Questions Theoretically Answered in Dean Case
It will be late January before Scott Dean is sentenced on charges he molested one of his adopted daughters.
Jurors took almost a full day deliberating the case that shook up Columbia County politics, and brought the public career of the former Harlem mayor and Columbia County commissioner to a screeching and permanent halt.
There has certainly been much said and speculated concerning the bizarre case, and an awful lot of that has been complained about by Dean supporters who wondered if “the fix was in” to convict. The only thing louder than those cries were screams from the people convinced that Dean’s powerful friends would gather around and protect the embattled fallen angel with an unfortunate fondness for chemical hair treatments. In other words, they thought “the fix was in” to acquit.
Both groups were wrong. What you saw unfold in the courtroom was an organic, if not surprising, well run criminal trial.
There were several major questions/issues that came up both before and during the proceedings that most media coverage did not pick up on very well. At least in my estimation, these were incredibly important points to consider.
The West Virginia Case. This strange situation was alternately described as a “fantasy” by some, and a case of “puppy love gone bad” by others. Whatever it was called, there was almost universal skepticism from everyone who heard about these women, until the accusers actually showed up and told their story.
Under oath, testimony was given that Dean, at the age of 14, was caught fondling two 12-year-old sisters as they slept while on a vacation trip. Dean testified that this event was innocent, and nothing more than his first consensual sexual experience. (Come to think of it, that may have been an inadvertent admission/revelation.)
The victims maintain the contact was in no way innocent, solicited or welcome. They complained to their parents at the time, who in turn confronted Dean’s parents. The victims’ parents hoped Dean would be sent to counseling, but that did not happen.
Regardless of the fact that law enforcement was not brought into the case at the time, it was pretty clear something happened here, the girls were mortified by it and Scott Dean was not.
The victims came forward to testify in this case after one of them was volunteering with a child advocacy group in their hometown (out of state), and decided to Google the name of her accused molester just to see what he was doing these days. Imagine her surprise when she saw he was again accused of child molestation. She contacted local authorities immediately, and became a huge part of the case.Three cheers for the internet.
Marlin Dean Changes Her Story. Many may have forgotten that this entire mess became a criminal case because of the accusations first from Dean’s eldest adopted daughter, Marlin. This was the “young lady” who had been engaging in a very adult affair with a Mexican illegal alien, and ended up running away with him back home to Mexico, where she stayed in hiding for months. Only when DFACS officials investigated claims by Marlin that she and Dean had an inappropriate relationship did it surface that her younger sister was also apparently a victim.
Marlin later claimed her charges against her adoptive father were a ruse to get out of the house, and that her younger sister was lying.
Marlin later returned to the States, and it was revealed in testimony that Dean’s assistant sent her large sums of money to help get her here. How much she got was never exactly revealed, because the assistant, Sarah Harper Scott, refused to specify under oath. So Marlin was flush with cash, in a poor Mexican neighborhood, and was able to get back here just in time to testify, and oh, by the way, deliver a brand new baby. The baby daddy may be as illegal as Fidel Castro, but little bitty child is as American as apple pie served at a Beach Boys concert.
In other words folks, it is the opinion of prosecutors that she was bought off.
Marlin inadvertently gave the prosecution a grand opportunity when she testified that District Attorney Ashley Wright called her a liar while she was interviewing her. That allowed Wright to be be called by prosecutors to rebut that testimony, and basically destroy her credibility in the process.
No Testimony from Renee Dean. Under state law, the spouse of a defendant cannot be forced to testify against them. However, if the spouse chooses to take the stand, then the prosecution can ask them pretty much any question related to the case. Dean’s wife Renee was apparently on the defense witness list, but she was never called. Given that she was the only other adult in that household, it is amazing that she would not testify, if she believed him to be not guilty.
So why was she listed as a witness? Likely a curveball for prosecutors, hoping that they would count on Mrs. Dean as an eventual benefit to their case. It did not work.
I am told Dean supporters hope for a short, or even a probated sentence in this matter.
They will not be getting their wish.You Might Also Like:
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