Saturday, April 6, 2013

Closure

I have been pondering this post for some time, but now I think that the time has come. The reason I have been pondering this is that it is deeply personal to me.

David Wesley Wright II, pictured left and below, was originally arrested in August 2012 for using a child for display of sex. That is the official charge. What he really did is pay a 16 year old girl to text him nude photos and videos of herself.

At the time he was arrested, he was a teacher, at the high school I graduated from, which is the same high school my daughter started attending this year. The victim was not a student of the school, but was rather the child of family friends.

What makes this so personal for me is that at the end of my  fourth grade year David, a sixth grader, began an on again off again campaign of bullying against me. I got a break for two years when David moved on to junior high.

The for the entire year of my 7th grade, David, now a 9th grader in junior high, relentlessly, violently and mercilessly bullied me every day. From waiting outside of my classes, when he could, to hunting me down during lunch. I lived in fear of this person and his friends.

He moved on to high school after that year and I my eighth grade year was spent with a dozen other bullies who likely learned I was an easy target from him, but none as dangerous or fierce as David was. But the bullying continued none-the-less. This was the year that junior high school, grades 7-9,  converted to middle school grades 6-8.

My second day in high school as a 9th grader, David made it a point to find me and let me know he wasn't done. Although the bullying tapered a little and was less violent, David hounded me until his graduation two years later.

This person was obviously a lifelong bully, how else does a 45 year old man get a 16 year old girl to text over 200 to 300 nude photos and videos of herself unless there was some form of ongoing coercion.

I am happy to report that his reign of terror is over. He was convicted and sentenced on April 5th. I feel for his family, a wife and kids, he has all but abandoned now. But oddly enough, this brings a sense of closure for me. Knowing that this man will be behind bars for the next six years and will have to register as a sex offender for life, as well as be on supervised release for ten years, I feel justice has been served for me as well.

I just wanted to share.

To learn more about David:

http://www.gazettetimes.com/news/local/former-teacher-sent-to-prison-for-sex-photos-of-teen/article_dfd70ad6-9e7b-11e2-b95f-0019bb2963f4.html