Heavy emotional cost

"The boy, who had testified against the principal, was sobbing inconsolably. After White's not guilty verdict was read, the unnamed teenager had to bear the unofficial stamp of "liar."

Nov 7, 2007 - A column by Lawrence Aaron at The Record (N.J.) on the costs of principal's crimes reflects on the sentencing of school principal Joseph White. White was acquitted by a jury in 2003 after claiming that that police interviews were improper and that the youth who accused White had an ulterior motive.

Four and a half years later, another jury convicted White of sexual offense with another boy.

The sobbing denunciation of White by the high school boy in the latest case is a reminder of the heavy emotional cost paid by victims and their families.

The first victim was forgotten.

In these instances of betrayal of trust, where children end up as victims of adults responsible for their safe-keeping, one forgotten person is the young man who accused White in the 2002 case. He dropped from sight.

He had gone to live with White and his family after becoming a ward of the state because his biological father beat him. The young man, now about 22, is serving in the Persian Gulf, fighting the war on terror.

Aaron reports that experts say 90 percent of such offenses never come to light.

TT link for White
To their credit, The Record had a scathing editorial when White pleaded guilty.