The way an Omaha attorney sees it, two people crossed the line in the case involving two boys accused of forcing a 5-year-old to perform sex acts on her 6-year-old brother.
The offenders? The parents of the young children.
Omaha attorney Steve Lefler said he decided to send a “cease-and-desist” letter to the parents after they disparaged his client, one of the suspects, to “anyone who would listen.”
Lefler said the parents have sent letters and made phone calls to school districts to try to discourage schools from accepting his client as a student.
In response, Lefler said, he sent a letter to the parents essentially cautioning them that any bad-mouthing could constitute slander.
In the letter, Lefler wrote: “We have patiently awaited an end to your conduct, hoping you would recognize that these young men are trying to get the help and schooling they need to address your concerns, but that your efforts are preventing that; that if you truly want justice, it’s not just for your family, but for all the families involved.”
He continued, “Our system is a balancing act of rights and responsibilities. Your rights do not trump those of my clients just because you have grown enamored of the attention you are getting by being on TV.”
The victims’ mother told The World-Herald Tuesday that she is “not enamored with being the poster boy for child molestation. This is an issue that needs to be dealt with.”
The woman said she and her husband do not want vigilante justice and have only been putting up fliers letting others know the times and dates of the court hearings related to the case. At most of those hearings, a large number of community members have shown up to lend support.
“My client and his family have constitutional rights,” Lefler said. One of those rights is to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, he said.
The woman said everything they have done has been out in the open and within their legal rights.
Authorities allege the two boys coaxed the girl into performing sex acts on her brother — and videotaped the acts — in a small park in the Deerwood-Avalon neighborhood in northwest Omaha. Each of the boys is charged with two counts of first-degree sexual assault and a child pornography charge.
One of the boys is represented by Lefler and both are being tried in juvenile court. Both boys, now 13, are set to have their trials — called an adjudication in juvenile court — in December.
If found responsible, the boys face anything from probation to group-home treatment to confinement at the Youth Rehabilitation Center in Kearney, Neb.
The boys were confined at the Douglas County Juvenile Center after the June 14 assault.
But last month, Douglas County Juvenile Judge Wadie Thomas Jr. ordered the boys to live with relatives outside the neighborhood, to have no unsupervised contact with children younger than themselves and to wear electronic ankle bracelets that allow 24-hour GPS monitoring.
The boys are to be largely confined to their assigned homes. But the judge said they could leave to attend therapy sessions.
World-Herald staff writer Emily Nohr contributed to this report.
Contact the writer:
402-444-1275, [email protected]
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