THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, April 27, 1996 TAG: 9604270349
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
Judge Jerry Tillett refused Friday to unseal a search warrant or a list of items confiscated from the home of a former Manteo High School teacher, saying the protection of alleged juvenile victims and their families overrides the public's right to know.
County Attorney H. Al Cole Jr. said the warrant and the inventory included ``very sensitive matter, and the names of several juveniles.''
Opening the records, Cole contended, would interfere with the ongoing investigation of former chemistry teacher Frank C. Schulz Jr., and ``would be very embarrassing to the individuals involved.''
The hearing was requested by The Virginian-Pilot's North Carolina editor and general manager, Ronald L. Speer of Manteo. The paper contended at the hearing that under the Public Records Act and applicable constitutional law, the search warrant and inventory should be open to the public.
The newspaper's attorney, Alan W. Duncan of Greensboro, said the names of the alleged teenaged victims could be eliminated to protect their identity, since The Virginian-Pilot does not publish the names of juvenile victims of sex crimes anyway.
``That would take care of those concerns,'' Duncan told Tillett, adding that opening the warrant and the inventory might encourage other victims to come forward, rather than interfere with the investigation.
Schulz, 50, has not been charged. He resigned April 3 after school administrators interviewed him in his office next to his classroom and led him from the building.
The Dare County Sheriff's Department requested a warrant to search the teacher's Manteo home April 5, then asked Tillett to seal the warrant and the inventory.
``It's not that unusual to seal a search warrant when you're dealing with the possibility of sex offenses or sexual offenses against juveniles,'' a sheriff's department spokesman said April 18.
After an open hearing in Superior Court Friday that lasted 75 minutes, Tillett said the records would remain sealed for at least 30 days unless there are new developments.
``After 30 days, I will review it again,'' Tillett said.
Tillett turned down the paper's request that the records be opened with the names obliterated.
He said that because of the number of names and identifications involved, the result could create confusion, misidentification, misinformation and widespread speculation.
An agent from the State Bureau of Investigation, Donnie Varnell, was the only witness called at Friday's hearing.
He said the material listed on the warrant in the inventory included photographs, videotapes and computers.
He testified that fewer than half of the people named on the warrant had been interviewed.
He said that even without the names it might be possible to identify some of those listed because of other information, including school records.
Varnell said specialists will begin downloading files from the confiscated computers Monday.
Duncan, who specializes in First Amendment law, tried to convince the judge that justice would not be harmed by following the constitutional traditions of open records.
While acknowledging the tradition of open records, Tillett said that there sometimes is ``a higher value than the public's right to know.''
North Carolina's laws say only that search warrants are public records and may be withheld only when sealed by court order.
In making his ruling, Tillet also pointed out that no charges have been filed against anyone.
Schulz has not been available for comment since April 5 when he said he had resigned of his own volition after seven years at Manteo High School.
His estranged wife, Frances, said in a telephone interview Thursday from Shrub Oak, N.Y., where she teaches high school English, that she has not talked with Schulz since April 8, and has not seen him since Jan. 1. She said she is divorcing him. MEMO: Staff writer Catherine Kozak contributed to this report. by CNB