Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, June 28, 1994 TAG: 9406300069
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DIANE STRUZZI STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LYNCHBURG LENGTH: Medium
The defendant, Aaron "Al" Dixon, made no comment as he strode from the courtroom, flanked by 20 of his supporters, many of whom took off from work to come to the trial.
"It was a very difficult case from the beginning," Lynchburg prosecutor Sally L. Steel said after the verdict. "The victim ... was a hard person to believe."
To the prosecution, the boy was a troubled teen whose past made him the "perfect victim."
To the defense, the boy was a compulsive liar who was out to destroy Dixon's livelihood.
As jury foreman Kamal Abouzeid left the Lynchburg Circuit Courthouse, he would say only that jury members were not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that Dixon was guilty.
When Dixon was accused in February, he was a part-time counselor at Opportunity House, a Lynchburg home for juvenile offenders, and a full-time principal at Huddleston Elementary School in Bedford County.
The boy, who was a resident at the home, accused the 37-year-old educator of engaging in consensual anal and oral sex with him on several occasions.
He also has accused Dixon of having sex with him at Huddleston Elementary School. Sexual molestation charges are pending in Bedford County against Dixon and will go to a grand jury there July 5.
The prosecution's case rested on the testimony of the 16-year-old boy, whose track record for telling the truth at Opportunity House was described as poor or nonexistent by staff members and other residents who took the stand Monday.
The boy testified that the encounters began a week after he entered the facility last November, but he was unable to recall exactly how many times they occurred. In police statements, the boy estimated there had been 25 encounters, while, in preliminary hearings, he said between six and 10 encounters.
The teen-ager, who was sexually abused by his father and sent to Opportunity House after he was convicted of the aggravated sexual battery of a 3-year-old relative, never told of his encounters with Dixon until February.
"Dixon said if I were to tell anyone, they wouldn't believe me because I had consented," the boy testified.
The charges came after a Jan. 30 argument between Dixon, the boy and another resident. The boy testified that he and Dixon had sex for the last time that afternoon. He said he was then reprimanded after Dixon told supervisors the boy and another resident engaged in a sexual conversation.
"Everything was blamed all over me - that I brought up the conversation," the boy said. "I didn't. I didn't say anything at the time [about the sexual encounters] because I didn't want to get [Dixon] in trouble."
As a result, the boy's privileges were taken away. A week later, he told a staff member that he and Dixon were involved in a sexual relationship, and he accused Dixon of initiating the conversation the afternoon of Jan. 30.
Defense attorney R. Andrew Davis said the boy brought the charges because he wanted "to get Dixon's job," and that he had used that threat with other staff members.
"[The teen-ager has] threatened my job before," said Yolanda Thomas, a youth counselor at Opportunity House. "He does not tell the truth. He twists and turns everything to his advantage."
Another youth counselor, Kevin Connor, testified that the boy had told him on June 20 that he had a problem with lying, was unable to control it and did not know what to do about it.
Connor's courtroom testimony was a revelation to Steel, the prosecutor, who said Connor had not made her aware of that incident.
Dixon no longer works at Opportunity House and resigned from his position at Huddleston Elementary School in February. But at Monday's trial, parents and former colleagues said they have no doubt about Dixon's innocence.
Orville Peterson, who worked with Dixon at Opportunity House and whose son attended Huddleston, said, "I hate to see somebody destroyed because of someone's ability to point fingers."
by CNB