In announcing last week's arrest, Alabaster Deputy Police Chief Curtis Rigney said an investigation had been conducted in 1992 on molestation allegations against Acker. That resulted in no criminal charges. Reports the Shelby County Reporter:
Rigney said a "similar investigation" was conducted by the Shelby County Sheriff's Department in 1992, but no indictments were issued as a result.
In October 1992, Acker was placed on leave by the Shelby County School System and relieved of his teaching duties while allegations of child abuse were under investigation. In November 1992, the accusations against Acker were presented to a Shelby County grand jury, which did not indict him.
On Feb. 8, 1993 the Shelby County Board of Education held a termination hearing against Acker. After a lengthy hearing to consider the evidence in the case against Acker, the board voted unanimously not to terminate him. Acker was then reinstated as a fourth-grade teacher.
So let's review how things are done in Shelby County, Alabama. A black man, who has done nothing wrong, has a bogus warrant issued against him for drug charges. A white man who decides to write a progressive blog after witnessing rampant official corruption has the full property rights to his house stolen. (For good measure, that white man--me--is unlawfully terminated from his job at a state university after bringing corruption to public attention.) Another white man, one with strong ties to Shelby County's white/conservative power structure, is investigated for child molestation and allowed to keep his job for another 20 years or so--before finally being arrested, after confessing to the abuse of at least 21 girls.
This subject obviously hits close to home, so allow me to repeat: I was fired at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) because I write a blog that has helped expose misconduct in the political prosecution of former Democratic governor Don Siegelman. Daniel M. Acker Jr. was investigated on child-molestation charges and then allowed to keep his job.
I was fired for doing absolutely nothing wrong under any law or any rule or provision of the university where I worked. Daniel M. Acker Jr. kept his job for roughly 20 years and was only terminated after confessing to the sexual abuse of more than 20 students who were under his care.
We both were state employees, working at public institutions in the education sector. Do you sense a double standard at work in Karl Rove's Alabama?
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