There will be plenty of opportunities to catch this guy. Child molesters & perverts like this are career criminals & he will not stop until jailed, if he is guilty.
AIKEN --- The state has dismissed all charges against Russ Ferrara, a former Aiken County councilman who was arrested more than three years ago after a 13-year-old girl accused him of fondling her.
Aiken County Solicitor Barbara Morgan confirmed that all the charges were dismissed last month, citing a host of issues with the case.
"The biggest delay was waiting for the judge to view the (Department of Social Services) records for release to the defense, which took about a year," she said.
Once the records were released, there were credibility issues with the victim, and the state could not locate a critical corroborating witness.
In June 2005, the Savannah River Site engineer was arrested on charges that he committed a lewd act on a minor. A year later, he was again arrested on accusations that he fondled a tenant of his Aiken apartment complex near Banks Mill Road and asked the 23-year-old for sex in lieu of rent.
Ms. Morgan said the state wanted to move forward, but some of the information in the Department of Social Services records could be detrimental to the credibility of the victim.
"It's clear there was probable cause to arrest, but it's also clear that given the problems with DSS and the credibility of the victim and the crucial (corroborating) witness no longer can be found, the state can no longer pursue prosecution at this time."
Attempts by The Augusta Chronicle to find a phone listing for Mr. Ferrara were unsuccessful. His attorney refused to comment on the case.
Reach Michelle Guffey at (803) 648-1395, ext. 110, or michelle.guffey@augustachronicle.com.
Comments
There will be plenty of opportunities to catch this guy. Child molesters & perverts like this are career criminals & he will not stop until jailed, if he is guilty.
I really believe this guy is guilty. I knew that he would get away with it. But if he is guilty, what goes around, comes around. Just one more perv running around.
Guilty until proven innocent? Is that what the law says? Did you people not read the words credibility issues when referring to the person who brought the charges? Think about it; if he is innocent these people have ruined his life.
And where is the girl, in a foster home, setting up some poor dupe who dosen't know about the case? This is why we need full disclosure of WHO is filing charges regardless of the charge! I find it amazing that we can't print her name but on another post we publish the names of two 16 year olds accused of murder? Without knowing the accuser, how are people supposed to volunteer information that may be critical to a cases outcome?
Now arrest the girl and put her picture all over the paper. Ruin her life and her families life like she did his.
Did you all not read there was probable cause to arrest AND there were two different incidence with two different individuals. Give the girl a break, we don't know what the credibility issues were, they very possibly they had nothing to do with this case. It is never ok to release the name of a VICTIM, she has not been charged with anything, why try to ruin her? There are a lot of cold-hearted people in this world.
So the state dismissed the case and you all say that he is still guilty. That really doesn't surprise me at all. Blaming Ms. Morgan doesn't surprise me either. What surprises me is the fact that you all missed this in the story..."The biggest delay was waiting for the judge to view the (Department of Social Services) records for release to the defense, which took about a year." Does it really take that long to review records and then release them to an attorney? There are only two reasons for it to take that long. The first is that the judge was trying hard to find something and couldn't. The second is that the judge was trying to find problems with the report so the accusations couldn't be substantiated. I don't thik Ferrara had any influence on the judge because Ferrara's life has been in limbo for 3 years. Dragging out the report from DSS like that contributed to the ordeal, and didn't really help with not knowing his fate in this matter for so long. Looking at previous comments, he is still ruined in the court of public opinion.
Translation of all the mumbo-jumbo in the news article ... he was arrested and charged using unreliable information yet the system allowed his life to be destroyed. He isn't the first nor will he be the last!
There must be some truth to the allegations for someone to be arrested TWICE for similar charges in a one year period. What more is there to say? Not being able to locate a witness is not the alleged victims fault.
Judgenot, the state had 3 years to get it's case together. If Ferrara was guity, they would have locked him away by now. They should have known where all witnesses were at all times. What would his sentence have been if he was found guilty? Doesn't really matter because his life is already ruined by accusations and the court of public opinion. If he is guilty, the state should have done a better job with the case.
Looks like he is guilty in the court of public opinion. I haven't read the transcripts of the case, and based on this article, it appears the state was incompetent with their case from the start.
I wonder why the parents of the victims didn't press harder for this case to move forward. If a relative of mine was a victim, I don't think I could rest until the criminal was put away. Witnesses disappearing? Don't they know it only opens the door wider for sexual offenders to repeat their crimes against someone else? And let's not forget, these crimes can escalate from sexual assaults to murder if given enough time to incubate.
KingJames, are you saying ALL criminals are always locked up? Hum that would be great if it really happened. I don't know if he is innocent or guilty, there is not enough info in this article to determine that. I just don't think he is automatically innocent because they had to drop the case. Just to be safe, I would never leave my child alone with him nor would I personally ever want to be alone with him. I hope for other possible victims that he is innocent. That is between him, God & the courts.
Judgenot, I'm saying all criminals (people found guilty of crimes) should be locked up. I'm also saying that because this was a sex case, the state should have done a better job trying to prove Ferrara's guilt. We don't know if he is guilty or not, but we do know that no one will ever trust him. He will always be known as the guy who messed with kids, even if he didn't do it. It's been a long 3 years, but if he is innocent, then the rest of his life is ruined.
If there was, indeed, "probable cause to arrest" yet not enough probable cause to go to trial, then there was NO probable cause to begin with. Credibility issues?? They should have cleared that mess up BEFORE Ferrar was arrested--my feeling is that there was no probable cause to arrest or even file charges; yet they put the cart before the horse. Credibility issues generally means that there was reason to believe that the charges levelled at the man were false from the start. Pedaphiles and predators do not stop their activities just because they are under investigation; has the investigative unit shown that Ferrar's "activities" continued? For once, I think this was a trumphed up case--he should sue the instigator/family.
i don't know how guilty ferrara was, but there is a miscarriage of justice in columbia county, ga. a young woman has been ruined for life as a sex offender for an act committed as a juvenile! mrs. whitaker is a scapegoat for all of the cowards in political office in ga. the only reason someone runs for political office is for personal profit and gain! they deserve the death penalty!
Ferrara and his friends started bashing both victims on www.topix.net/com right after his first arrest, saying they were damaged goods, already victims of incest, sluts, liars, whores, etc., as though they deserved what they got. No wonder the witness went "missing." I hate to think about what damage those postings did to the 2 victims, especially the 13-year-old. According to the actual sheriff's crime reports, he sent photos of his private parts via his cell phone to one victim, so the solicitor had more evidence than just the "missing" withness, i.e., those photos. As a matter of fact, they would have been enough to convict those suspects on "To Catch a Predator" on "Dateline." Did Morgan even look into possible federal charges for that? This case stinks of incompetence & corruption on all levels. This man makes his own rules and the system plays along. Why?
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