Wednesday, January 29, 2003
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Wednesday, January 29, 2003 |
Ferguson gets 20-year sentence for molesting youths in Explorer programBy JOHN
MUNFORD
In a meek, almost undetectable voice, Edward Wayne Ferguson admitted in court Monday that he molested 12 young boys whom he supervised through the Peachtree City Fire Department's Explorer program while serving as a volunteer firefighter. When District Attorney William McBroom asked Ferguson if he indeed molested the victims, Ferguson replied in a whisper, "Yes, sir." Ferguson pled guilty to a host of related charges in court Monday morning as victims and their families looked on. Superior Court Judge Christopher C. Edwards sentenced Ferguson to 20 years in prison followed by another 10 years of intensive probation. Edwards noted that once on probation, Ferguson will be subject to a search of his person, property or belongings at any time upon the request of a law enforcement officer; that is one of the conditions of his probation. He must also meet other probation conditions specifically designed for persons convicted of sex offenses, Edwards said. The plea agreement came the day before Ferguson's case was to go to trial. Although he pled guilty to 17 charges, prosecutors agreed to drop 12 counts of enticing a child for indecent purposes. Ferguson pled guilty to nine counts of child molestation, four counts of the sexual exploitation of children, three counts of criminal attempt to commit child molestation and one count of sexual battery. The alleged incidents occurred at Ferguson's trailer at the Shiloh Mobile Home Park, where he lured the boys under the guise of teaching them wrestling moves, McBroom said. A videotape found during a search warrant executed on Ferguson's residence depicted him molesting three of the victims, the prosecutor added. The case broke last spring when one of the victims complained to his family about the abuse, McBroom said. McBroom indicated that all the victims and their families had been made aware of the sentence from the plea agreement. Judge Edwards asked if anyone wanted to comment about the sentence being too harsh before he signed off on the proposal, and a father of one of the victims addressed the court. The father told Edwards that he and his wife felt the sentence was too lenient, but they preferred the case be closed instead of forcing their son to testify and relive the event. "Twenty years to me and my wife does not seem near enough," the man said. "However, I am willing to accept it if he does not have to testify. I do not know if these scars will ever go away." Edwards noted that had he opted for a harsher sentence, Ferguson could have rejected the plea and opted for a jury trial instead. But he would "have a grave reservation about proceeding" with the plea arrangement if serious objections had been raised. "I hear that you want this to happen and you want this to be over today," Edwards said.
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