On Friday, March 18, 2016 a Worcester County Circuit Court judge threw out 2 cases, accounting for 12 of the 24 charges against me. After about ninety minutes of deliberation, I was found not guilty of the other 2 cases and those 12 counts by a unanimous jury.
I have lost so much that is irreplaceable. I can not begin to convey the extent of those losses or the magnitude of devastation that being branded by these falsehoods has wrought. It will be a life long struggle to repair the damage and rebuild my reputation and my life.
My wife and I are extremely grateful to the parents, students, friends, family, churches, and other community members who stood by us and showed their support. Times like these reveal who your true friends are and they mean the world to us, forever having a place in our hearts.
I implore WCPS and all school districts to install cameras in all classrooms, for the protection of both teachers and students, and to prevent potential future incidents of false allegations.
Sincerely,
William A. Cathell, Jr
32 comments:
Not guilty does not equal exonerated. It means the State could not prove their case beyond doubt which is a tough burden in cases with children as the witness. I hope SBY publish transcripts of cases like this on here so the viewers could make up their own mind if a not guilty meant something more. OJ was "exonerated" too. Courts should stream trials so the public can watch. I am happy the government has a high burden. But "exonerated"? i don't get that from a not guilty. I get exonerated from watching the trial.
All it takes to ruin a family is one lie! This man has experienced loses from which he and his family will never recover. Please Joe cameras in classrooms is a great follow up investigation! Why no cameras it's so simple and relatively inexpensive compared to the cost of litigation that will no doubt come from this case!
false charges should be charged to little pieces of crap if this is the case. No reason to waste time money on cases in false allegations.
I had a friend in a daycare business who ended up closing their business due to a false allegation of child abuse. Even though she was found innocent, the stigma was still there so she had to close her business.
I feel for this teacher. He will have the stigma of this with him the rest of his life. He will still be on a sex registry even though he was found innocent. Like the modern day scarlet letter. He has no choice but to leave this area and try of hopefully start somewhere else.
Falsely accused back in August, charged after investigation by the Worcester County BCI. Big, splashy news and headlines.
Cases thrown out. Exonerated. Not guilty of anything charged. Eight months of mental torture and ugly public comments, not to mention the even uglier whispers.
The school and parents have a responsibility here. The accusing child or children need to realize what they've done.
The accusers should be sued and have criminal charges placed against them if the allegations are false.
the kid who did this did it out of spite!! they should have to go to jail!!! ruined this man's life, sad. lock them up and throw away the key
What happened to the students who accused him? Are they expelled?
Have the students been punished that accused him?
Something needs to be done to the students who falsly Accused him
I have always asked for cameras in the classroom, I was told repeatedly that it is an invasion of privacy.
Absolutely, cameras should be in every classroom, in every school, everywhere. Then there would be no court cases, IF, the school did the right thing and expelled half of the students there for being ignorant to the teachers all day long. I really do feel for public school teachers any more, their hands are tied no matter which way they turn and it absolutely should not be like that.
has the students been suspended?
Your a idiot.
Remember when the adults were in charge at school? Remember when the parent of Johnny angel did not demand their dear was wronged automatically.
There can be no claim to invasion of privacy in a public building, with only small exceptions. One has to have the expectation of being observed the entire time that they're in the building or on the grounds or on the bus going to and from school.
If they were only allowed to expel the disruptive students. The students who want to be there to learn as well as the teachers would benefit. Many of these students end up in prison anyway after they get out school. They did this in the past when I went to school in seventies.
Best wishes to Mr. Cathell for his finding a new profession.
Classroom camera's should mandatory, with parents being able to log in and view the class at any time... But the school board would never allow us to see what really goes on in school.
What happened to Mr. Cathell? I missed it.
All those people that ran their mouths when Joe first ran this article should be ashamed and should apologize!! U people didn't even know the facts and said awful things.
11:43 That is what they do on here. It is a public execution.
are the students in trouble?
Agreed!
Agreed!
Yeh right guess they couldnt prove it. Better do some intraspection. I knew you in your band days down in Accomac county when you had hair and you were a teacher down there just starting out. You get booted from their too? You still like the smashing pumpkins?
I am a school teacher and love the idea of cameras in the classroom. It would ensure that all staff are doing their jobs. Teachers also need proof when a student makes false accusations
In the current mindset, where no serious consequences come to misbehaving students, classroom cameras would largely be a tool used against teachers for whatever reason. Someone didn't like the lesson plan; you looked at my kid wrong, etc. Knowing they were on camera and that there were no consequences for misbehavior would be a spur for acting out for many students.
There are many fine students with good attitudes, behavior and habits; they have direction at home and can do well in school. But there are many students, and the numbers are increasing, who don't get proper direction at home and who are disruptive. They used to get fairly effective corrective action from teachers, administrators and the central office. We remember this happening to us or fellow students when we stepped out of line.
The Feds have been embarked on a misguided but well intentioned mission to make believe that the misbehavior occurs at the same frequency across all student demographics, with an emphasis on the race of those failing to abide by the rules.
This was put into law before the current president was elected, but it has dovetailed perfectly with his worldview so more Federal administrative pressure and threats of reduced funding or legal action have been used to coerce state and local educational leaders into compliance.
The sad reality is that failing to instill proper behavior into kids is a great disservice to them. Poor grades, failure to actually learn even if the grades are finessed, behavior issues large and small, inability to stay in college if admitted, etc, etc.
It's a snowball headed downhill, and for most kids it's avoidable....if only the adults, all of them, would insist that the kids work hard, actually learn what they need to succeed at the next level (job or higher studies).
Local adults need to lobby the local board to stand up for what's right. Local boards need to stand up to the state board. The state board needs to share the facts of life with the Feds. We'd all be better off, especially the kids.
Great another teacher falsely accused by some child who knows they have the 'power.' One of the reasons I refuse to teach in Worcester or Wicomico because the kids just run over everyone without reprimand or negative consequences. A child yells Squirrel and everyone believes the child in spite of lack of physical evidence unless the child is molested by their parent. Then a teacher is just outta luck. He said/She said is never a good scenario to go into a court of law because automatically, judicial system caters to abused kids and screaming parents who even if they know it's a lie, cover for their kid.
Maybe if there were real negative consequences for lying - wait the law on the book is PERJURY - and it was enforced automatically, maybe you'd see a reduction of false claims.
Anonymous said...
Your a idiot.
April 8, 2016 at 9:11 AM
Since we are talking about a school system that would be "you're" "an" idiot.
Once accused the accused is always guilty even if charges are dropped. Everyone will look at that "exonerated" accused subject and always think "what if."
That is why I said guilty.
Guilty as the day is long! His true colors will shine again. Poor kids. Maryland screwed up! Wolf in sheep clothing. Keep your girls away!!
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