commentary by Patrick H. Moore
There is no finer public servant than a dedicated elementary school teacher who has spent decades performing the sometimes thankless but often rewarding job of imparting skills and knowledge to her youthful charges. It’s a job that requires a whole lot of heart to go along with the endurance, elbow grease and dedication.
Somehow, in the case of Lori Ann Anderson, who teaches elementary school in a tiny Ohio hamlet of less than 2,000 people named Cridersville, the “heart” may not have extended to the homefront where, it turns out, Ms. Anderson, with the “help” of her ex-husband, 53-year-old Charles Wycuff, allegedly raped her 12-year-old son on multiple occasions in 1999.
Weird. You betcha! Nina Strochlic of the Daily Beast writes:
Lori Ann Anderson, who’s been teaching for 29 years “without a single complaint,” appeared in court Monday and pleaded not guilty to 23 felony charges, including sexual battery, gross sexual imposition, and 11 counts of rape, along with two counts of obstructing justice. Ms. Anderson’s lawyer, Richard Kerger, told The Daily Beast that she is preparing to go to trial and that she is ‘relieved to tell her side of it.’
Naturally, tiny Cridersville, where this infamy allegedly transpired, markets itself as ‘small-town America at its very best.’ (My God, I grew up down on the farm just outside of a small town named Campbellsport that seemed to have plenty of civic pride. I wonder if stuff like this was going on in my town.)
Ms. Anderson was indicted along with her ex-husband, 53-year-old Charles Wycuff. Wycuff faces a whopping 54 felony charges. Ms.Anderson’s charges allegedly occurred beginning in June of 1999 when her son was a young teen. Although it’s unclear how this all fits together, Wycuff’s alleged offenses began two years earlier and his charges include pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor, rape, and sexual battery.
To my knowledge, there are only two crime areas where the statute of limitations typically does not run its course in 5 to 7 years: capital cases and sex cases. It’s very weird to think that this has been hanging over Ms. Anderson’s head for all this time and that she’s been going to class day in and day out all this time proceeding as if everything is normal.
A special prosecutor from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office certainly didn’t think ‘everything was normal’ which is why he had been investigating Anderson and Wycuff for more than two years before filing charges Friday.
It appears that the case would have stayed dormant forever were it not for the fact the victim apparently got his courage up, well over a decade after the alleged abuse, and went to the police.
Attorney Kerger is trying to deflect the blame in Wycuff’s direction, stating that he was “abusive, dominant, engaged in misconduct,” and that he was “pretty much in charge of orchestrating it.”
What the hell does that mean: “Pretty much in charge of orchestrating it?” It would appear to mean that Ms. Anderson was also involved. She and Wycuff have been separated and presumably divorced since at last 2003.
Wycuff’s lawyer is having none of it. He stated on Wednesday that his client “maintains he is innocent of all charges pending against him.” Nonetheless, Wycuff is not getting out and is being held on $500,000 bond.
Ms. Anderson’s son is now around 30 years of age and no longer resides in Ohio, according to Kerger. In what is so often the case in these bizarrely dark affairs, Ms. Anderson had another son living with her and Wycuff at the time of the alleged abuse, but that boy was apparently not mistreated.
Because she is a lady, Ms.Anderson is out on bail. Kerger believes she has been relieved of her teaching duties. Most recently, she was teaching first grade at Cridersville Elementary. Historically, she’s been teaching first through third grade in the public school system for 29 years, “without a single complaint.” Somewhat nonsensically, Kerger stated:
“She likes teaching kids, young kids.”
The fact that the investigation has been going on for years appeared to be reflected in Ms. Anderson’s rather worn look, which is evident in her photographs.
This is a very sad situation but if the allegations are ultimately substantiated, those feeling sympathy for Ms. Anderson will be few and far between.