
DATE: Wednesday, August 13, 1997            TAG: 9708131035

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LYNN WALTZ, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH                        LENGTH:  144 lines

PARENTS VENT OUTRAGE AS COACH'S TRIAL STALLED AGAIN CRUTE'S LAWYER CITES LEGISLATIVE PRIVILEGE AS REASON FOR DELAY.

It's been two years since Woodrow Wilson High School teacher John Crute was charged with secretly videotaping young girls changing clothes in the school locker room, then splicing the tape with pornographic video.

But Crute has not yet faced a jury, because his lawyer, Del. William P. Robinson Jr., has asked for delays three times in the past two years, citing legislative privilege.

On Tuesday, parents of the victims erupted angrily in Circuit Court when they learned that, once again, the trial would not go on as scheduled because Robinson had asked for a delay.

Their anger mounted when they heard that Robinson was not in Richmond on state business, but in a federal courtroom in Knoxville, Tenn., arguing another case.

``I think this is a case where he's abusing his privileges,'' Commonwealth's Attorney Martin Bullock told the judge. ``These victims and their families are here today and they want to be heard.''

Several parents walked out in the middle of the hearing when they heard that Robinson had delayed the case again.

``What about the children?'' one parent asked. ``This is a gross abuse of the legislative privilege. . . . How did this Tennessee case get ahead of ours?''

``We're tired of being abused by the system. We want justice to prevail,'' another parent said.

The names of the girls and their parents are not being used because the newspaper does not identify victims of sex crimes.

The Crute trial, originally set for Sept. 17, 1996, has been rescheduled four times - three times by Robinson and once by the judge.

The legislative privilege is a legal provision to ensure that state business is not interrupted by court matters, since many legislators are practicing attorneys. However, the privilege is only to be invoked for legitimate state business. In this case, Robinson apparently had no legislative reponsibilities.

On Monday, he was in Richmond for a meeting of the Commission on the Future of Transportation in Virginia. The meeting had been scheduled for at least a month and, as expected, lasted about three hours. There was no expectation that the meeting would go into Tuesday, said those involved in the hearing.

``Most of the time, we figure it will finish sometime prior to 1 p.m. But it depends on the agenda. We had a full agenda yesterday and there were questions from the public,'' said V. Earl Dickinson, D-Louisa on Tuesday. ``He (Robinson) was chairman so he could not have been in court yesterday. I don't know about today.''

Tuesday, Robinson's representative in court, S. Earl Griffin, said Robinson's privilege had been used legitimately, but he could not provide details. Robinson did not return messages left at his Norfolk office.

It is not the first time Robinson has been accused of abusing legislative privilege. His habit of invoking the privilege has earned him a reputation for delays and the ire of prosecutors, including Norfolk's Commonwealth's Attorney Charles Griffith. In one case, Robinson delayed a Norfolk case by years, invoking the privilege six times.

The Code of Virginia says the privilege is ``designed to prevent embarrassment and conflict to a member of the General Assembly in the performance of his public and private duties.''

In an interview Tuesday, Bullock said of the Crute case, ``What about embarrassment to the victims? What about conflict to the families?''

The parents agreed.

``The court is acting like we have no appointments or jobs,'' said one parent. ``We're summoned here. We have to take time off again and again.''

Judge Norman Olitsky said he shared Bullock's and the parents' concern about the delays but said his hands were tied. If a delegate cites legislative privilege, by law, a judge must grant the continuance. Olitsky ordered Griffin and Bullock to reach Robinson by phone and set a date by the end of the day Tuesday.

``But he's in federal court in Knoxville, Tenn.,'' Griffin protested.

``Well, get him on the phone,'' Olitsky ordered. ``I don't want to argue with you (two). I'm ordering you right now to get him on the phone. . . . This case is weighty. If the case is delayed, these girls will be in the middle of the semester with exams.''

Griffin said Robinson did not accept the Tennessee case until after the Crute case had been continued. As required, Robinson notified the clerk's office last Thursday that he was invoking legislative privilege.

However, he did not notify Bullock, who continued preparing for the case over the weekend. Bullock was notified of the delay Monday morning by the clerk's office.

In the meantime, Bullock and his staff spent hours Sunday with victims and witnesses in preparation for the trial.

The parents said Tuesday that Robinson's delays amounted to further abuse of the young women because they relive their experience every time they prepare for trial.

The girls get increasingly upset in the weeks before trial, then become enraged each time the trial is canceled, one mother said. ``My daughter drives me nuts,'' one mother said. ``I have to listen to her yelling for a half hour. It's emotionally upsetting, thinking today's the day, then finding out it's not.''

``This affects the whole family,'' another said.

Crute was arrested Aug. 1, 1995, after police raided his home and confiscated hundreds of videotapes of female students undressing in the locker room.

At least 24 girls were taped through a hole in the wall of the locker room. The taping took place over several years. Crute, 45, was a well-known track coach and was trusted by the girls, the parents said Tuesday.

The loss of trust continues to impact their lives, even as they get married, have children of their own and go on to college, parents said. One victim is overly protective of her young child, the mother said Tuesday. Another said the pressure is interfering with college work and with the young women having closure and getting on with their lives.

Several girls and parents broke into tears, saying they felt like they had no control over what was happening to them.

``What about the kids having to attend college?'' said another. ``They're just as important as this (legislator).'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

Del. Billy Robinson

Graphic

Color photo

John W. Crute

TIMELINE

7/31/95 - Police raid the home of John W. Crute, 45, a well-known

track coach, and confiscate more than 300 videotapes and an

assortment of video equipment.

8/1/95 - Crute is charged with making videotapes of unsuspecting

female students while they dressed in a locker room at the school.