Nine Month Suspension For Threesome With Babysitter
A consent suspension of nine months from the South Carolina Supreme Court
During the evening of December 16, 2011, respondent and his wife provided alcohol to an eighteen (18) year old female guest at their home in Augusta, Georgia. The guest had formerly worked for the couple as a babysitter. Marijuana was also used in the home that evening. Respondent and his wife engaged in sexual intercourse with the guest. According to respondent, the marijuana belonged to his wife, and the sexual intercourse was consensual. On December 21, 2011, the guest contacted law enforcement to report the incident.
On March 6, 2012, respondent was indicted on one count of Rape and one count of Furnishing Alcohol to a Person under Twenty–One in violation of the laws of the State of Georgia. Because of the pending indictment, respondent was placed on interim suspension by order of this Court on March 27, 2012. In the Matter of Neal, 397 S.C. 496, 727 S.E.2d 27 (2012).
On June 6, 2012, respondent pled guilty to three misdemeanor charges: Disorderly Conduct, Furnishing Alcohol to a Person under Twenty-One, and Possession of Marijuana. The indictment for Rape was dismissed and a nolle prosequi was granted by the trial court.
Respondent was sentenced to twelve (12) months of probation on each charge, with all sentences to run consecutively. Respondent was ordered to have no contact with the victim or the victim’s family, submit to random drug screens, and perform 100 hours of community service at a wastewater treatment facility. Respondent was also fined $1,000 for each charge.
On June 21, 2012, respondent filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea on the charge of Possession of Marijuana because he stated he was not informed he would lose his driver’s license for 180 days as a result of his plea. The court granted respondent’s motion on March 29, 2013, and allowed respondent to substitute a plea of nolo contendre nunc pro tunc on the Possession of Marijuana charge. The order providing for the substituted plea modified respondent’s sentence to include a requirement that he offer himself as a speaker to each of the five law schools in the State of Georgia regarding “issues which arose in this case.”
Respondent complied with all conditions of his probation, and his probation was terminated on June 6, 2015.
WISTV10.com reported on the criminal case.
The 18-year-old said she was drunk the night of the alleged incident and to learn what happened, she texted Neal the next day. The sexually graphic texts the two exchanged were read aloud in the courtroom.
In texts, Neal referred to himself as a “sex god” and told the teen she could be their “sex slave and babysitter” the young woman said during that conversation she learned there was sexual intercourse she was too drunk to remember…
Neal accepted the plea bargain through tears.
As a part of the agreement he pled guilty to three misdemeanors: disorderly conduct, possession of marijuana and furnishing alcohol to a person under 21. The judge also ordered 3 years of supervised probation and sentenced him to 100 community service hours at the waste water treatment facility – the sewage plant, for his behavior.
After he left the courthouse, Neal said, “I’m a sinner, you know, but I love God and he’s forgiven me for the sins I’ve committed, I did not commit a crime,” Neal continued saying, “Sex is usually a private matter, this was a private motive that someone used for ulterior motives to destroy my reputation.”
The trial for Neal’s former wife, Caroline is expected to begin June 18th. She faces the same charges as Neal.
The court concluded that the conduct violated Rule 8.4(b). (Mike Frisch)