By agreement, Ronald Meroney was sentenced to 15 years, with all but the first 18 months suspended. The 18 months to be served in home detention in Tennessee with 5 years of supervised probation.
He is to receive child abuse intervention therapy, have no unsupervised contact with minors, register as a sex offender in any state in which he should reside. He apologized to the victims in Wicomico County. As it turns out, the victim had certain goals when the States Attorney's Office went into this case and they were able to achieve those goals for her.
Ronald Meroney is 70 years old at present. There's a long history with him but most other states have a statute of limitations that would prevent him from being prosecuted to this point. The Wicomico County States Attorneys Office is probably in the handful of Counties in Maryland that would have initiated a case this old.
A challenging case with a perfect end result. Who knows, maybe this story will go National?
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
6 comments:
Did ya see this?
http://crimeblog.us/?p=135
--CD
18 months of home detention is not even a slap on the wrist for raping a 4 year old. The other family members that were molested . . . it makes you wonder about where the parents were.
While I can't say where, I worked with Mr. Maroney at a job since his conviction, and while I absolutely can not condone what he did, I have to tell you all that this man was one of the kindest gentlemen I had met.
That said, after reading some of the comments here, and actually digging through much of the news from MD, I have to say that I was sadly misled. Mr. Meroney may have lied to me, telling me that this whole thing after all these years was caused by this woman's father, whom he said hated his guts 'for some reason'. Now I suspect that I know why.
You know, perhaps he did do those things he's been accused of. Or, maybe just some of those things. I've always lived on the premise that, just like in politics, take everything you hear. That on the extreme left and the extreme right you just have to take with a grain of salt. But the facts that meet in the middle - that's where the truth lies. I'm sure there is SOME truth to Ron's conviction. But I'm not convinced he did all the things that have surfaced on the internet...
I never knew Mr. Meroney in the past, only for about the 7 years I was in Memphis. I can only tell you all about the man that I knew... a man who apparently has tried very hard to make amends, at least to the Almighty, for the things he's done in his life. 30 years is a long time, and while the victims and their families have a right to demand justice, perhaps those of us who stand on the outside should not be quite so fast to condemn someone whom they don't know, because all may not be exactly as you read in the papers. I'm not so sure Ron Meroney was the monster he's been portrayed to be. Tell me, do any of you REALLY believe that a four year old can remember something so vividly 30 years later? Oh come on now, that is so rediculous. Someone ELSE may remember it and feed that into someone's head... but FOUR YEARS OLD? How many of you can remember when you were 4? I thought so. But, I've been wrong before.
If he really is guilty, only God himself knows. If Mr. Meroney took a plea deal in order to spare himself the rest of his life in prison (which at his age might be one to five years, who knows), would anyone blame him?
Look, this is just my opinion. I'm just as harsh when it comes to someone who abuses children as any of you. I just find it hard to believe that the man I knew, who was so quick to help others and who was so generous to the community could be the monster everyone has portrayed him to be. Guilty or not, my mind finds it hard to comprehend. I pray I'm right. If not, then certainly, my humblest apologies to the victims.
Hopefully, you won't judge me harshly for giving my opinion. I only worked with the guy.
I'm late as all get out on this, but I watched Ron Meroney evey morning for years in Memphis, and I loved him then and I still do to this day. He may have had some issues in the past, but he is a decent man today. I still think about him and pray for him and his family. I just cannot believe they waited until he was 125 years old to prosecute...
WHAT PARENT WOULD LEAVE THEIR 4YR.OLD "ALONE" WITH THE OPPOSITE SEX???
He was their uncle & he took advantage of family gatherings to be alone, or in a group, with the kids.
I remember things from when I was 4, so it is possible, especially something so traumatic.
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