthful settings similar in some respects to the one he broke the law on is equally indefensible, imo... even if his shameful hire was deemed " legal " and it " all checked out ". No. I don't think such a guy gets a 2nd chance with minors. When its minors, the threshold is much higher, imo... as they are our most vulnerable. Such guys who do deviant things like this, should not be allowed around Drum Corps ever again, imo. Let them go work in some adult office some where, or whatever. Keep them forevermore away from working with youth groups/ schools ever again. Lord knows , organizations can find good, decent, honorable, young talent that won't abuse their trusted position like this creepy guy did. And... look who found and hired the guy.... George Hopkins. Anyone convicted of a misdemeanor of that level is entitled to have the verdict set aside. It is not an appeal process as you indicate in the above. He was not convicted of a sex crime at all, actually, something you seem to ignore. Yes, he may have been run out of town by the people with pitchforks storming the barricades, but there are enough REAL issues to bring out that this particular one seems to me to have been unfairly handled. Again with the shower....the camera was in a closet in the music suite, not a shower, Was it stupid? Yes...and it was illegal no matter who was filmed, be it a student or as I said a custodian...or anyone. He is not a sex offender however, in the eyes of the law, which is all we should be going by. You are ascribing all sorts of personal motivations and accusations of intent without one piece of evidence. Neither of us has any idea just WHY the camera was there,but it is not relevant to the case...taping as he did was illegal. It is not sad that the law allows misdemeanors to be set aside. I would not want to see anyone's life ruined forever for a low level misdemeanor conviction if it followed the person forever. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terri Schehr Posted May 3, 2018 Share Posted May 3, 2018 (edited) 10 minutes ago, MikeD said: Anyone convicted of a misdemeanor of that level is entitled to have the verdict set aside. It is not an appeal process as you indicate in the above. He was not convicted of a sex crime at all, actually, something you seem to ignore. Yes, he may have been run out of town by the people with pitchforks storming the barricades, but there are enough REAL issues to bring out that this particular one seems to me to have been unfairly handled. Again with the shower....the camera was in a closet in the music suite, not a shower, Was it stupid? Yes...and it was illegal no matter who was filmed, be it a student or as I said a custodian...or anyone. He is not a sex offender however, in the eyes of the law, which is all we should be going by. You are ascribing all sorts of personal motivations and accusations of intent without one piece of evidence. Neither of us has any idea just WHY the camera was there,but it is not relevant to the case...taping as he did was illegal. It is not sad that the law allows misdemeanors to be set aside. I would not want to see anyone's life ruined forever for a low level misdemeanor conviction if it followed the person forever. GH isn’t a convicted sex offender either. So if we subscribe to your criteria, he should still be executive director of YEA. Edited May 3, 2018 by Terri Schehr 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted May 3, 2018 Share Posted May 3, 2018 10 minutes ago, MikeD said: . It is not sad that the law allows misdemeanors to be set aside. Its " sad " how little our country protects its young, by making such acts " a misdemeanor". That said,, the biggest crime here is that this creep was allowed back into settings that got him into a world of trouble before. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted May 3, 2018 Share Posted May 3, 2018 5 minutes ago, Terri Schehr said: GH isn’t a convicted sex offender either. So if we subscribe to your criteria, he should still be executive director of YEA. Ah, no. Not remotely the same thing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terri Schehr Posted May 3, 2018 Share Posted May 3, 2018 Just now, BRASSO said: Its " sad " how little our country protects its young, by making such acts " a misdemeanor". That said,, the biggest crime here is that this creep was allowed back into settings that got him into a world of trouble before. They were (and still are) hoping just it goes away. It’s not. I’m hearing more and more stories from my drum corps sisters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terri Schehr Posted May 3, 2018 Share Posted May 3, 2018 (edited) 1 minute ago, MikeD said: Ah, no. Not remotely the same thing. How so? “ He was not convicted of a sex crime at all, actually, something you seem to ignore. Yes, he may have been run out of town by the people with pitchforks storming the barricades, but there are enough REAL issues to bring out that this particular one seems to me to have been unfairly handled. “ Edited May 3, 2018 by Terri Schehr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted May 3, 2018 Share Posted May 3, 2018 (edited) 27 minutes ago, MikeD said: I would not want to see anyone's life ruined forever for a low level misdemeanor conviction if it followed the person forever. Oh the horror. What about the female minor that has to have what this creep did to her " follow her around forever" ? You know, I am increasingly coming around more and more to Cowtown's position that the Cadets culture has been toxic there for way too long. Trying to justify this guy's hire in any way, shape or form, really is probably part of the problem YEA/ Cadets had, imo... and perhaps other Drum Corps/ MB's too. Reading that guys like this are ok to be future around kids because..... well, it really was no big deal what he did.. just a misdemeanor... and hate to see this follow him around forever... yada yada, is pretty regrettable, and why, imo a LOT of work still remains to be done to change attitudes, clean up DCI, and make the environment much safer for Youth, and for parents who send their youth to DCI with expectations that creeps like this are not finding their way back to youthful settings like Schools, marching Bands, Drum Corps, and the like.. Edited May 3, 2018 by BRASSO 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted May 3, 2018 Share Posted May 3, 2018 Just now, Terri Schehr said: How so? GH has been accused of rape and other serious felonies. SA was arrested and convicted of a misdemeanor that was not a sex-based crime at all. It did not matter who was in the closet where the camera was, or what they were doing. It was against the law to record anybody secretly. That is what he was charged with and convicted of, and then later set aside, as it was that low of level. I hate to mix up that situation with the horrific acts GH has committed. IMO they are not remotely equal. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terri Schehr Posted May 3, 2018 Share Posted May 3, 2018 1 minute ago, BRASSO said: Oh the horror. What about the female minor that has to have what this creep did to her " follow her around forever".\ You know, I am increasingly coming around more and more to Cowtown's position that the Cadets culture has been toxic there for way too long. Trying to justify this guy's hire in any way, shape or form, really is probably part of the problem YEA/ Cadets had, imo... and perhaps other Drum Corps/ MB's too. Reading that guys like this are ok to be future around kids because..... well, it really was no big deal what he did... and hate to see this follow him around forever... yada yada, is pretty regrettable, and why, imo a LOT of work still remaiuns to be done to clean up DCI, and make the environment safer for Youth.. That’s exactly why this has been allowed to happen for decades. I heard people defend the lifetime registered sex offender marching six years ago. Important people. You’d recognize their names. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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