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Reprinted from: FRIDAY, JANUARY 24, 2003 THE TOCCOA RECORD Eller acquitted in child molestation case BY ROSS WILLIS A Toccoa man was found Not guilty of Child molestation and Aggravated Child Molestation of a three-year-old girl last week. Neal Eller was charged with the crimes that were allegedly committed against his girlfriend’s daughter. Toccoa attorney Sean Black represented Eller during the trial which was presided over by senior Stephens County Superior Court Judge Robert Struble. The jury reached its decision on Jan. 15, just before noon. According to Black, who was assisted by retired Toccoa police investigator Gary Lyle, there was no direct evidence to link his client to the crimes. "The simple fact is that Mr. Eller did not ever have access o the child so that these crimes could not have been commifted by him, although someone had apparently physically abused the child," Black said. "However, the key to a case like this is knowing about child interviewing techniques. It is an unfortunate fact that the Department of Family and Children Services doesn’t have a good track record in Georgia. They don’t send their caseworkers to training and to good schools like those in Huntsville, Ala. or Knoxville, Tenn.," he said. The attorney said that the school in Huntsville, Ala. requires an enrollee to have a minimum of a master’s degree before they may receive the training. Black said that with the lack of training in interviewing techniques — especially where children are concerned — problems arise. "Our major defense was that investigators had done very little to eliminate other possibilities of what had actually happened to the child," Black said. During the trial, caseworker Janet Cordes of the Stephens County Department of Family and Children Services testified. During her testimony, she admitted that she had not investigated to determine whether the child had been coached and did not seek to verify any details of the allegations, Black said. "From the testimony of Cordes, a South Carolina social services worker and the child’s father, it became evident that the child’s statements were inconsistent as to the timing, location and nature of the allegations," Black said. "Also, the child’s mother, grandmother, aunt and Mr. Filler’s parents all testified that Eller was never alone with the child. The child’s mother and her relatives told the jury about the child coming back from the father’s home in South Carolina from visitation with belt marks, bruises, black eyes and urinary tract infections," he said. The child was taken to the emergency room, but her mother was told that none of the injuries indicated abuse, the attorney said. Black went on to say that the weekend that the molestation allegations were leveled against Eller, the child had been seen by the mother, grandmother and aunt within minutes of being turned over to the father, and that she had no bruises or injuries. "However, when the child was taken to the hospital on Sunday of that weekend, she had visible bruises on her thighs and a busted lip," Black said. "The father admitted that he had been seeking to get custody of the child since his divorce from the mother and that he had gotten custody of the child’s older brother, in part, because of accusations he made against a prior boyfriend of the mother," he said. Black, who handles DUI, family law, injury, death, police misconduct and criminal cases, said that this case was special and unique. "All cases are different, but this one was exceptional. There was no direct evidence there to prove that my client could have committed these terrible crimes. In fact, the evidence showed that my client was never alone with the child at all, so it was impossible for him to have done these things," Black said. "I had intended to bring in an expert from Macon to testify about improper questioning of children in cases like this, but due to scheduling difficulties and conflicts, I was unable to make that happen," he said. In the end, the expert testimony was not needed by the jury. In a little over half an hour, the jury returned with a verdict of not guilty on both charges. Had Eller been convicted of both charges, he could have been sentenced to 40 years in prison. "Anyone convicted of molestation charges in Georgia must serve at least 90 percent of the sentence in prison. However, it is most likely that if Mr Eller had been convicted, he would have served all of the time in prison," Black said. "As of last spring, no one convicted of such crimes has been allowed to serve only 90 percent of the sentence to prison. Everyone convicts has remained in prison for the full duration of the sentence. That would have beer a tragic thing for Mr. Eller, as there was absolutely no solid direct evidence presented by the prosecution to link my client to these crimes," he said. Black said that Struble was exemplary in his direction during the proceedings. "The Hon. Judge Struble was the presiding judge, anc he kept the trial moving very efficiently. He was very fair to both sides during th entire proceedings," Black said. "I am very pleased with the outcome of this case, as is my client. The jury did wonderful job and really weighed the evidence as it should have been. I think that everything worked out well for Mr. Eller," he said. |
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