Re this article in my local paper -
TV anchor charged in 1974 Wicomico assault
What level of proof is required to arrest someone 32 years after the fact? Unless they have an undisputed picture of him doing the rape how could you possibly convict someone after such a lengthy period of time?
[Copyrighted article deleted]
This is very interesting to me for a variety of reasons I cannot go into…I’d be interested in any updates or additional information.
VCNJ~
Fox Anchor Ron Meroney Accused of Child Rape Before
[Copyrighted article deleted].
Oh my goodness! I LOVE Ron Meroney! He seems like such a nice “Mr. Rogers” type fellow. How sad.
[Moderator Underoos On]You already had the link-there was no need to copy the entire article.[/Moderator Underoos On]
[Moderator Underoos On]Ditto.[/Moderator Underoos On]
Per your request here’s an update
From the article above: Ruark said Meroney appeared before a Wicomico County Circuit Court judge late Thursday afternoon and was ordered to be held at the county detention center on $50,000 bond
OK - I clearly know less about the bonding process than I thought I did. I thought that you had a bond to guarantee that you would appear in court later. Why would you need to cough up 50 grand while being held in detention?
He’s being held until he can come up with the $50,000 bond. When he comes up with the money he can be released on bail.
I’ll wager dollars to doughnuts (1) he never serves a day in jail and (2) his career is ruined.
Isn’t there a statute of limitations on something like this? I was listening to NPR Thursday about a woman nearly killed by an axe-wielding assailant 30 years ago in Oregon, and when she finally decided to go back to the town where it happened, she discovered no one had ever been prosecuted, and the statute of limitations has now expired on the case. I’m guessing Oregon and Maryland have different statues on this kind of thing???
Really? I thought there were no statute of limitations on murder?
Yes, but “nearly killed” isn’t murder.
But that woman wasn’t murdered, apparently.
What a weird case. And it’s for statutory rape, which makes me more interested in the details.
So there are limits on attempted murder then. Okay.
As far as I know, the only non-federal crime for which there is no statute of limitations is murder. But then, my whole life has been spent in the western U.S. (except for when I was in the service.) Some states could easily have no SOL or very long limitations on other crimes. It just seems that after 30 years … hmm.
He was given probation on the Baltimore cases - maybe evidence has come to light that puts that probation into question -like he lied or they reserved the right to recharge him …
Having said that it has been done before:
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2006/01_02/2006_02_17_Noel_40Years.htm
A number of states allow for prosecution of sex offenses against minors in the case of repressed memories with the SoL starting from the time the alleged victim recovers the memory. SoLs may also stop running if the alleged assailant leaves the jurisdiction. Dunno if either of those are the case here.
Probably the same way a man was released after 22 years for a crime he did not commit.
After the recent priest scandals, state legislatures have been under great pressure to significantly loosen the statutes of limitation for crimes inflicted on children. Some states have voted to eliminate the limitations altogether. They are running into appellate problems, however, because they are trying to apply the laws to crimes that (obviously) have already been committed.
In any event, to answer astro’s question, if the police were involved and obtained evidence such as underwear, DNA testing could certainly lead to a conviction 32 years later. Given the high profile nature of his job, it’s possible that a victim just happened upon one of his newcasts and put two and two together. I daresay it’s a face/voice you’d keep burned in your memory.
On an unrelated note, when I clicked on astro’s 2nd link, Google had a huge ad of Maury Povich on the side and for a moment I thought he was the alleged rapist. Brrr!
Final Update