Are Police Investigating Former Principal For Child Sexual Abuse

Former WV Principal Accused Of Being A Pedophile And Child Molester? by Jack Swint

“He knew that I knew what he was doing to those boys. He always had young male foreign exchange student in his home too. He constantly had groups of boys with him at all times. I knew he was an evil man"….Former Matewan School Counselor, Hester Keatley
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Sometimes A Story Has To Be Told Again And Again (First published in November 2008)  

In June 1996, then forty-eight year old Thomas Scott King (pictured above with President Obama) was arrested after spending the night in a Charleston WV motel with a 17-year old boy. At the time, Mr. King was the principal at Valley High school in Smithers, WV. The teenager was one of his students…..and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Kings own little brother has come forward with a deep dark secret of his own…“My older brother, Scott, began raping and sodomizing me when I was 5-years old.”

Signs of a Pedophile

On the surface, 63 year old Thomas Scott King has traveled the world and made friends with dignitaries and other high ranking officials while working for the Peace Corps. In the 1970’s, he traveled to Africa where he taught English. His role as a teacher and principal in at least three WV high schools has opened other doors to prominent state politicians like WV Supreme Court Judge Margaret Workman, who has had him on her “Facebook” list of friends.

Then there is the side of him that only a few choice people know about. When Thomas Scott King was principal at Valley High School in Fayette County, he plead guilty in Magistrate Court for contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The charges and subsequent plea deal in Fayette County stemmed from an incident that began at a Charleston motel in June, 1996. Both King and the student admitted to State Police of spending at least one night together. King claimed he drove the youth from Smithers, WV, to Charleston in order to personally console the boy who police were searching for after his parents reported him missing.

Cops finally caught up with the pair when they spotted the boy driving the principal’s car back in Fayette County 2 days after he was reported missing. King also admitted he allowed the boy to drive his car even though the teen had no license. In fact, Fayette prosecutors could only charge King with contributing to the delinquency of a minor for driving the car because the motel was in Kanawha County.

But, they never followed up with Charleston authorities to go after King for taking the boy to a motel in that jurisdiction.

In an August 7th, 1996 Charleston Gazette and Daily Mail newspaper article; than Assistant Fayette County Prosecutor, Tom Steele, said he did not know the specific details of the trip to the motel and could not investigate because it was outside his jurisdiction. The newspaper articles described how King admitted they spent the night at the motel together and King’s resignation as principal. There was one mandatory condition to the “no contest” plea agreement. King had to resign as both principal of Valley High School and the WV Board of Education.

Did prosecutors and law enforcement know that this man showed signs of being a sexual predator? Who knows? Fayette County prosecutors either forgot or did not care to follow up with Kanawha County authorities on the overnight motel stay.

Today, that former juvenile is approximately 33 and is allegedly still dealing with problems related to those events. A Fayette County Magistrate clerk told this author that all records before 1997 have been “purged” so no records exist of the arrest and/or conviction. According to the two newspaper articles, Scott King was merely fined $50 plus $67 in court costs.

Years of Sexual Attacks

Walter “Casey” King (pictured to the left) and his brother Scott, grew up in the Mayberry, WV area in McDowell County. His older brother was born on July 31, 1948, making him approximately 19-years old at the time of the first attack. Casey now recalls how his sibling made it appear as a game of “hide and go seek” by persuading him to belly crawl up under his bed just to have Scott discover him and pull him out by his feet. That is when the assaults would take place.

“I remember how big his hands felt on my legs.” He would also tell me, “Play with it,” talking about his brother’s penis.

The alleged assaults took place until he was seven-years old, which is when his brother left home for Africa. But, one last incident occurred when Casey was 15. In that attack, the younger brother managed to stop Scott from assaulting him as his older brother tried to take Casey’s clothes off of him. As he recalls, “Scott was actually my WV History teacher in the 8th grade and then Ethnic studies in the 9th grade” at former Elkhorn Jr. High in McDowell County.”

Memories of the sexual assaults haunt him some days more than others. Everything all came to a head several months ago when Casey said “just out of the blue,” Scott called him on the phone just to tell him that he needed to call his father. “There was something in the tone of his voice” that brought all of the emotions flowing out of Casey’s deepest subconscious.” From that moment, I knew what all he had done to me.” In fact, Casey says he called his brother back a few days later and left him a simple voice mail message.

“You need to know that I remember everything you did to me….you have one week to turn yourself in to the authorities.”

Casey said he can forgive his brother for everything he did to him, but, he has to be stopped. “He took away my identity, my innocence, and I’ve had nightmares for years about it all.” He says he also felt guilty that it was somehow his fault. Growing up, he became an alcoholic, divorced, and has a lifetime of failed relationships. He is a single dad now and devotes his free time to raising his children and takes each day one at a time. Casey says he is into his "third year being a recovering alcoholic."

At 49, he teaches college students about physics and astronomy. Before that, he worked as a nuclear engineer in Hartsville, SC. He currently lives in the Myrtle Beach area where he feels that “I’m stable at this point in my life.” But, “I can’t morally walk away from what my brother did to me and most likely other kids, too. He’s a rapist and a predator.”

Casey also states that his brother Scott was allegedly charged and arrested for arson at WVU when he and others set fire to the ROTC building in the late 1960's. Scott graduated in 1970.

Thomas Scott King the Principal

Records show that Thomas Scott King has been a teacher, vice principal and principal in several schools across the state (and possibly worked for the Post Office when he lived in Las Cruces, New Mexico) from McDowell to Mingo, Lewis and Fayette Counties. In fact, he was featured in the Charleston Gazette and Daily Mail newspapers in September 1990 as the new Matewan High School principal who first discovered that football players at the schools had their grades falsified so they could play sports.

At the time Scott was arrested, Casey said he was visiting his parents in the Bluefield area. As they watched the 11 pm news on Channel 6, a story came on about Scott being arrested on the contributing charges. He remembers how he and his mother and father just sat there dumbfounded. “They both sat there and didn’t make any comments at all.”

Scott King was also involved in another scandal that caused several foreign exchange students attending Lewis County High School to return to their homeland early because of incidents that occurred while King oversaw that program and had several of the teens living at his home. He admitted in a March 1996 Charleston Gazette story that he had been playing “host dad” to at least 6 exchange students over the past six years. He told the newspaper reporter that “It’s a little bit of a challenge, but usually very rewarding.”

Reportedly, by one county board source, sealed school records show that one of the boys provided a statement that Scott King came into his bedroom several times and tried to rape him. The exchange student ran from King’s home on the second assault and hid at a friend’s home. His very frequent movement from school to school since the late 1970’s suggests a pattern of possible problems that his superiors and the Board of Education were aware of and concealed.

A Professionals Opinion Of Thomas Scott King

Former Matewan school counselor, Hester Keatley, has years of training in both helping abused children and in recognizing the signs of an abuser. Ms Keatley is so well respected in the school system that she was still asked to train new counselors after retiring.

She worked for Thomas Scott King when he spent a short time as Principal there in 1989-1990. What did her training and instincts tell her??? “He knew that I knew what he was doing to those boys.” And, “He always had young male foreign exchange student in his home too. He constantly had groups of boys with him at all times." Ms Keatley says that the Board Of Education was made aware of the complaints from the male foreign exchange students. At least one signed statements against King for inappropriate sexual contact.

“I knew he was an evil man.” Her observations became more then just suspicions; enough so that she went to the school board. But, they took no visible official action. Soon afterward, Principal King was moved to another school district.

Hester said that she worried about Kings then teenage son Justin, who was a sophomore when he came to Matewan. “He displayed signs of a child who may have been sexually abused himself.” Does that seem so hard to believe? Scott Kings own brother, Casey, is the person who first came forward with the accusations his older brother Scot raped and molested him at the age of 7.

“I hope and pray he pays for the damages he has done to all the innocent boys. I hope he is hung by the balls.”

Update November 19, 2011

Since the story was first released in 2008, Casey told WV News that “numerous people have contacted me, most with stories of their sons, friends or male relatives and their experiences with Scott. Almost all of their stories involved Scott taking children on school and personal trips, a hotel stay and then an encounter in the middle of the night. Photographs were also mentioned in some of the letters. According to the emails, many of the young boys grew up and later became involved with drugs and alcohol. This seems to be prevalent in sexual abuse.”

He goes on to say that now, he is in the best relationship of his life and with the woman of my dreams. He is still enjoying  a successful career as a physics professor both full-time and part-time at two different colleges and live a contented life in Myrtle Beach, SC.

"I speak openly and honestly about what happened to me. I have shared my story with my children. They support me in sharing with others what happened to me and my attempts to seek prosecution for Scott. It is extremely important in my recovery to feel as though I have done everything within my power to stop Scott from doing to others what he did to me for years growing up.

After contacting the prosecuting attorney’s office in the county where the abuse occurred, I was told a conviction would not be obtainable in a case involving testimony alone without another victim coming forward. I can’t put Scott away alone, but I have made a stand and am not backing down. And I will stand with any others that decide the time has come to do something about him.”

Thomas Scott King reportedly lives in the Charleston, WV, area and could be either working or retired now from the US Post Office. Casey found his brother’s “Facebook” account online and was devastated to see that Scott, now 63-years old, had a long list of friends that include the names of young teens in the 10th grade.

He also says that Scott is heavily involved in the WV Democratic Party and State politics. Our search found a recent entry by Scott King on the FACEBOOK account of the "Charleston Democratic Executive Committee Fundraiser And Straw Poll." (link below)

Casey also contacted the McDowell County prosecutor’s office in hopes of bringing charges against Scott for the rapes since the last attack was in their jurisdiction. WV State Police investigator, Mike Spradlin, in Lewisburg WV, has been assigned the case. According to Casey, the last conversation he and the investigator had, Spradlin said that he felt they had enough to get an indictment, but not a conviction.

“I am willing to testify along with any one of them that decide to come forward. Remember that it isn’t just one person he did this to and chances are that there are dozens of boys, now men who were molested. The average pedophile molests over 100 children before they are stopped. I can't do it alone. I tried. Only together can we stop a pedophile.”

We called Investigator Spradlin in 2008 to confirm any information on an ongoing investigation. He said that he could not comment.

Casey has finally talked to his father about what happened so many years ago. His dad said he never knew what Scott had done to Casey, but, his only real question about it all was if Scott would be able to beat the charges. Howard T. King is retired and lives in an assisted living home in Southern WV. His mother passed away several years ago.

In Closing

Some who read this story will be quick to say we were wrong for writing it, that there is no proof that any crime has been committed, and that we have ruined this man and/or his career. To those people we say, there is a pattern here that clearly shows that, at the very least, Thomas Scott King was caught, arrested and convicted of contributing to a minor.

He was a 47-year old school principal and authority figure who admitted to authorities that he took a 17-year old male student to Charleston WV in 1996 and spent at least one night with him in a motel.

Even though Thomas Scott King has no convictions for sexual assaults, rape or even being listed as a pedophile does not mean he is not. How often do pedophiles and rapists slip through the cracks?

This is a man who had spent years being moved from school to school in the WV system until he was finally forced to resign his teaching credentials as part of a plea agreement to stay out of jail and face more severe charges. He also is the same man whose personnel files at several schools (at least the Fayette County Board of Education) are allegedly sealed.

Casey has asked us to include his home telephone number and e-mail address at the end of this story for anyone to call him if they have information, and/or questions. He emphatically states that he harbors no revenge for his brother Scott, and even tried to talk him into receiving counseling instead of being publicly exposed for his sexual assaults on Casey years ago. His brother refused, and disconnected his phone.

Coming forward to expose what his own brother did to him as a child takes more nerve and guts than most people will ever face in a lifetime. Casey King is a hero to all of the sexually abused children that continue to be assaulted everyday at the hands of someone they know and trust.

Thomas Scott King will most likely deny any and all accusations from his brother or anyone else that comes forward to accuse him. Take away his brother’s claims that Scott sexually abused him as a child and you still have the 1996 conviction and his plea deal to resign from the WV school system.

We have attempted to locate and interview Thomas Scott King but could not.

If you would like to contact Casey King:

Walter “Casey” King
Ph: (843) 450-6482
Email: mbsingledad@aol.com

End Of Story

Jack Swint – Publisher
West Virginia News
E-Mail: WestVirginiaNews@gmail.com
Website: http://www.WestVirginiaNewsOnline.com
Twitter: @WVNewsOnline
LinkedIn: Jack Swint

Links To Related Stories

Is WV Part Of A National Pedophile Network Exploiting Foreign Exchange Students

Are School Board Officials And The State Department Covering Up Its Knowledge Of Abuse Within The Foreign Exchange Student Program

Charleston Democratic Executive Committee Fundraiser & Straw Poll (Facebook)

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Is It Finally Okay To Be Openly Gay

Some Countries Still Execute People For Homosexual Acts by Jack Swint

Just thirty years ago, being gay meant you were happy; a cigarette was called a fag.  Grass was mowed and coke was something you drank. Pot was something you cooked in, rock music was a grandmother's lullaby and AIDS were helpers in the Principal's office…  Penny Parker

Is The Gay Movement The New Civil Rights Cause In America?

Have gays finally realized that it’s OK to be open about their lifestyle?   Probably not, but at least in America, last month’s decision by the military to lift its “don’t ask don’t tell” policy on gays serving in the armed forces is a sign the government is either coming into age for their rights or afraid of being dethroned in upcoming elections because of the multitudes of gay men and women who vote. Either way, supporters of the recent military repeal applauded the historic change as a victory for equal rights.

But can we really compare the overall prejudices and violence against Gays into the same category as the Black Civil Rights movement?

Yes and no depending on who your talking to... According to one source for this story, “gays are attempting to make their plight the new civil rights and discrimination cause. Quite simply, discrimination is not allowing one group to have a particular right while allowing another group to have that same right. This is not what is happening at all, I have the same rights as a gay person and they have the same rights as me. The same things that are illegal for me are illegal for them.

One of the most despicable tactics I have seen some people pull is trying to compare gay marriage with the black civil rights movement. Its apples and oranges, blacks in the 50’s did not have equal rights with whites, they were forced to sit in the back of the bus, use the back door while whites could sit in the front of the bus, and use the front door. The same is not true with homosexuals; they have the exact same rights as heterosexuals, everything that is illegal for them (gays) is illegal for everyone??”

On the other hand, gays not only face the same discrimination practices that blacks have been subjected to for centuries,  they are still facing ongoing prejudice around the world that includes laws that make it illegal to even be homosexual. In fact, if you think its bad in the US, here is a list of some countries that not only outlaw gays; but will put people to death for homosexual acts. (Countries listed in RED have death penalties for homosexual acts)

Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, Namibia, Gambia, Guinea, Mauritania, Senegal, Togo, Sao, Tome & Principe, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Somalia, Uganda, Tanzania, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Lesotho, Swaziland, Ghana,  Nigeria, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Seychelles, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Caribbean Islands,  Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, ST Vincent & Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobaggranda,  Jamaica,  Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucie,  Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iran, Yemen, Bahrain, Palestine, Territories (GAZA), Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Papua, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Brunei, Burma ,Malaysia, Western Samoa, Uzbekistan, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Cook Islands, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Singapore, Guyana, Belize, Chechen Republic, India.

Striving For Equality In Americas Civil Rights

Gay men and women have been subjected to the same types of harassment as blacks. This includes physical and mental abuse up to and including hate crimes, lynchings and other forms of human torture just because of who they are. Gays don’t have the same equal rights as the rest of society in the workplace and in their personal lives either. So, yes, this plight by gays to be treated equally does mirror the same types of civil rights violations faced by blacks in America. Agree with it or not, it’s true. 

 

Coincidentally, it appears on the surface that over the past twenty years the gay movement has followed similar paths that blacks did in becoming more visible and recognized as strong independent contributors to society while strengthening their own men, women and children as a group. Becoming visible to the entire world as everyday people and successful members of society has probably been the best avenue to bring their message and plight to light.

How is this being accomplished?

Through mainstream media utilizing newsprint, radio and TV with well-known gay celebrity personalities, actors, producers and ongoing news stories of their plight. Like the black movement, gays are now making major contributions into education of all people while independently creating higher education for themselves through specific targeted grants, foundations and scholarships.

There are a record growing number of highly successful business executives and CEO’s in the corporate world that are finally defining their role in America that includes being gay.

Right now, the two most powerful men in the world are great examples that both blacks and gays have made significant progress in equal rights and opportunities in society as a whole. We have a black President of the United States, Barack Obama, a black man who is the most powerful politician and leader in the world today. Recently, Tim Cook, the new CEO for APPLE is gay and is considered the most powerful man in the business world.  Even though mainstream media has steered away from the fact Cook is gay, it is believed that he is destined to become an icon for gay advancement.

Many states are finally passing laws to allow same sex marriages and or Civil Unions, stopping discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation and in strengthen gay’s rights to privacy.

What Percent Of Americans Are Gay?

The findings from a Gallup poll conducted May, 2011, estimate as high as 25% of Americans are gay. This marks the second time Gallup has surveyed people to estimate the gay population in the US. In 2002, Gallup used two separate questions to ask Americans to estimate the percentage of gay men and lesbians. At that time, Americans estimated that 21% of men were gay and that 22% of women were lesbian. Twice as many did not offer an opinion as do now.

There actually is little reliable evidence about what percentage of the U.S. population is in reality gay or lesbian, due to few representative surveys asking about sexual orientation, complexities surrounding the groups and definitions involved, and the probability that some gay and lesbian individuals may not choose to identify themselves as such.

So, if the 25% estimate is nearly correct, than out of approximately 225 million adult people in the US, 56 million are gay. Which is also about the number of Catholics in America?

The Moral Question Still Exists

According to one report in October 2009, nearly half of the public (49%) says homosexual behavior is morally wrong, while 9% say it is morally acceptable and 35% say it is not a moral issue. A similar number says abortion is morally wrong (52%), while far fewer see moral impropriety in divorce (29%) or drinking alcohol (15%).

Blacks are much more likely to think that homosexuality is morally wrong (64%) than whites (48%) or Hispanics (43%). At least half of those ages 30 and older say homosexuality is wrong, compared with fewer than four-in-ten (38%) among those under age 30. And a slim majority of Americans with a high school education or less see homosexual behavior as morally wrong (55%), compared with fewer than half among those with a college degree (40%) or some college education (46%).

Assessments of morality are divided sharply along partisan lines. For example, three-quarters of conservative Republicans say homosexual behavior is wrong. By contrast, nearly as many liberal Democrats (70%) say either that homosexuality is morally acceptable (13%) or that it is not a moral issue (57%).

Among religious groups, 76% of white evangelical Protestants and 65% of black Protestants believe homosexuality is morally wrong; mainline Protestants (40%), Catholics (39%) and the unaffiliated (29%) are much less likely to take this view. Views also differ markedly by level of worship service attendance. Overall, two-thirds of those who attend services at least weekly say homosexual behavior is morally wrong, compared with 43% of those who attend services monthly or yearly and 31% of those who seldom or never attend. The same is true within religious traditions.

For example, among Catholics, a slim majority of weekly Mass attendees (53%) say homosexual behavior is morally wrong, while among those who attend less often, a majority (65%) say it is not a moral issue or is morally acceptable.

In 2005 the 10 largest gay-hate groups raised $400 million to fight gay rights. In 2008, the leadership of the Mormon Church spent $40 million dollars just to show gays status as sinners by helping overturn marriage equality in California. You’d think they could find better things to do with $40 million than promote hate. And, when in history has any group raised 400 million to help feed the hungry, house the homeless and heal the sick?

When all else fails, point to the Bible for the justification against homosexuals. That is like finding a long list of do’s and don’ts that if taken literally will ultimately send everyone to Hell. Most “self-righteous” people use their all-time leading favorite from the King James Bible in Leviticus Chapter 20 verse 13. “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination and they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.”

But, if you read the entire chapter you will quickly see that most everyone living outside of a Tibetan Buddhist Monks Sanctuary on a secluded hillside in India is doomed to burn in Hell. And, they may be too according to some Christian beliefs.

In Closing…

Being the proud parent of a gay daughter, I have some insight into the plights and struggles she and her friends have had to face an overcome through the years. From being shunned by members of our family to having to hide her lifestyle from the military. Since the age of 13 my daughter says she knew her sexual preferences and that she did not just wake up one morning and decide she wanted to be gay.

If you didn’t know she was, you’d just commend her as being a woman like any other young adult who has made her way through life having the same hopes and dreams as everyone else while making the same mistakes and successes that we all do. Does it really matter what a person’s sexual lifestyle is? Catholics yell the loudest about the condemnations facing gays yet they elude from the fact that a huge majority of priests are not only gay, but sexual predators.

Have they once come out and condemned their own as being hell bound? Uh… No!

Gays have and will continue to receive the same types of harassment, discrimination and prejudices that blacks have endured. Even though neither will want to admit it, or want to be compared to the other, it is true if you really compare their plights.

Just as recently as 2010, at least one favorite night club in Santo Domingo called “Rua’s Bar & Disco” forbids both blacks and gays because, as manager Manuel Tomas Diaz puts it, “Rua's reserves the right to admission, it’s a right which bars have to decide who can and who cannot enter, our public is demanding and elite and decides whom to rub elbows with and whom not,” he said.”

Bottom line, Blacks and Gays just want equal treatment under the laws and the right to enjoy the liberties and freedoms as every other American.

At the end of the day, that’s all that should matter…

End of Story...

Jack Swint-Publisher

WV News 2011

(304) 982-7024

E-Mail:  WestVirginiaNews@gmail.com

Twitter:  @WVNewsOnline

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