If Principal Hargrove can silence anyone who disagrees with him, how will the truth ever be seen? How will anyone get to the bottom of this?
There are no longer two sides to what is happening. The thought sends a tremor of fear down to my toes, and I remember what Ben said all those years ago in his monkey swim trunks when I asked him if you could see the other side of the ocean:
There’s only one side. The waves go on forever.
UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE
HarperCollins Publishers
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thirty-six
TEACHER FIRED IN WAKE OF REPORTING RUMORED VIDEO OF ALLEGED RAPE
By Sloane Keating
Published: March 26
CORAL SANDS, Iowa—A teacher at Coral Sands High School was fired this morning in what appears to be a reprisal for speaking out about the ongoing rape investigation that has rocked this small town. Charlotte Speck was released from her position as a guidance counselor and French teacher by Principal Wendall Hargrove. Speck said that the firing was the result of a standard report she had filed in the role of guidance counselor after speaking with a student.
The unnamed student had reported to Speck the existence of a video of the alleged rape that took place at a party twelve days ago. “If evidence of a crime is made known, I am bound by state law to report that evidence to proper authorities,” Speck said. “I am under no compunction to reveal the identity of the student source,” she continued. “That information falls under client-privilege laws for the protection of those who come forward with information.” Speck maintains she was terminated when she refused to reveal the name of the student who had come to see her.
Reached for comment at his office, Hargrove would say only that Ms. Speck’s report was filled with “inaccuracies and speculation. She acted impulsively and irresponsibly, filing a public report based on hearsay.”
The rumored video of the alleged rape was viewed on YouTube by the student who reported it, but subsequent searches for the video have yielded no result, leading authorities to believe that either the video or the account that posted it has since been removed. At the time of this post, YouTube has not responded to requests for comment.
When asked whether she would pursue a wrongful termination suit, Speck said only that she was “keeping all options on the table.”
UPDATE
Since this story was first posted earlier today, members of UltraFEM, the anonymous hacker protest collective dedicated to full prosecution of crimes against women, has reaffirmed its statement from last week. In a new post on their website, they confirm once more that they are in possession of the video in question, and demand those charged in the Coral Sands rape case change their pleas to guilty, by Monday, or risk exposure online.
In part, the statement reads:
“Those of you who were present during this horrific act of violence against a defenseless female must become witnesses and give statements to investigating authorities. Otherwise, you will be identified and exposed as accessories to the crime.”
Coach Raymond Sanders and high school Principal Wendall Hargrove are also named in the statement from UltraFEM. Both are called upon to “stop hindering the investigation, misleading police, and deleting evidence.”
Sanders and Hargrove could not be reached for further comment.
UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE
HarperCollins Publishers
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thirty-seven
SAY WHAT YOU will about Sloane Keating, she works fast.
Her post went up on the Channel 13 website around four on Thursday afternoon. By five o’clock, she was on with Jeremy Gordon out of Des Moines, filling in all of Iowa. Thirty minutes later, she was talking with Brian Williams, explaining the situation to all of America. By six, I was curled into a ball on the couch trying not to hyperventilate.
“There’s a video? Of what?” Mom shouts from the kitchen as she drains pasta into a colander. “I thought that girl made the whole thing up.”
“Maybe Ms. Speck made it up,” Will says, putting a bowl of shredded Parmesan on the table per Mom’s direction. “Nobody knows if she’s for real or not.”
“Well, that girl-power computer group sounds pretty ‘for real’ to me,” Mom says, and calls Dad and me to the table.
Will scoffs at this. “The feminazis? They’re just bluffing.”
“Enough! Where did you learn that word?” Dad shoots daggers at Will with his eyeballs, and my brother slides gingerly into his chair as if it were made of dynamite.