I grimace thinking about my previous luck as a newspaper editor and writing about sex offenders.
It could be my luck ran out this week. It certainly has for Aurora police.
Although most of the world often considers journalists crass, heartless, unthinking and unethical slime-balls who just want to be first with the story, it’s not always the case. In fact, it rarely is. When we’re trained in college and on the job, there comes a time when we focus on the mammoth responsibility that comes with the power of the press. I don’t mean the power that we wish we had and many people believe we do, where we set some kind of agenda for the world. For the most part, what we say goes in one eye and out the other. The power we have that is so unnerving is the ability to negatively affect and even destroy lives.
Now, more than ever with eternal digital archives, when we tell the world that someone did something bad, it’s forever. For those who do bad things, we are just a mirror of justice. For those wrongfully accused of doing bad things, we become party to a crime ourselves.
It makes me sick to say that we, and every other news outlet in this town, became party to unalterably affecting a man’s life this week, and it may have been a horrible mistake — or not. Metro Aurora waits in limbo because suddenly, after confidently setting out to protect the public and capture a dangerous criminal, the cops aren’t saying a word.
Monday morning, Aurora police messaged the media that an Aurora Central High School paraprofessional, 32-year-old Joel Aaron Stahl, was accused of sexually assaulting a mentally disabled student at the school. Just hours later that night, police sent out another email saying that they were not pursuing charges anymore because of new witness comments in the case.
If anyone can think of a more heinous, unforgivable or egregious mistake, let me know.
I wouldn’t pretend to be in a position to know if Stahl did or did not do what police originally accused him of. I only know that cops have so appallingly botched this case, and possibly Stahl’s life, that police must now seek outside help from another police department to make at least some effort to clean up this despicable mess.
Only for the sake of argument: Let’s say police change their minds, again, and want to seek charges against Stahl — again. Defense attorneys would have a field day with what’s happened to date.
“Your honor, clearly the police’s savage embarrassment from botching the case in the first place was motivation for them to ‘uncover’ something to try and make themselves look good in this and the public court.”
Case dismissed. If police aren’t embarrassed by how this has gone so far, I’m even more concerned.
And worse yet, if they were wrong from the get go? I have on more than one occasion interviewed people rightfully convicted of sex crimes. They lose their jobs, their families, their friends, their homes, their futures. Everything, They lose everything. They can’t leave the state but they can’t live in many places. In prison, they’re quick targets for all kinds of crime and abuse. Outside, they’re haunted pariahs. There are no parallels to any other crime.
It’s because of the gravity of a sex-crime allegation that we are trained as journalists to pay excruciatingly close attention to any story that links someone to such a dire indictment. We can backtrack on allegations, but they can never be dismissed from the public mind and Google databases.
I mistakenly depended on Aurora police to have that equally high standard. I blame no one but myself for not waiting with a story that had more than one red flag. And while I would love more than anything this week to explain how such an unforgivable mistake could have been made and should indeed be forgiven, police have suddenly quit talking about the case. Now, it’s under investigation. Just a few hours earlier, it was a free-for-all and cops were asking the media to help solicit more information from the public.
I wish I could say that the worst of this is that, “guess where your tax dollars are going, Aurora, should the case be permanently dropped?” Aurora has a long and shady history of writing big checks for the Aurora police department’s big mistakes.
But this? This is the biggest of them all.
No. The worst is what police have done to Stahl if they were wrong about their accusations, or what they’ve done to the case against him if they’re right. But if you think that Stahl may just be getting away with something because of a technicality in the case, that’s exactly what I’m so upset about, and what there can never be an escape from — for any of us.
Reach editor Dave Perry @aurorasentinel.com or 303-750-7555.
Aurora Chief Oates: Perry wrong to criticize department over child sex assault allegations
EDITOR:
I am writing in response to Editor Dave Perry’s column of March 12, titled “Aurora Police Botched Sex-Case Allegation is an Unparalleled Failure and the Media Played Our Part.”
Our officers and detectives make difficult decisions every day to arrest or not arrest a suspect. They do so based on the best evidence they have. This evidence almost always includes the statements of witnesses or victims.
Rarely, but sometimes, witnesses change their stories after an arrest is made. This can occur for any number of reasons – including fear of the suspect, a sudden realization of what it means to be involved in the criminal justice process, or a reluctance to see the suspect actually prosecuted (and perhaps jailed) because he or she is a friend, co-worker, family member or spouse.
In our best effort to keep our city safe, the men and women of the Aurora Police Department make roughly 10,000 custodial arrests a year. Many times, they risk their lives and safety to do so. Our officers are also routinely targets for lawsuits for false arrest, most of them specious and unsustainable in the subsequent legal process. Cops worry about getting sued, and then they cope with the anxiety, stress and second guessing when they are sued.
So we take our decisions to arrest very seriously. We accept and embrace our responsibility to keep our neighborhoods and schools safe. We understand our obligation to notify the public of dangerous individuals, especially when other victims may be out there and need to be located.
The matter referred to in the column involved the rare circumstance in which the evidence provided to the Aurora Police Department from a critical witness changed after the arrest was made. A judge looked at the same initial evidence we did and ordered the suspect held without bond.
The matter involves a juvenile victim. It remains an open investigation. So we simply cannot discuss the details.
We know that our inability to “defend” our actions by disclosing more information leaves the Police Department vulnerable to the criticism Mr. Perry has levied. It is the lot of police officers and police departments everywhere to endure criticism on occasion. We also know well in policing that there is always another side to the story.
About 10 years ago, the Aurora Police Department was vilified in the court of public opinion for failing to arrest a serial rapist when it could have. The suspect victimized others before he was caught. Mr. Perry was one of our critics then over our perceived failure to act. That case is the flip side to this week’s event. What if we don’t act now with the information we have? Our officers and detectives go through this analysis daily in weighing evidence and reports of crime. Our citizens and Mr. Perry expect us to, and we do the very best we can.
I and the supervisors involved in this event have undertaken an internal review of this matter. If there are lessons to be learned or appropriate remedial actions to take, we will take them. In the meantime, the superb men and women of the Aurora Police Department remain out on the street, doing the best they can to discern when an arrest is appropriate, based on probable cause. I am sure that despite his criticism, Mr. Perry is thankful that our cops are out there trying their best in a difficult world.
Daniel J. Oates
Aurora Chief of Police
Well said Chief Oates , Apparently Mr. Perry’s “training in College and on the Job” failed to instill the fact that the Police didn’t accuse Mr. Stahl of a crime, the victim and witnesses did. And, as mentioned, if the police failed to act on the information where there was probable cause to arrest someone who was accused of sexually assaulting a mentally challenged victim. Had they not done so and the media got wind of it there would be another &*%$ storm. I think the Police Department should be commended in offering that they uncovered evidence that did not support the claims against Mr. Stahl and exonerated him instead of manufacturing evidence to support the claims. But integrity isn’t one of the Aurora Sentinel’s stronger suits. Mr. Perry, if you write one article this year based on information that you dig up yourself, that is not hand fed to you in a press release or from watching a story on CNN, I would have a bit more respect for you and your paper.
The Aurora Police Department had a weak case before The contradicting evidence/statements came to light. This means that before corroborating the story of this witness, who made unsure statements, the department released information to the media regarding the allegations and pressed charges. This means that the police in their zeal for justice committed an injustice themselves. Also, the victim didn’t and cannot make an allegation because of her disability.
Dave Perry is pathetic. In a desperate attempt to gain readers, he chose to attack the Aurora Police Department because he knew that they cannot release information to defend themselves. Instead, the police are doing what they must do…remaining silent in order to protect the victims and witnesses involved and to protect any future case that may be filed regarding this incident.
It is quite humorous that Mr. Perry conveniently forgot to mention in his article that a judge felt that the Aurora Police Department had enough evidence in this case to order the suspect held without bond. Then, once witness statements were changed or retracted, Mr. Perry had the audacity to criticize the police for releasing someone when they no longer had the necessary evidence to jail him. How dare the Aurora Police Department demonstrate integrity!
Kudos to Chief Oates for writing such a spot-on response to this ridiculous article. Perhaps Mr. Perry could use a little more training in college and on the job.
Stahl was given a $50,000 bond by a judge. Oates was very misleading in his editorial.
Dave Perry bashs the Aurora PD every chance he gets so you just need to ignor him, that is why he is at the Aurora sentinel a paper on par with the local high school papers.
be mad at those who witnessed the abuse on two separate occasions and failed to report it. I believe they had a crime, just not evidence enough to prosecute. The girl cant speak, the witnesses are the only evidence and I they backed away for whatever reason they have nothing. No. Don’t let this go so easy. I believe we need cameras on the teachers. at all times. that would either prove innocence or guilt. Or deter the crime all together. With all the teacher student abuse I think its absurd that we don’t demand that. Especially in special needs classes. Joel Aaron Stahl I believe is guilty and I am saddened that we don’t do more to protect our children. Pray for the girl and her family, stop protecting pedos. please!