It's a little too late to do the right thing now

An allegedly respectable and well known citizen was arrested very recently for allegedly subscribing to child pornography websites, soliciting male minors, and several other offenses. The list of his transgressions is long and simply disgusting. So what's new? We've heard it all before... We've seen politicians, priests, and teachers arrested for similar crimes. People in positions of authority, well liked in their communities, often responsible for well being of the very young lives they destroyed.

One thing we hear when such news surfaces is "I would have never suspected him! He was such a nice guy! I am shocked! I can't believe I have not noticed anything strange about him!" That sort of reaction assures us that the criminal was apprehended at the earliest possible time and that had anyone actually noticed anything suspicious about him, his actions would have been stopped even sooner.

Not so in this case... In addition to his high profile job, the accused coached high school basketball for years and was unquestionably well known to many people in various circles. He was no stranger to celebrities and influential politicians. In the hours following his arrest, I had an opportunity to talk with those who used to work with him or knew him privately. They discussed the details of his case, excitedly exchanging memories and overheard gossip. One thing was obvious: there was not a single person shocked to see the man arrested. On the contrary, the surprise seemed to be that the arrest came so late in his life.

For at least 15 years everyone knew something was wrong. Everyone thought he was strange. Everyone saw the signs. Everyone could name at least one young man with whom the accused had a relationship that did not seem appropriate. They went even so far as analyzing his modus operandi: he preyed on boys from single family homes, the ones with limited resources, the ones whom he could lure with gifts as expensive as cars and college tuition. He was generous with everyone so it seems, in an apparently successful attempt to quiet their conscience. In the whole discussion I heard of only one person who acted on her gut feeling and used her authority to limit the accused's access to vulnerable youth. The rest spoke of him with disgust but still seemed to be under the spell of his personality and wealth.

Naively, I was expecting the troops to rally behind the justice system and lining up to volunteer the vast amounts of information they all possess. Wrong again! As soon as they heard of the arrest, they contacted as many of the past acquaintances of the accused as they could remember, and with an incomprehensible to me effort in solidarity, warned them not to say anything to the media or the authorities.

Did I mention they are all in the business of educating the youth?