Posted on 01/22/2010 6:30:38 PM PST by Maelstorm
A former Bethlehem middle school teacher whose nature program for seventh-graders won national acclaim apparently killed himself Thursday about an hour before he was scheduled to plead guilty to sexually assaulting a teenage boy, a charge that shocked the community and cost him his career.
Gregory G. Ritter, 45, a longtime Boy Scout volunteer and 20-year National Guardsman, was found dead next to a picnic table at the apartment complex in the Poconos where he recently moved, according to police, who said he had a gunshot wound to the head.
(Excerpt) Read more at mcall.com ...
Couldn’t get the page to load. However, I would be interested to know if this “self inflicted” gun shot wound was in the back of his head?
What a sad, sad story. This guy was probably a good guy, but he allowed his sexual appetite to grow and overcome and enslave him. It appears that he took his own life out of guilt over what he did, so he obviously had a conscience.
I’m sorry for the victim, but I’m also sorry for the perp who’s live was ruined by the sin that enslaved him.
he probably was very humiliated, which is a sign of a conscience....
May God have mercy on his soul, bless his family and his victim(s)
> After his arrest last Feb. 19, Ritter was permanently barred from the Boy Scouts and suspended by the Bethlehem Area School District.
Nothing like Due Process ay. Disappointing from the Boy Scouts — they should have instead issued him an administrative suspension pending the outcome of his trial.
BINGO
He won’t do it again, lol. Either act.
Its a good point that sin entangles everyone. In this case the degree is obviously horrible. Fornication is of the type most toxic. And without repentance there is only (in his case) damnation.
Boy Scouts doesn’t owe anyone due process.
If your neighbor was arrested for child molestation, would you let your kid still play over at his house, even if he hadn’t been convicted yet?
Neither would I.
Were he cleared of all charges and I found the case believable, I would.
> A 45 year old man heavily involved with boys...no family...nope, no signals there. You’d think someone who loved children so much would have had some of his own by now. If only they had some way of knowing...
There is nothing in the story that suggests that any case had been proven against Ritter, or that his guilt had been established at all. And it hasn’t been established that he committed suicide, either.
Given the absence of any established facts, it’s a bit rough to destroy the man’s Character, particularly when he cannot defend himself.
This would not be the first time a single man had been railroaded on charges of molesting kids. The Peter Ellis case is one example of many that spring to mind.
> Boy Scouts doesn’t owe anyone due process.
Actually, they do.
> If your neighbor was arrested for child molestation, would you let your kid still play over at his house, even if he hadn’t been convicted yet?
No, I would give the neighbor an “administrative suspension” pending the outcome of his/her trial. During that time my kids would not be permitted over to his/her place.
I would not “bar them for life” on the mere basis of an arrest. Cops can and do get it wrong, and it happens frequently.
And people can and do get railroaded thru false accusations. Happens all the time. The Peter Ellis case is one famous example.
‘He never admitted guilt to me,’’ Powell said. ‘’There was a plea offered to him, but unfortunately we’ll never know his decision.’’
Hope it is not a case of false accusation for a petty grievance.
Say what? Boy Scout leader is not a paid position, he doesent earn his living from it.
Let me see if I got this right; you want him put on "administrative leave" from a job that doesent pay anything, as opposed to having to have to apply all over agin? Nutso
The SCOTUS ruled the BSA can associate with whomever they want, and set their own rules..You know, you sound like a guvvie.
At least he knew what to do when you screw up THIS BAD
Sure am glad no pic of him has been posted and people writing “Not Guilty”!!!!!!!!!!!!
Put down the crack pipe, and step away from the keyboard.
You are on a conservative forum.
Your assertion that a private organization must delegate whatever procedures it operates by to the government is incompatible with the right to assemble.
The article did not say that the scouts did not examine the nature of the evidence. Nor should the scouts be forcing any other victims they discovered into the public limelight, those victims if any are children. I assume this was the procedure, as it is in any organization that deals with children in this day and age.
While only the government can deprive the man of liberty, the Scouts have a responsibility to keep the safety and security of the children in their care paramount. The wishes and comforts of the adult staff are and should be secondary.
“> After his arrest last Feb. 19, Ritter was permanently barred from the Boy Scouts and suspended by the Bethlehem Area School District.”
Don’t liberals want these types around Boy Scouts? How sick.
He could have succumbed to guilt or succumbed to the fact that his love of being around young boys was about to be terminated, something he could not live without.
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