The Warrior’s Way
Joe Neal Jr. avoids rape conviction, but more than his reputation is soiled
Six days after accepting a plea deal that reduced a felony rape charge to two misdemeanors, a defiant and unapologetic Joe Neal Jr. lashed out at his accuser.
“
That girl was just a liar,” he told the Metro Spirit. “If you were in court you would have seen what happened, but we never got a chance to cross examine because she was a liar and she didn’t want to go through with it.”
While it’s true that his accuser backed out of the case before allowing herself to be cross examined, her testimony, combined with the details of text messages sent between Neal and the victim the day after the incident, paint a distinctly unflattering picture of Joe Neal Jr. that has resonated throughout the community.
The Metro Spirit has obtained a copy of the transcripts. An unabridged copy appears on our website, metrospirit.com.
Neal was, of course, the self-proclaimed Warrior for Justice, a lawyer with a big house on the Hill who also fancied himself a poet, an artist and a yoga practitioner. He burst on the scene in the late 1990s after a stint with the District Attorney’s office by taking high-profile cases that brought in a lot of money and raised lots of eyebrows.
In one of the most well-known cases, Neal brought a wrongful death case against a city of Augusta electrical inspector over a trailer fire that killed two people.
Neal said it was that case he was referring to when a TV crew quoted him after the trial saying he was suing the city, a quote that got a lot of people around town talking.
“
They’ve claimed sovereign immunity for five years, so it is the city [he is suing] even though we’re suing a person,” he explained.
The case against Neal has fascinated Augusta ever since world first broke late last year that Neal along with his then-wife Caroline Caldwell Neal were accused of raping his 18-year-old babysitter.
Neal, the former president of the Summerville Neighborhood Association, has been a popular target for gossip as much for his personal life as for his headline grabbing. Married four times to three different women, the 43-year-old had been divorced for less than a year when he married 23-year-old Caroline Caldwell, and by the time the incident with the babysitter happened, he’d already tried to divorce her once. He first filed for divorce only a few months after their marriage, dismissed the charges 10 days later, then filed again a month after that.
The day after the victim reported the incident, Caroline Neal was charged with simple battery for allegedly hitting and scratching Joe Neal Jr. in front of his 13-year-old son.
The two have since finalized their divorce.
Some would make the argument that this kind of stuff is private, but when you’re a prominent member of the close knit and highly visible Hill community, it’s very, very public. Scandal is the currency with which their economy thrives, and the scope of this one funded a circus atmosphere that spread across the entire city.
And the circus was not confined to those directly involved in the case. There was Joe Neal’s brother-in-law Christian Steinmetz with his pinstripe suit, his bowtie and his assertion to the news camera that it was a “bull****” case and then there was Joe Neal Sr. calling Chris Thomas “son.”
The real drama, however, was reserved for the courtroom, where the victim testified that she had known Joe Neal since she was 13 and that her family and the Neals would have dinner. That relationship, she testified, eventually led to babysitting and, on the night in question, five glasses of wine before Neal brought out marijuana and the three — the victim, Caroline Neal and Joe Neal — were on the bedroom deck smoking. She also said the marijuana seemed stronger than what she was used to and that after about 45 minutes she went to the bathroom because she thought she was going to be sick.
When she returned, she said, the Neals were both naked and Caroline Neal kissed her before they all headed to the bedroom.
She also testified that she sent a text message to her boyfriend saying that the Neals were trying to get her to have a threesome.
Richmond County Deputy Joseph Scarlett testified that the victim told him that she passed out and when she woke up in bed with the Neals, her top was off and her pants were pulled down.
Not long after, the victim’s boyfriend picked her up from the Neal’s Kings Way home.
After giving this testimony in court, the victim decided not to go on, which led to Neal pleading guilty to disorderly conduct, possession of marijuana and furnishing alcohol to a person under the age of 21.
One of the most fascinating things about the case, however, are the text messages sent the next day between the victim, Joe Neal and Caroline Neal. Because of space considerations and the explicit nature of some of the texts, we’re unable to print the entire transcript here, though we are making them available online.
The text messages are important because it is here that the victim is first told that Joe Neal had sex with her. Before Neal’s text admitting it, she said she didn’t know.
The conversation begins at 10:42 the next morning
Victim 10:42:42: Hey we’re good right:) sorry I wasn’t so into it…
Neal 10:44:26: Hey! Of course we are! I loved it. I thought u were just nervous. Ur awesome. See ya tonight.
Neal 10:44:56: Y’all were smoking hot
Victim 10:46:50: I didn’t want to do anything to make [boyfriend] mad with me. I love you and Caroline though and I didn’t want you to think ajything was wrong.
Neal 10:48:49: I love you too sweety. Last night was awesome. U r so beautiful
Victim 10:53:22: Your sweet, but I’m crazy about my boyfriend and I know he would be furious if that situation progressed. You are kind of a sexy daddy though 
Neal 10:55:38: Ok. If y’all break up lets finish next time 
After more than an hour of texting, the conversation turns more overtly sexual.
Victim 12:07:30: You didnt even do it with me haha… and dont be so sure of yourseld who says thatll even happen again?
Victim 12:09:35: Your girl is a good kissed though
Neal 12:10:13: I did from behind for about a minute, til u got scared !
Victim 12:11:52: …I can’t believe that damn now I feel a little bad
Another thing to note — while the messages reveal both the continued flirtation and the discovery, Joe Neal Jr. was hosting a Christmas party later that evening. Among the invited were the victim, the victim’s boyfriend, the victim’s mother and Joe Neal Sr. The prospect of seeing her again seems to encourage Neal, though not the victim, who seemed pretty clear by 1:40 that afternoon she was no longer willing to participate.
Victim 13:40:52: Last night was an isolated event that we should avoid for reoccurring in the future. I’m not tempting or teasing you with any ideas.
Neal 13:41:36: Ok then
Victim 13:46:55: Well I don’t want to be a tease so I’ll try not to. It’s fair right?
Neal 13:47:48: Yes baby I’m still gonna want Ur ass
Victim 13:53:26: Well your going to have to contain yourself
The victim’s last text to Neal is at 4:27 that afternoon. There were hours of negotiations concerning the party over the course of the afternoon, but ultimately she does not attend. Two days later, at 11:30 a.m. Neal texts: U doin ok? At 12:12 he sends his final text: U don’t like me anymore?
Given the fact the victim was unwilling to undergo further questioning and the lack of other evidence confirming rape, a conviction was not a possibility, but that didn’t mean Superior Court Judge James Blanchard was going to let Neal go without a dressing down. Some close to the events say Blanchard was clearly upset by the case, which is evidenced by his sentencing. Saying he first intended to sentence Neal to spend his 100 hours of community service at a rape crisis center, Blanchard decided that Neal “probably wouldn’t be welcome there,” so instead he sentenced him to spend his hours at a sewage treatment plant, which he said was in keeping with the conduct of the case.
Whether or not that will come to pass — the Richmond County wastewater treatment plant is privately run and officials there were unaware of any planned supervision of probationers — there was no mistaking Blanchard’s intent.
As for repercussions beyond the stink and humiliation of putting in time at the wastewater treatment plant, it remains to be seen what impact the case will have on Neal’s ability to practice law.
Some say the text messages alone are actionable enough to cause him trouble, while others in the legal community are suggesting that he will be required to undergo psychological testing because of the case.
Either way, the odds are likely that he’ll be putting some distance between himself and Augusta, most likely settling at least temporarily in Charleston.You Might Also Like:
After giving this testimony in court, the victim decided not to go on, which led to Neal pleading guilty to disorderly conduct, possession of marijuana and furnishing alcohol to a person under the age of 21.
One of the most fascinating things about the case, however, are the text messages sent the next day between the victim, Joe Neal and Caroline Neal. Because of space considerations and the explicit nature of some of the texts, we’re unable to print the entire transcript here, though we are making them available online.
The text messages are important because it is here that the victim is first told that Joe Neal had sex with her. Before Neal’s text admitting it, she said she didn’t know.
The conversation begins at 10:42 the next morning
Victim 10:42:42: Hey we’re good right:) sorry I wasn’t so into it…
Neal 10:44:26: Hey! Of course we are! I loved it. I thought u were just nervous. Ur awesome. See ya tonight.
Neal 10:44:56: Y’all were smoking hot
Victim 10:46:50: I didn’t want to do anything to make [boyfriend] mad with me. I love you and Caroline though and I didn’t want you to think ajything was wrong.
Neal 10:48:49: I love you too sweety. Last night was awesome. U r so beautiful
Victim 10:53:22: Your sweet, but I’m crazy about my boyfriend and I know he would be furious if that situation progressed. You are kind of a sexy daddy though 
Given the fact the victim was unwilling to undergo further questioning and the lack of other evidence confirming rape, a conviction was not a possibility, but that didn’t mean Superior Court Judge James Blanchard was going to let Neal go without a dressing down. Some close to the events say Blanchard was clearly upset by the case, which is evidenced by his sentencing. Saying he first intended to sentence Neal to spend his 100 hours of community service at a rape crisis center, Blanchard decided that Neal “probably wouldn’t be welcome there,” so instead he sentenced him to spend his hours at a sewage treatment plant, which he said was in keeping with the conduct of the case.
Whether or not that will come to pass — the Richmond County wastewater treatment plant is privately run and officials there were unaware of any planned supervision of probationers — there was no mistaking Blanchard’s intent.
As for repercussions beyond the stink and humiliation of putting in time at the wastewater treatment plant, it remains to be seen what impact the case will have on Neal’s ability to practice law.
Some say the text messages alone are actionable enough to cause him trouble, while others in the legal community are suggesting that he will be required to undergo psychological testing because of the case.
Either way, the odds are likely that he’ll be putting some distance between himself and Augusta, most likely settling at least temporarily in Charleston.You Might Also Like:
