Bodenweiser Indicted on 113 Felony counts.

Filed in Delaware, National by on October 22, 2012

According to the Cape Gazette just now:

Following a grand jury investigation, former state Senate candidate Eric Bodenweiser was indicted Oct. 22 on 113 felony counts. He faces 39 charges of first-degree unlawful sexual intercourse and 74 charges of unlawful sexual contact in the second degree.

The Attorney General’s Office has sealed the indictment; details of the charges are not available.

Damn. For those who don’t know, Eric Bodeweiser was the Republican candidate for Senator in the 19th Senate Distict in Sussex County, Delaware. He officially withdrew his candidacy last week amid rumors of these charges. Bodenweiser was, and probably still is, a star of the downstate Tea Party movement. Indeed, the last time he was seen in public was during a fundraiser with the Queen Bee herself, Christine O’Donnell.

First Degree Unlawful Sexual Intercourse is another term for First Degree Rape, I believe. I cannot find a separate crime for it under the Delaware Code. Second Degree Unlawful Sexual Contact occurs when the person intentionally has sexual contact with another person who is less than 18 years of age or causes the victim to have sexual contact with the person or a third person. This is a class F felony.

I can tell you that the rumor and tip we received was was that Mr. Bodenweiser allegedly and continuously raped a minor male child some 23 years ago. I will ask that everyone refrain from using the name of the victim or going into any more detail than that. The volume of the felony counts most likely means more victims were found or came forward, and if these charges are true, than Eric Bodenweiser is an evil monster deserving of hellfire.

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  1. gary myers says:

    Cape Gazette newspaper in Sussex is now reporting that Eric Bodenweiser has been indicted on 113 counts of sexual offenses.

  2. puck says:

    113 counts? That’s like three Sanduskys.

    And why is this thing sealed? Is that normal, or is it some kind of special treatment? Is it normal to have a secret grand jury?

    Which AG – Delaware? Does that mean the incidents happened in Delaware?

  3. Delaware Dem says:

    Here is the official statement from the Attorney General’s office:

    Georgetown – The Sussex County Grand jury today indicted Georgetown resident Eric Bodenweiser, age 53, on multiple sex crimes charges following a criminal investigation conducted by the Delaware State Police. Today’s indictment consists of 113 total counts, including 39 counts of Unlawful Sexual Intercourse First Degree and 74 counts of Unlawful Sexual Contact Second Degree. The investigation which led to today’s charges was initiated by Delaware State Police several weeks ago after police received information that Bodenweiser had sexually abused a child. As a result of the investigation, prosecutors sought today’s indictment, which charges Bodenweiser with the sexual abuse of a juvenile victim between October, 1987 and August, 1990.

    Immediately following the indictment, he turned himself into State Police at the Sussex County Courthouse, was arraigned in Superior Court, and was committed to the Sussex Correctional Institution in default of $250,000 secured bail. If he posts bail, Superior Court Judge E. Scott Bradley ordered the he be monitored by GPS device and that he be subject to pre-trial supervision by Probation and Parole.

    The Delaware Department of Justice reminds the public that an indictment is merely an allegation and is not evidence of guilt. Defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a jury trial at which the State bears the burden of proving each charge beyond a reasonable doubt.

    Indeed. From this statement it sounds like there is only one victim, since it only mentions the one victim. 113 counts sounds like an awful lot of instances or occasions.

  4. Delaware Dem says:

    Yes, Puck, Delaware’s AG. I know that with the one victim, all the alleged crimes occurred in Sussex County, Delaware.

  5. Jason330 says:

    Thinking about Bodenweiser’s loudly professed Christianity, I was reminded of this quote from Bakunin “People go to church for the same reasons they go to a tavern: to stupefy themselves, to forget their misery, to imagine themselves, for a few minutes anyway, free and happy.”

    My heart goes out to the victim or victims.

  6. anon says:

    Last refuge of the scoundrel.

  7. V says:

    well there goes Christine’s run in 2014 right?

    holy crap. so sorry the people of sussex have to go through this heinousness again in their day to day so soon after Bradley finally started to fade.

  8. John Young says:

    LG FTW

  9. Walt says:

    Satan is alive and well. He lives in the church.

  10. V says:

    74 counts (lets say for the sake of argument the counts are doubled up and 1st and 2nds all run together)over three years averages out to a little more than one assault a month.

  11. Let’s see, one he is presumed innocent. Two, this happened according to the allegation long before he was a Christian and not afterward so how is his Christianity to blame? Today’s Eric is a good man. We shall see if yesterday’s was a criminal. I just do not know why someone would want to run for office when it could get this type of issue in the mix.

  12. John Young says:

    There certainly are several lessons in there

  13. pandora says:

    Oh my, your religion is very convenient and very cheap, David.

  14. John Young says:

    Would anyone who was “in the know” about this rumor like to shed light on the actual indictment specifically as it compares to the rumor: worse? (hard to imagine) better? etc?

    Also, thx pandora for taking me out of comment block. Probably tried to share too many youtubes, LOL.

  15. puck says:

    “this happened according to the allegation long before he was a Christian”

    Really? What was he before?

  16. V says:

    Before we all pile on David (I can’t believe I just said that) he does sorta have a point. If someone has something THIS horrific (allegdedly) in their past I can see them wanted to become “born again” and spend their lifetime repenting for what they’d done.

    Unfortunately our justice system isn’t so forgiving. He’s got to go to court like the muslims, and the jewish, and the athiests and everyone else.

  17. geezer says:

    “This happened according to the allegation long before he was a Christian and not afterward”

    So Episcopalians are no longer Christians? According to his brother, he was raised in the Episcopal church. Of course, Episcopalians aren’t given to cheap theatrics about their Christianity, so maybe that’s what David means.

  18. geezer says:

    John Young: This was the rumor.

  19. Joe Cass says:

    Thanks LG for the video link. That was the only laugh I can get out of this revelation. Except for David’s response because god puppets are hilarious.

  20. X Stryker says:

    I can understand that a person who had committed such heinous crimes might seek born again Christianity to repent, but hiding his own crimes while loudly damning the sins of others makes such a person the very symbol of what is wrong with those who promote such hypocrisy.

  21. X Stryker says:

    God will not forgive those who have not been forgiven by those they have wronged. That’s a principle of my faith, in any case.

  22. puck says:

    Christianity holds that God will forgive you for anything if you repent. But you still have to answer to the law.

  23. This is really horrible. I’m not sure how much I can add here except to ask why the indictment was sealed. Is there more than one victim?

  24. Bob H says:

    There are rumors flying all over the place here that there are at least three more victims. It remains to be seen if these are wild rumors, or are right on track like the original rumors…

  25. Delaware Dem says:

    David…

    Let’s see, one he is presumed innocent.

    No doubt. Hence the qualifications I have used in this post, i.e. Allegedly, If…

    Two, this happened according to the allegation long before he was a Christian and not afterward so how is his Christianity to blame?

    Wrong. First, do you have evidence that Bodenweiser was not a Christian at the time of these alleged events? What was he, a Muslim? Was he Jewish? Atheist? Agnostic? Deist? Hindu?

    I suppose you mean he was not a Born Again Christian. Fine. Well guess what? It means he is a bogus Born Again Christian. Because if the allegations are true, it means Bodie never repented his sins. He hid them. He never asked for forgiveness for himself. Rather, he condemned others for their sins.

    These are not the actions of a true Christian. They are the actions of a false one.

    Today’s Eric is a good man.

    Again, if the allegations are true, then this statement is also false, for the same reason. He never repented. He never turned himself in. He never served his debt to society. These are not the actions of a good man. These are the actions of a criminal. Thus, he is not a good man if the allegations are true. He is an evil one, deserving of hellfire in my opinion.

    Finally, the fact that he is a Christian today is irrelevant to whether he has to pay for his crimes. Being a Christian is not a Get Out of Jail Free card.

  26. Delaware Dem says:

    John Young,

    Since the indictment is sealed, I cannot confirm details. But the AG statement confirms the details of the rumor with respect to the time period and age of the alleged victim. I will say, given the number of counts in the indictment, and if you view the number of counts as instances or occurrences of the sex crimes (i.e. the number of times it happened), then the indictment is much much worse than the details of the rumor. Either there are more victims, or this happened on more occasions than we heard about.

  27. Aoine says:

    WOW. Rabid david has jumped the shark on this one

    If he was a good christian he would have repented and then turned himself in. He would have tried to make it right for the victim. Have the victim/victims get the help they needed. Ask for their forgiveness

    But did he? No. He bought toys. Tried to get all the family money placed himslef in positions of importance and trust. And then surrounded himself with more children by being a ” youth minister” in his church

    THAT ALONE is scary!

    The ran for an office of public trust. All the while maligning others as going to hell while he the christian was saved

    So. Ayotte. Christopher and bodenweiser and urquhart and o’Donnell. What say you. This is your ally collegue and friend

    You should make better choices

  28. Bob H says:

    Post surrender of Germany, there was a Nazi Leader named Oswald Pohl who converted to Catholicism. Interestingly, he wrote a Credo “Mein Weg zu Gott” and from what I read, he acknowledged his hienous sins, and bravely faced the hangman’s noose for what he had done, and is held up by some scholars as an example of how a true conversion would force the repentant sinner to FACE what he’d done and answer to the Civil Authorities. Oswald Pohl was hung in 1951 after being sentenced to death by the Nuremburg Tribunals. Anybody else ever heard of this???

  29. joemomma says:

    Let’s see. Joe Booth lost because he secured a state job at Sussex tech. Bodie drops out because of an indictment against him for molesting little kid/kids. Yep, give me the job seeker any day!

  30. Bob H says:

    Joemamma: if there were righteousness in this world, there would be a way to wave a magic wand, and erase the primary and put JB back in as the R Candidate. But, there is not righteousness, nor is there a magic wand. The only thing to do is turn out the vote to support to Ms. Hovington, and give the other side a chance to clean up the mess R’s made of this whole thing. We need a CLEANING OF THE HOUSE…

    I think there should be a separation of politics and teabags!

  31. joemomma says:

    News Journal has his mug shot. Wow!. WGMD, (does anybody care about this station) has comments closed after the article. Colley and Duke Brooks went from druelling over Bodie and O’Donnell. “The talk of Delmarva” won’t let you say your peace on the Blogs. “Happy days are here again!” All I need now is an Obama debate win and a SF Giants win tonight. Life is good!

  32. Paula says:

    Druelling — I love it. Drooling + Dueling = Spoiling for a fight to the point of frothing at the mouth.
    (No intention of starting a typo flame war, just calling attention to a great coinage — it was intentional, wasn’t it?)

  33. Dana Garrett says:

    I thought becoming born again consisted in confession and repentance of past wrongs. I also thought it was the duty of every believer to seek the forgiveness of those they have harmed. Wouldn’t true confession and repentance consist in turning yourself into the authorities to take responsibility for your wrongdoing? Or is Republican David arguing for that cheap and easy version of Christianity where you only need to make your confession and repentance to God and, well, screw your victims?

  34. Dave says:

    @Republican David

    “I just do not know why someone would want to run for office when it could get this type of issue in the mix.”

    You mean why would someone who has every reason to maintain a low profile and avoid any publicity (especially since everything is visible on the internet)decide to throw all caution to the wind?

    Hubris (coupled with a severe lack of common sense).

    People can be righteous (or not) and have principles (or not) but the job he was running for requires judgment. Balancing cost versus benefit; understanding the compromise between the common good and individual rights. His lack of judgment is on full display. He might have escaped justice if only he had exercised judgment and common sense. He demonstrated neither. You endorsed him based on principle. I wish you would exercise better judgment in the future by expanding your criteria for endorsing candidates.

  35. Republican David says:

    No he was not a Christian or else his life would have been different. He stated that himself. He rebelled against his faith. Church membership as a child or even an adult has little to do with being a Christian. You must be born again–John 3:3. Your life must be surrendered.

    Confession is only to GOD. Nothing else is required. Forgiveness of another person is not required. In fact, if the confession to GOD is made with the help of a minister, the minister is forbidden to share it, even with law enforcement. The scripture says for instance, let he who stole, steal no more, work with his hands, and give to those in need. It doesn’t say turn himself in and get his hand cut off or crucified.

  36. Republican David says:

    V is correct this time. The point was that some people are blasting his Christianity when it may have been his finding it that prevented other victims.

    I hope this is untrue, but either way it should serve as notice to people who run for office that if you have serious felonies that can come after you, don’t run for office. You may be right Dave. I cannot read his mind, but I can’t imagine running and being a public target while knowing this could come up. Especially on a platform for children, families, and values. It would be bound to annoy the victim.

  37. Pencadermom says:

    ” it should serve as notice to people who run for office that if you have serious felonies that can come after you, don’t run for office” – or you might get busted. Unbelievable.

  38. Andy says:

    pedophiles can not be cured

  39. Another Mike says:

    Wow, David, I guess the only religion is your religion. So his upbringing means nothing because “church membership as a child or even an adult has little to do with being a Christian. You must be born again.”

    And I wonder why so many people are turned off by your type.

  40. Aoine says:

    David Anderson= an apologist for pedophiles

  41. jason330 says:

    David’s comments here are truly pitiful. His Jesus is a cartoon character. According to David, Jesus “saved” this from going beyond 113 instances. Hell of a job, Jesus!!!

  42. liberalgeek says:

    This is actual progress for David. His statement basically flies in the face of the statement that “the founders were Christians” and that “America is a Christian nation”.

    Thank goodness we have sorted that out.

  43. Aoine says:

    Or

    The pedophiles apologist

    Either shoe fits…….. One does not have to be forgiven? By the victim. Are u for real? Forgiveness is not really the crux

    Its the open acknowledgment of the sin- and repenting of it

    One victim and how many counts of rape? How many times did he rape that boy

    RAPE David…. Not ” touching”. RAPE not oral sex – RAPE. 34 times he damaged and hurt that child

    And you want to give that a pass? What if it was your child- would you be ok with. God forgives me but i wm not telling any one

    That boy was 12. He was 30. You think its ok to do that

  44. liberalgeek says:

    and I think David is wrong about whether a member of clergy is required to report child sexual abuse. I believe that they do have to report it. Certainly counselors do.

  45. V says:

    Everyone in Delaware has a duty to report child sexual abuse. We’re a mandatory reporter state.

  46. liberalgeek says:

    Thanks, V. Another hole in Republican David’s defense of Bodie.

  47. V says:

    ooh wait. apparently Delaware does allow the exception for clergy but limits it to pastoral communications. Clergy is counted in the ‘any person’ law. But in any other context or if anyone else knew, they should have reported it.

  48. Republican David says:

    LG once again you are wrong`, at least V researched his error. If he did it, he should go to prison at least 25 years. That is the same position that I have with everyone. 25 years the first time, life the second. Civil law has its duty given to it by GOD to prosecute and seek justice. It is not the job of the court to forgive. The court is to dispense justice. The Church is to minister grace and forgiveness. I do not see how you even see that as confusing or that I think it was okay.

    I just caution you to not convict someone who has not been tried. We have not heard from a single witness in the public nor has anyone heard any defense as the grand jury system only looks to see if the allegation has enough strength to charge. i don’t defend him, but I don’t convict him either. The wheels of justice must be allowed to grind at their own pace.

    I have faith in the system now that the matter is in front of it.

  49. V says:

    FYI: V is a lady.

    I just find it hard to believe you’d be this patient to wait for the system if this was someone on the left of the dial David.

  50. Republican David says:

    I couldn’t care less Another Mike what you or anyone else thinks. The truth is the truth. Your feeling about it are meaningless. Far from being turned off, people are finding the truth at a rate faster than the birth rate. Those who are met for salvation will accept it, those who are not will find it foolish or offensive. St. Paul noted that almost 2000 years ago. This is not a political issue, it is a theological one. Of course the left thinks everything is political.

    I stand by the fact that anyone in rebellion to the faith and lives a life of sin is not a Christian. You can say, I was baptized when I was a babe, but if you decide to be a serial murderer (fill in the blank-rapist, child molester, or whatever deadly sin) rejecting the core of the faith then you are not a Christian regardless what you claim. You know them by their fruits. The Work of faith not just words. The good news is that no sin is greater than the blood of my Lord. Men may not forgive, but GOD is greater. In the long run, His judgement is the one that matters.

  51. pandora says:

    Part of David’s comment over at DP:

    It is sad all around. Naturally, I presume innocence. No one can imagine Eric doing such a thing today. People change by GOD’s grace. His wild days were wild, I hope this is not true it is, then he got 23 years of freedom the victim did not. He should then pay. Justice will grind on. Let’s allow it to do so and see where it leads us either clearing or convicting him. [emphasis mine]

    His wild days were wild? Seriously? You actually typed this? David, you need to learn when to stop typing.

  52. Republican David says:

    Once someone is in the system Ms. V, it is easy to be patient. At least the likelihood of victimizing someone else while we explore guilt or innocence is small due to monitoring or imprisonment.

    Politically, my pushing for the party to get behind Brian Pettyjohn was showing my impatience. I judged EB unfit for leadership right now until this was cleared because I believed the charges had legs and were not a rumor. I just couldn’t say it publicly, but communicated that to my blogmates. I have seen several people be wrongfully charged so yes, I refuse to assume anyone is guilty unless I have first hand knowledge or at least have access to the evidence. It doesn’t matter if they are left, right, or center.

    Of course the commie’s are guilty of everything evil so they don’t count. 🙂

  53. Republican David says:

    What part do you have a problem with that justice should grind on or he should pay if guilty? Do I have to spell out the obvious? We know that he had wild days and they were truly wild, but everything we heard was consensual adult sex or to himself such as substance abuse. That doesn’t matter 20 years later. The question is were they criminal as well as wild and crazy? That remains to be seen because that does matter. None of us even heard breathed anything like this.

    I have no knowledge of the events of those years. Next year, unless there is a plea, we will all have more knowledge than we want.

  54. anon says:

    Republican David your initial response on this blog was that it was “difinitively untrue.” Your buddy, Bill Colley is on WGMD pretending that the charges are all politically driven and taking calls from people saying that even if the allegations are true, it was over 20 years ago.

    Bodenweiser was a middle school mentor and a Big Brother in the present. He purposefully put himself back in positions where he had access to children. That should make everyone shudder.

  55. socialistic ben says:

    but….but… Jesus!

  56. Her haw says:

    Maybe mr.bodenweiset will work at the urban farm proposed by republican er democrat bullock.

  57. geezer says:

    Maybe Mike Protack will go the hell away after he loses this election.

  58. Jason330 says:

    If Protack quits, who will represent Delaware’s “sane” Republicans?

  59. I told you so says:

    There is more than one victim. So be prepared for alot more to come forward this guy is a preditor of children. There is no statute of limitations on molesting a child. So don’t act like cause it was done so long ago that he shouldn’t be punished. Well it took 30 years to get all the Catholic Priests and look at Sandusky and how long he was grooming young boys for his own personal use. These victims could be 50 years old and the person would be charged. And child predators don’t change they just get better at covering it up. And find more ways to be around children without drawing attention to it.

  60. Geezer says:

    “There is more than one victim.”

    And you know that how? Are you personally aware of other victims and who they are? I doubt it. You’re just repeating the SuxCo rumors.

  61. AQC says:

    I suspect there will be other victims. These things rarely involve just one child.

  62. Valentine says:

    Pedophilia is not curable, and pedophiles generally have many victims. I imagine the man probably did pray for forgiveness many times, but religion can’t cure the perversion. And for Christians, unlike Jews, there is no requirement that the victims be asked to forgive, only G-d.

  63. Geezer says:

    @AQC: I agree. But there’s a difference between saying “I suspect there are other victims” and “there are other victims.” Words have meanings.

  64. I told you so says:

    Geezer I am aware of the other victims. I am a family member of the boy who Bodenwieser is currently being charged on. I don’t need to repeat any Sux. Co. rumors. 🙂

  65. puck says:

    Lacking a deep pockets organization like Penn State or the Church, I don’t see why other victims (if any) would have much incentive to come forward. If convicted Bodenweiser will be destitute and in jail most or all of his life.

  66. V says:

    AQC is right. Lets just pray really hard he’s wrong here.

  67. Valentine says:

    I don’t think victims come forward primarily to get money. More likely, they want the person exposed and are finally at a place where they feel comfortable publicly confronting the abuser.

  68. C says:

    I don’t understand the whole “he’s converted so he’s a different person” argument. The man allegedly raped a child. To me, there’s no coming back from that act. If you’re capable of that kind of cruelty, you’re scum, period. No number or types of conversion can mask or change it.

  69. Valentine says:

    Sexual desire is not changeable at will.

  70. anon says:

    Bodenweiser is rich. His very credible threats of lawsuits were a big reason why so many news organizations wouldn’t touch the story until he was arrested. If Bodenweiser was a poor child molesting average Joe he would have been behind and his mugshot would have been in the papers weeks ago.

  71. kavips says:

    I believe the attempt to paint them as “he’s converted so he’s a different person” , is to absolve the speakers (not so much the criminal), from the guilt they feel from being taken in so wholeheartedly.

    It is a psychological defense mechanism.

    The Next step is then anger…. then….

  72. Jason330 says:

    “I don’t understand the whole “he’s converted so he’s a different person” argument.”

    According to most evangelical Christian doctrine, when you accept the holy spirit and there is a true love connection between you and the holy spirit, you are literally a new person. All prior sins are wiped away.

    The true born again Christian feels no guilt or shame because they literally believe that they are not the same person they were prior to accepting Jesus balm.

  73. puck says:

    “Bodenweiser is rich.”

    Good point. I didn’t realize.

  74. Jason330 says:

    These are the passages that do all the heavy lifting. Paul, or course, is speaking. Not Jesus.

    So then, whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God… (2 Corinthians 5:17,18a)

    …giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:13-14)

  75. geezer says:

    “The true born again Christian feels no guilt or shame because they literally believe that they are not the same person they were prior…”

    Now you know why the Catholic hierarchy wanted to keep the Bible out of the hands of the ignorant masses.

  76. Valentine says:

    While sins are wiped away, the human being’s sinful nature is not.

  77. socialistic ben says:

    jason, he’s converted AND he’s a republican. That makes it OK.

  78. SussexWatcher says:

    When did Bodie threaten to sue? The news orgs couldn’t raise him on the phone for the most part.

  79. Truth Teller says:

    I am not interested if he was a christian or is still a proclaimed christian. What I would like to know was he a TEABAGGER

  80. geezer says:

    @TT: I assume you’re talking about politics, in which case yes, he aligned himself with the Tea Party movement.

  81. puck says:

    Threatening a lawsuit would be one hell of a bluff, considering the rumor of an investigation into child sex crimes was true.

  82. @Pandora His wild days were wild? Seriously?

    I already am feeling pretty low today about all of this but Dave just put the anchor to the chain with that statement. Jesus Fucking Christ.

  83. anon says:

    Republican David: The scripture says for instance, let he who stole, steal no more, work with his hands, and give to those in need. It doesn’t say turn himself in and get his hand cut off or crucified.

    The scripture also says:

    Matthew 18: “At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

    6 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come! 8 If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.”

    That’s from the New Testament, Jesus said that.

  84. anon says:

    Bodenweiser didn’t just “align himself with the tea party” he takes credit on his campaign site for inventing the Sussex County tea party movement:

    2009: Helped in leading and promoting Sussex County’s first TEA (Taxed Enough Already) Party organization, the Sussex County Community Organized Regiment. SCCOR went on to become the Sussex Chapter of the 9-12 Delaware Patriots.

  85. Jason330 says:

    “@TT: I assume you’re talking about politics,”

    Lol

  86. geezer says:

    @anon: Fair enough. But I don’t know how true that is; conservatives aren’t exactly dependable when it comes to taking credit.

  87. anon says:

    The indictment wasn’t sealed, it’s on the News Journal’s website:

    http://www.delawareonline.com/assets/pdf/BL1961871022.PDF

    If you can handle page after page of Eric Bodenweiser’s penis being where it should have never been.

  88. liberalgeek says:

    Ugh, that is a terrible document.

  89. Geezer says:

    It certainly is, but it leaves me wondering how the victim could say with such certitude that he was molested that exact number of times. The only thing I can come up with is that he kept a diary. That would also explain how a prosecution might conceivably proceed.

  90. SussexWatcher says:

    I just threw up in my mouth. I don’t want to know that much about what my penis did, let alone Bodie’s.

    The Prothonotary’s office needs someone better skilled at redaction. That’s sloppy.

  91. liberalgeek says:

    I was thinking that there might have been some recurring meeting that they saw each other alone (for example, if Eric babysat him 3x/week or something).

  92. anon says:

    I can see it, Geezer. Gaffney talked about his interview with the victim who said that Bodenweiser used his dogs, cars, etc., to get the kid separated from the other kids and alone.

    I remember the time when Bodenweiser took me for a ride in his corvette —

    I remember the time when Bodenweiser said my mother was on the phone —

    I remember the time when Bodenweiser —

    I’m sure that this guy has played these rapes over and over again in his head, “Why didn’t I do this?” or “Why didn’t I do that?” Gaffney said the guy told him that he went to his parents about it when he was 17 and they told him to never discuss it. It’s all very tragic.

  93. puck says:

    It looks like the counts are all literally the same text for the “intercourse” and again for the “contact” counts. Only a date range is given, and it is the same date range throughout. A diary would probably have had dates.

    What is the difference between each seemingly identical count? Is this a normal way to list multiple counts? How do you even begin to defend against that? I guess if you prove one you prove them all.

    It does dawn on me – one thing that could be different is the redacted name in each count.

    Or – maybe this is what they mean by a sealed indictment – no details.

  94. Geezer says:

    “It does dawn on me – one thing that could be different is the redacted name in each count.”

    I thought that, too. But it’s clear that the document went through two different rounds of redaction; some are obviously done by hand, others are perfect rectangles. The press accounts have referred to a victim, singular, but those aren’t necessarily accurate.

    @anon and LG, those seem likely scenarios as well, but I know enough about courts to know that a diary is considered much stronger evidence than memory is.

  95. Paula says:

    A 30-year-old babysitter?
    Interesting — I don’t know much about this guy, so I thought I’d search for a resume to see what’s there for 1987-1990 (when he was about 30 and the alleged events took place), and got a his facebook page. The link on that page to his website (http://www.ericbodie.com) now redirects to http://www.brianpettyjohn.com/ — “Write in Brian Pettyjohn on November 6th”

    Anyway, I think babysitting is far-fetched, but maybe not if the victim is a relative or family friend.

  96. Geezer says:

    According to the victim’s statements, his parents worked at one of the Bodenweiser stores, and Eric babysat when they worked.

  97. anon says:

    Here you go Paula:

    http://www.ericbodie.com/general-information/about-eric-bodenweiser.html

    Sussex Roots:
    Eric “Bodie” Bodenweiser began his 48-year residency here in Sussex County at age five, He is a Dedicated Husband, Father, Grandfather, 1977 Graduate of Sussex Central High School, Retired Small Businessman (co-owned and operated six Bodie’s Dairy Markets and five Coin Laundries his father established in 1966), Current Middle School Mentor Volunteer, Past Big Brother Volunteer,

  98. Kurt Wilk says:

    John Wayne Gacey was an atheist and Democrat, and that proves what ? I don’t believe religion or lack thereof, political beliefs, or level of education matter much to pedophiles or rapists. Don’t remember Dr. Bradley espousing any religious beliefs, perphaps one of the generous atheists on this site could do the research. Clearly lack of religion eradicates crime and evil.

  99. Paula says:

    Thanks, Anon and Geezer, for filling in those details.

    Kurt Wilk, it’s not the religion, it’s the hypocrisy of someone who touts such things as the following as accomplishments on his campaign website. The hypocrisy of forcing his religious beliefs and “family values” on others (insisting on Christian prayers in school board meetings, opposing same-sex civil unions) while allegedly having raped a 10-y-o boy until that boy was 13. (according to today’s NJ)

    From the link anon provided above:

    2009: Helped write the Resolution passed by the Indian River School Board that took the stance against building a Gambling Casino next to Sussex Central High School.

    2009-12: Testified before numerous Senate and House Committees, including taking stances against Sportsbetting, Gambling Casino Expansion, Civil Union, and State Approved Internet Gambling.

    2011: Works hard for our right to pray at public meetings by continuously arranging for citizens to deliver prayers before Indian River School Board Meetings despite the ACLU’s lawsuit.

  100. Mongo says:

    Bodie has made bail.

  101. Room 222 says:

    He is free on 250k secured bond

    He has a GPS monitor

    And pre- trials monitoring by P n P

    And another Republican in Maryland in the Boy Scout files

    What is it with republicans and young minor boys?

  102. Room 222 says:

    Robert Bauman. Republican. Maryland

    Conservative catholic.

    Boy scoute published files He was investigated for soliciting and underage male prostitute

    He is now council for the Sovereign Society. nice…..

  103. SussexWatcher says:

    The Bauman stuff is not new. He was a congressman. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Bauman

  104. Aoine says:

    That wasnt the point SW

    THE POINT WAS-WHY DO THESE CONSERVATIVE RELIGIOUS TYPES HAVE AN ATTRACTION TO UNDERAGE PERSONS FOR SEXUAL “PARTNERS”

  105. SussexWatcher says:

    I’m glad you know the point that Room 222 was making. Now will you stop screaming in my ear, you lunatic?

    R222 wrote about Bauman as if the Boy Scout files had new information. I simply noted that was not the case.

  106. Jason330 says:

    Certainly, the conservative Religious reaction to sexuality in general, and deviant sexuality in particular, is cultural and inter-generational.

    I’m not saying that conservative religious types are attracted to underage persons as a learned behavior, but the gravely unhealthy cultural response to sex and sexuality is a contributing factor to these crimes.

  107. Dave says:

    Aside from the “conservative religious” individuals in which this attraction seems to be more pronounced (Gertude’s Law), the attraction between older and younger is biological of course. The term “underage” is a necessary artificial construct of civilization which recognizes that physical and mental maturation happens at different rates. So, natural law (peak reproductive age) is constrained by the peak mental age, which is later.

    We cannot have the expectation that every individual has the discipline necessary to overcome that physical attraction. And of course, there is the domination aspect, whereby a person seeks out these relationships as a form of control.

    The “conservative religious” individual’s mitigation seems to center on appeals to the spiritual as the preferred method. I would guess that most everyone else relies upon internal discipline, since to overtly acknowledge the existence of the natural laws is disapproved of by society, in spite of the ample evidence of this in our marketing, entertainment and other forms of mass communications.

    John McCain’s age, for example, was a factor in a society obsessed with youth, leading him to select someone with more vitality (physical over the mental) as a running mate.

    It may be that those conservative religious individuals are like a rubber band, stretching to the breaking point as they resist the pull in the opposite direction. I think my point is, that if one readily acknoweldges natural law, it may be easier to moderate behavior to conform to societal law (look but don’t touch kind of thing). But when you rely solely upon God’s law, ignoring natural law, the rubber band often snaps.

    Obviously, in Bodenweiser’s case, he gave in to his proclivities before acquiring God, so maybe this is all hogwash and early morning fuzzy claptrap.

  108. anon says:

    Obviously, in Bodenweiser’s case, he gave in to his proclivities before acquiring God, so maybe this is all hogwash and early morning fuzzy claptrap.

    Are we assuming he didn’t “give in” after “acquiring God”? Seems to me that if he was an “elementary and middle school mentor” and a “Big Brother volunteer” that he kept himself around children who were the same age as the child he allegedly raped.

    Bodenweiser is a big fan of “The Lord’s Prayer,” he forces it down people’s throats at Indian River School Board meetings and County Council meetings, are we to assume he missed the part about LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION! Looks to me like he kept himself right in the middle of temptation.

  109. Dave says:

    @anon,

    I wouldn’t call it an assumption but there is no evidence at the moment. Still given his activities, there was certainly the potential for “giving in.” And it maybe that he deliberately put himself in proximity to temptation. Hard to say how much of his religion he was living. As is the case with many Public Christians, no one really knows how closely it matches their private lives.

  110. Rachel says:

    Ugh – that indictment is absolutely wretched. Page after page after page… while we may circulate ideas about what led Bodie to this type of behavior or what led him to become the person we have known more recently, the most critical piece is right here in this indictment. Someone, a minor, may very well have been emotionally and physically tormented by Bodenweiser for a long time. If true, that person may still bear the emotional scars of those acts today. I can only imagine how difficult it must be for the victim and the victim’s family to relive those events now that they are being rehashed by so many people. I do hope that they are afforded some privacy and anonymity as they try to make their way through the trial process.