THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 23, 1995 TAG: 9509230236
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: GREENVILLE LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
The man at the center of the Little Rascals day care sex-abuse case walked free Friday after his family posted a $200,000 bond.
``I'm speechless. For the first time in my life, I'm speechless,'' Robert F. Kelly Jr. said outside the Pitt County law enforcement complex.
Kelly had been either in jail or in prison since 1989, when he was charged with sexually abusing children at the Edenton day-care center he owned and operated with his wife, Betsy.
He was held on $1.5 million bond after his arrest. A judge reduced the bond to $200,000 Thursday.
Kelly was serving 12 consecutive life prison terms after being convicted of 99 counts of abusing children. His trial lasted nine months and cost more than $1 million - the longest and most expensive in state history.
The state Court of Appeals last May overturned Kelly's 1992 conviction, saying his trial was tainted by serious legal errors. The state Supreme Court two weeks ago refused to review or reverse the ruling.
Betsy Kelly pleaded no contest to lesser charges, served time and was released.
``I thought this day would never get here,'' she said as the couple answered questions from reporters outside a chain-link fence at the law enforcement complex.
Kelly probably will live with his mother in Fayetteville, Betsy Kelly said. He is barred from visiting Edenton, where his wife and daughter live, under bond conditions set by Superior Court Judge James Ragan. He also cannot contact children or families involved in the case and cannot leave the state without giving 72 hours notice.
Kelly, who has maintained his innocence, said he had nothing to say to people who remain convinced he was involved in a conspiracy to molest children placed in his care. Kelly's defense lawyers contended he was the victim of hysteria in the small town, population 5,300.
``They can beat me, and beat me, and beat me. I'm still not going to hate them,'' Kelly said.
Kelly said he had hugged his wife only once, in January, while he was imprisoned. He said the couple's first stop would be to a grocery store, but he did not say which long-delayed craving he aimed to satisfy.
Betsy Kelly and the couple's 12-year-old daughter, Laura, arrived at the Pitt County magistrate's office hours earlier. They were accompanied by Betsy Kelly's attorney and her father.
``We knew yesterday what we had to do. We just had to wait on the proper authorities to do their part. That's what took this long,'' Betsy Kelly said.
She said her family used real estate as collateral to secure bond for her husband's release.
``I'm fortunate that this lady's my wife. I'm fortunate that Laura's my daughter,'' Kelly said. ``I could go on and on, on how fortunate I am.''
Chowan County District Attorney Frank Parrish said Thursday that he is preparing for a retrial. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
``I'm speechless. For the first time in my life, I'm speechless,''
Robert F. Kelly Jr. said outside the Pitt County law enforcement
complex on Friday. His first stop, he said, would be a grocery
store.
by CNB