Prologue

Abstract

He lived near the eighth fairway in a planned community that included multiple “human-designed” lakes, tennis courts, a country club, and schools. Employed as a senior executive by a leading national organization, he was active in his community and church. Married for more than twenty-five years, his oldest son was a graduate of the same tier one institution where his youngest son was matriculating. His daughter, a recent high school graduate, would commence her undergraduate studies in the fall at one of the top-rated public universities in the nation. In fact, he looked forward to his time with his baby girl on Monday when they would journey to the small college town for her orientation and foreign-language placement examinations. But on Sunday, his sense of normalcy came to a screeching halt. Minutes before midnight, three police officers arrived at his home and arrested him for breaking and entering and sexual assault. Without any physical evidence or investigative findings prior to the arrest and subsequent preliminary hearing, he was arraigned and indicted based on the believability of his accuser.

When the universal does not comport with the particular we must re-evaluate how to respond when the impersonal becomes personal.

—Angela D. Sims¹