CSE’s reporting just stirs up the public

Rose Ward / How I See It
Published: March 25, 2008

In response to your issue of the week, I think that by continuing to publish articles on this subject you are stirring up the public.

I am retired and had been employed as a legal secretary/
paralegal for more than 40 years and know from firsthand knowledge of the law that each and every case is to be judged on its merits because no two cases involve the same set of facts or occurred exactly the same.

By comparing the Compton and Ferris cases, you are creating an unhealthy atmosphere.  It's a shame you fail to recognize that every trial or hearing has to be based on the testimony of witnesses in order for the prosecuting authority to prove its case. If you have no witnesses to testify, especially the person who has suffered the damage, the prosecutor has no case.

I don't think that Compton received preferential treatment in that his conduct has become a matter of public record, he will now have to seek another form of livelihood and his reputation has been tarnished. Another important aspect of his case which you gloss over is that there is an ongoing relationship between Compton and the minor.

Furthermore, I am very satisfied with the handling of the situation by the Culpeper County Sheriff's Office. I am a former resident of New Jersey and have served nine years on town council and seven years on a regional high school board and know from experience that the most expeditious and economical manner of handling a situation is allowing the employee to resign so that everyone could move forward.

However, we were fortunate that we did not have a local newspaper continuing to exploit the issue.

Based on articles and editorials I have read in the Star-Exponent, I get the impression that you would rather stress the negative than the positive with regard to the operation of the CCSO. When you do this, you unfairly stir up the public.

There are two sides to every issue - no one side is 100 percent right and no side is 100 percent wrong. Therefore, I firmly believe a newspaper should cover both sides of an issue in a fair and objective manner.

My  suggestion is you give the CCSO the opportunity to move on and leave the past alone. We cannot undo what occurred yesterday and should be concerned with what happens today so we can prepare for tomorrow.