THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, September 24, 1996 TAG: 9609240270
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: EDENTON LENGTH: 73 lines
Seven years of waiting for a trial that Shelly Stone is convinced will absolve her of child sex charges is long enough, she says.
Despite her concerns, Stone doesn't appear any closer to a courtroom than she did when she first was arrested in connection with the Little Rascals Day Care Center case Sept. 26, 1989.
Meanwhile, Stone has had trouble finding work because she is saddled with the stigma of the case, The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Monday.
Prosecutors say they still haven't decided whether to try her on 13 charges of sexual abuse, which could mean life in prison, or whether to drop the case. Stone maintains her innocence.
``I feel like they're just playing games with my life and my family's life,'' said Stone, 45, a wife and mother of two who remains free on a $342,000 bond.
``It's been going on for seven years. Am I going to die with this still going on?''
Stone is one of three forgotten defendants in the Little Rascals case, the costliest and longest criminal case in state history. Principal defendants in the case, Robert and Elizabeth Kelly, have been subjected to constant attention, and two others also have been in the spotlight.
The others are Robin Boles Byrum, 25, a Little Rascals employee charged with 23 crimes, and Darlene McDonald Harris, 32, charged with three counts even though she never worked at the center. Both declined to talk about the case.
Stone agreed to talk about her case in an interview at the office of her attorney, Frank Ballance Jr. of Warrenton.
Stone was a $4-an-hour Little Rascals Day Care employee when rumors about the center circulated in the small, coastal town in 1989.A parent had complained that her child was slapped at the day care and that raised other suspicions. Kelly was arrested in April 1989.
Stone stayed in jail for several weeks until her family put together enough cash and property to post her bail. The terms of her release included an order to stay out of Edenton, a restriction that still is in effect.
Stone said she has been unable to find a job because of her link to the case. Her husband, recently laid off from his job at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, also has trouble finding work because of the case. The family now receives public assistance.
The fates of Stone, Harris and Bryum may depend on what happens to Robert Kelly. He won a new trial from the state Supreme Court, but it is unlikely his case will begin until early next year.
Kelly was convicted on 99 charges of sex abuse and sentenced to 12 consecutive life prison terms until he won his appeal.
Elizabeth Kelly pleaded no contest in a plea bargain and served five months in prison.
Willard Scott Privott, an Edenton video store owner, also pleaded no contest and was released. Kathryn Dawn Wilson, the cook at Little Rascals, insisted on going to trial but was found guilty.
In April, the prosecutors said Kelly would be tried again on the 99 old charges, and face eight new charges for sexually abusing a girl in a case unrelated to Little Rascals.
If Kelly is found not guilty, defense attorneys say they think prosecutors will give up and drop the charges against Stone, Byrum and Harris.
Nancy Lamb, an assistant district attorney who is the lead prosecutor for the Little Rascals cases, said she still hasn't figured out what to do with the three forgotten defendants. She denied that their future depends on what happens to Kelly.
``No decision has been made,'' Lamb said. ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Shelly Stone and her attorney, Frank Ballance Jr., talk about how
the Little Rascals case has affected her life.
KEYWORDS: CHILD ABUSE LITTLE RASCALS SEXUAL ABUSE
INTERVIEW by CNB