Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 13, 1993 TAG: 9303130134
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
DEFENDANT FREED IN OLD RAPE CASE
Salem prosecutor Fred King argued Friday that a man convicted of having sex with a 13-year-old girl nearly a decade ago should serve a two-year prison sentence that a jury recommended.King said to do any less would send the wrong signal to women who were taken advantage of as children.
"We're telling any child out there who has carried this burden, `Don't come to court because we're not here for you,' " King said at a sentencing hearing for 37-year-old Bannister Dale Neal.
But Circuit Judge G.O. Clemens decided there would be nothing gained by incarcerating Neal, who was convicted of statutory rape last August.
Clemens noted that Neal appeared to have led an exemplary life - as husband, father and church youth group leader - since his affair with the girl ended in the early 1980s.
The judge placed Neal in a two-year plan overseen by the Court Community Corrections Board as an alternative to a two-year prison term recommended by a Salem jury.
Under the plan, Neal cannot work or volunteer with children under 16 for the next two years and must undergo tests to determine if he has a proclivity toward young girls.
Clemens said Neal did not fit the profile of a sexual offender, but had used bad judgment in getting involved in a "special relationship" with the girl, who is now 23.
The woman, who is not being identified because of the nature of the case, agreed that Neal should not go to prison.
She brought the charges last year - more than a decade after her involvement with the man - because she "didn't want this to happen to other children."
The woman said she is still trying to cope with her sexual relationship with Neal, which she claims started at age 11. "You have a real difficult time knowing who to trust," she said.
Defense attorney William Cleaveland attempted to reduce Neal's felony conviction to a misdemeanor.
With the felony conviction, Neal said he would lose his job with the U.S. Postal Service, which had placed him on unpaid leave. Neal is now working as zebra-mussel inspector at Carvins Cove, a position that he said pays about half what he made at his former job.
Clemens upheld the statutory rape, noting that Neal had admitted having sex with a 13-year-old girl.
Nearly 40 friends, church members and co-workers crowded into the courtroom to show their support for Neal.
Clemens thanked the people for coming, but asked them how they would feel if the victim had been their daughter, sister or granddaughter.
"I wonder what your reaction would be," he said.