Thad Jesperson Conviction Overturned
Sep 13th, 2007 by Mark
Another blow to the San Diego Justice System. Appeals court overturns the conviction of Thad Jesperson. Citing incompetence on the part of his legal team, and the misconduct by the jury (no doubt the Judge has some blame here as well).
In an 80-page ruling, Justice Richard Huffman wrote that the verdict had to be thrown out because of a combination of misconduct by jurors and ineffective legal work by Jesperson’s lawyer. The defense lawyer did not prevent jurors from hearing videotaped interviews of the children that Huffman said were filled with prejudicial and irrelevant comments.
Where was the Judge? Why are the Prosecutors allowing this?
Jesperson was put on trial three times by San Diego prosecutors on charges relating to the alleged molestation of eight second-and third-grade students in the 2001-02 and 2002-03 school years.
Three times! and they can only win when the defense is incompetent. This is disgusting that the Legal Beagles in our state are so blood-thirsty they will allow this type of malicious prosecution, worse still to be involved in it.
Jesperson was arrested in April 2003 and was convicted in December 2004 at the age of 40. He had no record or previous allegations against him in his career, and had been a well-regarded teacher at Toler for five years.
It’s clear the Prosecutors were out for a big kill, so they could move up the ladder.
There was no physical evidence supporting the allegations that Jesperson had inappropriately touched the students, and no witnesses ever corroborated the accusations, according to the appellate court opinion. When first questioned by San Diego detectives, the children who made the initial accusations denied anything happened.
Eventually, the students said they were touched by Jesperson while they read with him at the front of a classroom. Some said the touching was a light rubbing over their clothes, but others said that the touching was more intimate.
Sevilla said that under repeated questioning by police, school officials and social workers at Rady Children’s Hospital, the students’ story changed.
What the hell were the prosecutors thinking? No doubt ‘this will get me a promotion and get me elected to City Attorney, or even *gasp* Attorney General.’
Where the hell were they when the Jurors were breaking the rules? One Juror lied about being molested as a child, no doubt hoping to hang a molester. Another Juror used previous training as a teacher in deliberations, clearly out of bounds.
However this is the worst:
On one tape, a social worker is heard to say “we are here to make sure he (Jesperson) doesn’t do that to you or any more kids.” Boyce’s poor work meant Jesperson did not receive effective representation at his trial, Huffman wrote.
Social workers (especially so-called “child protection” types), what a useless profession. Liberals who can’t get a job at a newspaper I suppose. They are typical of all liberals, wanting to change the world by fiat.
The reporters have not talked to the Prosecutors, as to why they pursued this case. No doubt his life is ruined, and the County and City of San Diego will no doubt be crucified over this, if he walks. Pathetic.
Tags: thad jesperson, child molester, appeals court, verdict overturned, Toler, teacher, Jury misconduct, san diego
First of all, no, his life isn’t ruined. And hopefully, he’ll be fully exhonerated. His family, friends and hundreds of supporters have stood by him. We knew he was innocent from the beginning - and not because we like him. Because there wasn’t one shred of evidence that he ever did anything wrong.
Secondly, you asked the question that’s been on our minds since this all started back in 2003 - why they pursued this case. This excellent, dedicated teacher who is devoted to family deserved better from the judicial justice system of the United States of America.
For more information, look at the web site - http://www.families4mrj.com
I hope his life is not ruined. However I find it difficult to believe that this will not follow him, even if he is exonerated.
Another black eye for the legal system, and San Diego.
oh, it’ll follow him, alright. and what I don’t understand is how it is that the appellate panel found that his constitutional right to a fair trial was violated, and he’s still locked up.
All I can say is “Praise God” that he is finally free and home with those who love him and a thank you to all of you who stood by a man that is remarkable in my eyes .
[...] Conviction Overturned [...]
This ought to haunt the prosecutor and those
Child Protection caseworkers responsible.
Their name should be placed along side of Mike Nifong
and some of them should do at least as much time
in prison as Thad did.
The national sex offender registry still lists Thad,
and as incarcerated, still, on January 31, 2008.
http://www.nsopr.gov/
Judges give juries an inch thick stack of “jury instructions”
which is a bit like horse blinders, leading to a conclusion.
This case is a good example of a problem that
is even worse when families are accused by
Child Protective Services in their (non-criminal) courts.
If you think THIS was a bit of a witch hunt, keep
in mind that this travesty took place in a court that
was supposed to be to the highest possible legal
standard (Criminal court) but that the dependency
courts have lower standards and regularly rule
against families even AFTER they are found innocent
in the criminal court system.
If it wasn’t for the PR nightmare it would create for
CPS to do this, the ROUTINE in a case like this is that
Child Protection and their courts would STILL tear
the family apart.
Keep in mind also that Child Protection and their
dependancy courts deal with HUGE NUMBERS of
families compared to cases like this.
Caseworkers lie, cajole, manipulate and ask
questions to death to “make a case” even if they
know somebody is completely innocent.
They have an entire Child Protection INDUSTRY
to keep fed with cases, to get funding.
They actually do more HARM than good.
In serious criminal cases the CPS workers
can actually contaminate the case, as in Thad’s case.
They can turn a case into a bogus witch hunt like Thad’s
or they can also allow a REAL criminal to escape
justive because they can contaminate the witnesses
or create epistemological problems in kids.
Local to me in Iowa, we had a case where one
guy molested a kid and his brother KILLED the
same child. The prosecutors used a video tape
of the child at a “Child Protection Center” directed
by Child Protective Services under Iowa DHS.
The problem there was that the interviewer in
the CPC interview was not qualified and so asked
none of the necessary questions to determine
how the kid came to believe her own story.
Questions about epistemology (how you came to know)
are VERY important in such cases because it’s
well documented that asking a kid over and over
can “telegraph” to the kid exactly what you want to hear.
The guilty molester’s attorney could have gotten
the substandard video tape thrown out, but realized
that just a day too late. The person who did the
video interview was not qualified or licensed and
did not ask any “epistemology” questions like
“Who has asked you these questions before and
how many times?”
The video interviews are SUBSTANDARD, and if
in a REAL criminal case are inadmissable.
But they are allowed in dependency (Child Protection)
court (Called Juvenile Court in Iowa).
Families up against this kind of witch hunt have to endure
problems with the Stockholm syndrome also, where
the state has the kid in Foster Care or in a Kinship
care situation where the kin are hostile to the parents
or at least BELIEVE the parents are guilty.
Also, Child Protection courts PRESUME parents to be guilty.
In 2001 my family experienced child removal by Iowa DHS.
They had the child for three full weeks and dictated many
things to us before we realized they did NOT have legal
authority since they had not obtained the required
court order. We pointed this out and hoping to “save face”
a caseworker wrote up a “”sworn affidavit”" stating among
other things that I had a sex abuse history from an investigation
5 years prior to that. It also said that I was charged but not convicted. (Notice that they USE this on people!) Fortunately I found the OLD documents from the investigation they LIED about.
Here was a Child Protection caseworker falsely SWEARING
that I had a sex abuse history. I proved it wrong using OLD
documents from the very same office of the very same agency.
But the courts did NOT correct the wrong information even
when the paper proof was presented and correction was requested.
The case was maintained for YEARS, and correction of false
information was refused.
Many families in “dependency courts” WISH they could
have the higher standards available in CRIMINAL court.
The “Kangaroo Court” standards in dependency court
are even MORE of a witch hunt than what Thad experienced.
Closed court, hearsay allowed, no jury!
Think of Franz Kafka’s “The Trial” more accurately translated
as “The Process”, or George Orwell’s 1984.
These used to be slams on the old USSR “tribunals”
but now the Juvenile Court process has adopted tribunals
like what Reagan and others ridiculed the USSR for.
We beat the Communists and they are US!
The Child Protection INDUSTRY is corrupt and bigger than
most people realize.
But they’ve been having a Public Relations problem
recently because of the number of kids molested
or dead in Foster Care, under the state’s “”parenting”".
Family Rights groups have actually discovered people
in their groups who are agency spies and moles.
I know of a guy who pretended to be a Family Rights
advocate for 6 years. Because of his inconsistent
comments I quickly concluded he was a caseworker.
He denied being a retired caseworker until just
this last year when it was confirmed by one of
his own VERY OLD messages on the internet.
Several instances of attempts to infiltrate or
scams to “phish” for information on Family Rights
members and activities have been confirmed.
Greegor@hotmail.com
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[...] Thad Jesperson Conviction Overturned - oh yea, it’s a San Diego Case [...]