Thoughtprints

I'm going to share with you a story ..... a true story ..... a true story about something that has been going on in my community for quite a while now. It's a story about a man, a middle-aged man who was, by all appearances, a fine, upstanding citizen of Sterling. He was once the President of our School Board; is the step-father to a developmentally handicapped young woman; and is a very active member of his Church - a Church, by the way, where I once worked as the secretary to the minister.

This man, whose name is John Gilbert Valdez, was also a coach for Special Olympics, and is currently (until his very recent suspension - read suspension, not dismissal) the director of the Heritage Center serving the elderly of Logan County, which also includes delivering meals for the Meals on Wheels program. Well guess who volunteers to deliver those meals? Developmentally disabled people. So let me cut to the chase - John Valdez was arrested for raping a 31 year old developmentally disabled woman (who happened to be a friend of his own developmentally disabled step-daughter. how sick is that!) who functions at a fifth grade level, over a period of 5 years. At first he pleaded not guilty to all charges, then in a sudden and surprising move last November, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of sexual assault and a misdemeanor charge of unlawful sexual contact to avoid having to do jail time. It's all a very long and sordid story, my friends. One which, quite frankly, makes me want to hurl, especially when I see a quote from him saying "It was adultery, it was not criminal. It was consensual between two people who know the difference between wrong and right. She knows the difference. What I did I admitted to, I guess my problem is telling the truth. I've worked all my life with developmentally disabled individuals, and I've never had a problem until now." WTF!!! Are you kidding me??? That is one of the sickest, most twisted things I have EVER heard!

And then, members of his church are writing letters to the editor of our newspaper asking them to leave John alone, saying he's being "crucified", and poor, poor John, hasn't he suffered enough for his "mistake"? OMG! One of them even went so far as to say the "first mistake was leaving her in John's care when he was alone". WHAT!!!! Gee, blame the victim why don't you!!! Oh, it pisses me off SO MUCH!!! You see, this is why I no longer go to church. I believe in God and talk to Him every single day, but organized religion is, in my opinion, blasphemous on so many levels! Anyway ....

Let me calm down a sec. *deep breath* So, he was banned for life by Special Olympics and on January 5th was banned by the Northeastern Colorado Association of Local Governments Area Agency on Aging, BUT ... would you believe that our stupid, shady, "let's protect him the best we can" County Commissioners have allowed him to RETAIN HIS EMPLOYMENT AT THE HERITAGE CENTER!! Isn't that tantamount to allowing a child sex predator to retain his employment at a county-run day care center???!!! Well, lemme tell ya', the citizens of Sterling and Logan County have been up in arms since last November, and have only become more agitated day after day, knowing that strange goings-on were happening behind the closed doors of the commissioners AND the county attorney! Well you guys, as I said, this is such a looooong story, and one I've been very upset about myself, and I don't think I can do it justice by trying to tell it by myself, so what I'm going to do is post a bunch of links to what I consider the most relevent news articles. I will post them chronologically. Please read them (and don't forget to read the Reader Comments at the bottom of each article!) and then, if you are as utterly and completely disgusted as I am, post about it! Blab about it! Embarrass the shit out of our government officials and pass this story around!! This is not just a story about one small town on the plains of Colorado; it's a story about the epidemic of sexual deviancy in our country and the seriously lacking repercussions these predators face, ESPECIALLY when they've violated a develpmentally disabled or mentally ill person! IT'S NOT RIGHT!! Someone needs to stand up and make people listen! Please help me carry this torch!

The Links:

Court will not dismiss Valdez case, Sept. 22, 2006

Date set in Valdez sex case, Oct. 21, 2006

Valdez cops a plea, Nov. 21, 2006

Valdez: What now?, Nov. 25, 2006

Attack on Valdez reprehensible, Letter to the Editor, Nov. 29, 2006

Group bans Valdez, Special Olympics Colorado bars him from volunteering for life, Dec. 1, 2006

Stop abusing and condemning Valdez, Letter to the Editor (the one from his fellow church members), Dec. 7, 2006

Valdez supporters sadly misguided, Letter to the Editor (from the family of the victim), Dec. 20, 2006

John Valdez is banned by agency on aging, Jan. 5, 2007

Double talk must end; Valdez must go, Editorial, Jan. 10, 2007

Commissioners have now made it clear, Letter to the Editor (a VERY interesting one, leveling more allegations), Jan. 12, 2007

At-risk adult recalls signing Valdez petition, (story goes along with letter to the editor above), Jan. 12, 2007

Valdez suspended, Jan. 18, 2007

Official: He’s continuing to exploit vulnerable people, Jan. 22, 2007

Commission in hot seat, Jan. 23, 2007

And guess what? At the Commissioner's meeting (Commissoners in hot seat), a Denver news station was present. FINALLY, this story is being aired statewide, as well as in Wyoming and Nebraska. This is the story which they reported. Watch the video linked on that page (underneath his picture). You will see why we are all so sickened and upset by this!

I know this is a very loooong list of reading, and I know I'm asking a lot for you to read it, but maybe if you don't have the time, interest or inclination, you could just skim it all and perhaps link to the post? I would appreciate it SO MUCH!

Thank you!