THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 3, 1995 TAG: 9505030478
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LANE DeGREGORY, Staff writer
DATELINE: EDENTON LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines
Whether they believed the children who said they had been abused or the day-care center owner who professed his innocence, most residents of this historic waterfront town had thought the wrenching ordeal was over.
After more than six years of being beleaguered by the state's longest and most expensive legal proceedings, people in this quaint colonial community were beginning to forget the accusations and alleged acts that occurred in the two-story brick building on East Eden Street.
On Tuesday, however, fears and mixed feelings began flooding the flag-lined streets again.
The North Carolina Court of Appeals ordered new trials for Little Rascals owner Robert F. Kelly Jr. and former day-care center cook Kathryn Dawn Wilson.
``I think that's wonderful,'' said Becky Wilder, 23, an assistant manager of the McDonald's in Edenton. ``I know Dawn's sister and I think it's great that she could get a new trial. I thought every single one of them was innocent all along. Psychiatrists put all that stuff in those kids' heads. Some of the stories they told were just nonsense. I'm glad the court has finally come to its senses.''
Dorothy and Howard Taylor, lunching at the same McDonald's, disagreed. They believe that Kelly and Wilson are guilty. They called the appeals court's decision ``disgusting.''
``When I heard it . . . , I opened my mouth wide. I can't believe it. It's worse than rotten,'' said Dorothy Taylor, a 65-year-old Edenton resident who said she was molested as a young girl. ``This will have a very bad effect on other victims of sexual assaults. It's gonna be real hard on those children, too, if they have to go through it all over again.''
``It's already cost all of us a lot of money,'' said Howard Taylor, 67, who moved to Edenton 10 years ago. ``We were just getting over the last trial. Now, it looks like it's gonna start all over again.''
From the steps of the 1767 Chowan County Courthouse, to bar stools at the lone downtown pool hall, to side streets paralleling the wide Chowan River, almost every public place in Edenton seemed to harbor hushed conversations about the Little Rascals case.
Many residents walked away, however, when a reporter asked for their reactions to the decision. Others refused to comment, saying repercussions of speaking out would permeate the entire town. And some people who offered their opinions asked to remain anonymous, fearing that they, too, would become embroiled in the emotionally charged issue.
Almost everyone in Edenton agreed: The longer the Little Rascals legal proceedings drag on, the worse it will be for this agrarian Albemarle area town of about 5,270.
``We're tired of this whole thing, really. We can't even tell anyone we're from Edenton anymore. As soon as you mention this town, they associate you with the Little Rascals thing,'' Edenton resident Darlene Busby said Tuesday afternoon.
Vicky Martin concurred. ``I'm sure the Court of Appeals had a good reason for their decision. But this is going to reopen a lot of wounds for the town,'' said Martin, as two television news crews began assembling satellite dish hook-ups nearby for evening broadcasts. ``And, especially, for the children.''
Edenton City Manager Anne-Marie Kelly, no relation to the day-care owners, said the town, too, has tried to put the trials in its past.
``I really don't think this announcement will have a major impact on this town,'' Kelly said from her office in a turn-of-the-century bank building. ``The community as a whole has handled all the aspects of this Little Rascals ordeal pretty well. This Appeals Court decision is just one more step that we all have to take. I really don't see this day as being any different from all the other many milestones that kept cropping up throughout the cases. Hopefully, eventually, some day, it all will stop.''
Kelly said she did not think the guilt-or-innocence question had divided the community, composed primarily of farmers, textile plant workers and boat builders. Unless people were directly involved in the trials, she said, they tended not to take sides. Many citizens disagreed.
``All this time, from the beginning, there's been a lot of arguing going on about it everywhere you go,'' said Dorothy Taylor. ``It's like religion, or politics, or anything else. Most people have opinions on this. It comes up a lot, even at the senior citizens' bingo games.''
A middle-aged man standing outside a county office building advised Kelly and Wilson not to return to Edenton - even if a new jury finds them innocent.
``It's hard to say, really, if they were innocent or guilty, or who was right or wrong,'' said Oliver Gilliam, a 44-year-old Edenton resident who was helping his mother carry groceries Tuesday afternoon. ``But bringing it up again is gonna hurt a whole lot of people 'round here. I probably wish, more than anything, that it was just all over with.''
KEYWORDS: DAY CARE CENTERS CHILD ABUSE SEX CRIME
CHILD MOLESTER TRIAL SENTENCING
RETRIAL by CNB