Earlier this week we ran a story I wrote about Geoff Lee Keller, a sex offender who was teaching PE at WSU.Keller was fired last semester for failure to disclose the fact that he was a sex offender during his application process.
The day I got an anonymous tip about Keller I faxed Nez Perce county and requested the court records for his trial. From those records I found out three interesting things:
1. Keller plead guilty to three separate counts of the crime and there were two different minors involved, one 14 and one 15.
See? Here's the first count for misconduct with a minor with the initials G.C.G.:
*Note: You can click on the image for a larger version. Here's the second count. Same person, G.C.G.
But the third count is for sexual misconduct with another minor, initials M.M.P.
2. The judge ordered Keller to stay in state until his probation was up and not cross the border unless given permission by his probation officer.
Now I do not know if Keller was given permission to travel back and forth between Pullman and Moscow but he definitely was on a daily basis.3. Keller was under a no contact order with persons under 18 unless under the supervision of an adult approved by his probation officer.
Huh, last time I checked the "college aged" bracket included minors.So to recap, this is my fail count:
1. Idaho fail - Keller drove from Pullman to Moscow EVERYDAY.
2. Idaho fail 2 - Keller taught American Social Dance to COLLEGE KIDS.
3. WSU fail - WSU's background check policy dictates that checks are only conducted at the request of a department manager or if the applicant will be working with children.
Here is my issue with this: Yes, Geoff did something really, really stupid. And I agree with your "fails." But here another one for you:
ReplyDelete1. Fail Dominick Bonny: For dragging athrough the mud a man like Geoff, who did something stupid when he was rather young himself with a girl or two who probably matched his maturity level even at a younger age, but who is in actuality a very kind and decent man who would never do anything to hurt or make another human being even feel uncomfortable.
I feel bad for you, Mr Bonny, because you were quick to make a snap judgement and publicly humiliate someone without knowing him or the situation, and I hope with age a maturity you will come to regret what you have done. If you knew Geoff, I assure you that you would have written this article much differently.
Please, please check your story next time- raw facts don't always paint a complete picture, and your decision to run this without checking out his side of the story might have come at a very high price for Geoff.
Dominick: At no point do you ever mention interviewing Geoff for all of this. You seem to have no issue dragging him through the mud (as can be seen by you posting the trial documents) but haven't taken the time to get any of the details. What are these "lewd acts"?
ReplyDeleteI know, because I asked him. Do you?
Also, I've heard from other people who were interviewed at the Bookie who gave different quotes to you about the issue - you chose the "sensationalist" route when writing this story.
Who deserves the real fail?
Dominick Bonny.
Please note that I'm publishing your comments because I believe you both have valid points and the right to be heard. But believe me, the decision to cover this was not a snap judgment.
ReplyDeleteI spent a lot of time and asked the advice of respected mentors and peers before I pursued this.
I do not want to drag anyone through the mud and I don't want to injure Mr. Keller in any way. But I'm still going to do my job.
I didn't break the law. And I didn't make the law. I'm just reporting the story.
As for my quoting: I'm not a stenographer, no one wants to read a conversation verbatim. I have 12 inches to give the story. I use the best quote that encapsulates what the source is saying.
The story here is state and university oversight not Keller.
You seem awfully gleeful about all of this. I've known Geoff for years and he is a good, kind, decent person. There's no reason for such a pointed personal attack. This was unnecessary and unwarranted. If you want to go shouting other people's shortcomings from the rooftops, be prepared that someday, someone is going to take joy in publicizing yours. What goes around comes around, buddy.
ReplyDeleteIf your statement, "I do not not want to drag anyone through the mud and I don't want to injure Mr. Keller in any way," is true, then why bother posting all these court documents? Are you planning on posting the court documents detailing the criminal charges of any of the 4 registered sex offenders residing in Pullman? Or what about the 23 others that live in Moscow?
ReplyDeleteMy guess? You realize after getting letters from more than a few people that you didn't act as responsibly as you originally thought, and instead of apologizing to Geoff, you're looking for any dirt you can to get more people on your side.
Also, you state that, "The story here is state and university oversight not Keller." Again, then why are you posting all these court documents? How does posting those court documents aid in the story?
It's asinine to think that anyone would risk crossing state lines , "EVERYDAY," as you say, if there was a risk of getting in major trouble for it.
I agree with "Heather" above. Raw facts definitely don't always paint a complete picture. For example, if someone were to examine your criminal history, they might speculate quite a few things. I certainly doubt you'd want those speculations put on the front page of the school paper, or even posted in someone's blog to see. Even if you were in trouble for something as simple as jaywalking, if I were to speculate in my own blog that you were drunk in public, or were on drugs, it could severely damage your reputation, employment opportunities, etc.
Please consider the effects your journalistic endeavors may have one someone else's life. Again, I agree with Heather. Hopefully some day you'll be mature enough to regret what you did, and admit it.
I experienced no glee when I filed this story. That's what I'm trying to tell you. Believe me, I'm not a perfect person. There are things about me I wouldn't want on the Internet but those things are not a part of the public record.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, I'm not posting anything else on sex offenders in Moscow because they don't teach at WSU. I'm posting the documents because they're public record and part of my story. I'm not trying to "get people on my side." I don't need affirmation or support to do my job. And speculating about me jaywalking or being drunk isn't the same as being convicted as a sexual offender. A conviction is not hearsay, it's public record.
ReplyDeleteHowever, you didn't follow through with your investigation to your story, and that's what bothers me.
ReplyDelete1. What are some of the references included in Mr. Keller's application? Did WSU ever contact them before the initial hire? I know the answer to both; do you?
2. What are the "lewd acts" in question? If you took the time to investigate, you would be shocked to find the answer. I'm not going to state it here because I'm not Mr. Keller; what you'd be getting from me would be hear-say.
3. If this story is truly about WSU's oversight and not about Mr. Keller, why go through the trouble to post his court case online? Why is this post not about your investigation into the hiring practices of WSU?
4. As opposed to the others before me, I do think that "raw facts" are important. However, you need to gather ALL of the raw facts and place them into proper context.
Mr. Bonny, point four is where you failed. You stated yourself that you only have "12 inches to give the story." In those 12 inches, you took a sensationalist route, and on top of that, followed it up with a blog post that continued to drag him through the mud (not to mention took the time to comment on his appearance in his photo on your Facebook page).
And yes, Mr. Bonny, I do say "drag him through the mud", because you failed to post before you finished digging. I take no issue with you continuing your investigation, but declaring "fails" and acting like you had all of the facts (when it's obvious all you did was look at the court records, nothing more) has raised questions to your journalist ethics.
So take the time to answer these two questions (and please find out the actual answers before you answer).
1. Did Mr. Keller have permission to cross state lines? You admitted you didn't take the time to get this question answered.
2. Were there any students under the age of 18 in his college dance class? You didn't answer this question.
3. What were the circumstances that led to the arrest?
This is a gut check to you, Mr. Bonny, and your answers will show whether you're a budding journalist with integrity or simply a sensationalist.
No, Dominick, as you claim, your story is about the hiring practices at WSU, NOT Geoff. So posting the details of his convictions does nothing to further your story. Additionally, you're right, those sex offenders don't teach at WSU. Neither does Geoff, so stop harassing him.
ReplyDeleteIf, in those 12 inches, the most substantial quote you could find was someone who had never known Geoff, and never taken the P.E. class, saying "Why didn't they do a background check? Especially in a P.E.-type situation," you're a poor reporter.
ReplyDeleteWhether or not you were "gleeful" was not the point. The point is, it was an unnecessary personal attack and you owe Geoff a formal apology. I don't expect to see any negative "letters to the editor" printed in response to your story in the Evergreen (although I know they have been sent, and you can expect mine), but I think I can speak for a lot of people when I say I am disgusted and won't be reading the Evergreen anymore if it's going to be used to single out people and trash their reputations with one-sided stories and unconfirmed "facts".
ReplyDeleteDid you know that just hugging a child under the age of 16 and your hand slipping and touching her butt is considered lewd conduct in the state of Idaho? The description of the lewd conduct emcompasses everything from a hug to rape. Did you know that every time you ever kissed a girl under the age of 16, no matter what your age at the time was lewd conduct? Did you know that in the state of Washington, Geoff would not have been convicted based on what actully happened? Did you know that Joseph Duncan was hot on every prosecuters mind when this incident happened and they were looking at everyone as a potential Duncan no matter what the circumstances? Did you know that you have NOT published a story about WSU's hiring practices but, that you have caused major harm to a wonderful man to further your selfish ambitions? Have you gone thru the rest of WSU's employee files to find out who else might have been convicted of crimes? How many employees have DUIS? Drug convictions? Assault convictions? You sir, are a poor excuse for a journalist. My hope is that maybe Geoff will contact an attorney as this was a malicious act and I certainly do not think that WSU would stand behind you in a slander lawsuit. As for the blog there is no one to stand behind you. Putting the info on it was intentionally being harmful to Geoff. As for Public record, anyone who was interested could have obtained this info for themself, your posting it was not necessary for any reason but to cause additional harm purposely.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, what goes around comes around. Your time will come and I hope it is as crippling as you have made Geoff's life. Everyone makes a mistake, Geoff made his and has paid for it dearly. You have harmed him in many, many ways. From the emotional aspect, to his employment ability, to his education ability.
To all of those who support Geoff, I applaud you, as yes he is a wonderful, selfless person. I am sure he is comforted by knowing that people can see who he really is, not just a picture a broad legal definition on a web site.
So if you are a nice enough guy lewd conduct with minors is OK?
ReplyDeleteBonny isn't wrong here.
Registered sex offender takes state job with young people without state agency's knowledge.
ReplyDeleteRegardless of how "so SWEET and, like, AWESOME, he is," the man is a convicted sex offender.
The community deserves to know that an SO was teaching dance classes.
Court records are public records.
If he didn't want the Evergreen to print his name, he should have stayed away from minors.
A jury convicted him, not that crappy WSU rag of a newspaper.