What Went Wrong? (The Scoutmaster's Secret)

If you don't think that society is somehow complicit in crimes against children, you should acquaint yourself with the story of Charles "Jack" Walls, a pedophile who destroyed the lives of numerous children in the town of Lonoke, Arkansas. He was a Scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts of America, who gained the boys' confidence, choosing as his victims,boys who were already vulnerable and susceptible. Boys who were looking for a mentor and who looked up to him as a father figure. He gave them alcohol, showed them pornography and took advantage of them sexually.

One boy, Heath Stocks, has been in prison with a life sentence since 1997 for murdering his parents and his sister. Heath Stocks says that he was in effect brainwashed by Walls and he also says that Walls actually told him to commit the murders. Heath Stocks was Walls "favorite." His story is so very sad and tragic, and is made even worse by the fact that prior to the murders, another boy, Doug Hogan, had come forward in the town and told his parents about Jack Walls' attempt to have sex with him. That boy's parents did not press charges at first. They offered Walls the chance to resign from the Boy Scouts and get therapy, but Walls did not. They then pressed charges but Walls was acquitted as Doug Hogan was made to look like a liar, not only by adult character witnesses for Walls, but by boys who Walls was still abusing. Walls was kicked out of the Boy Scouts but continued to cultivate a select group of boys.

This case seems to be almost the opposite of cases where small children are coached to give false abuse testimony. Kids who were old enough to be credible in court did not feel safe enough to tell the truth.

Doug Hogan appeared on Court TV and said that he is still treated by some people to this day as though he did something wrong. There are other astounding things about this case. Jack Walls was from a prominent family of judges and lawyers. As his victims became psychologically disturbed and began to act out, the parents unwittingly turned to Walls for help. Walls was the father of 3 girls himself. Karen Knox, the mother of two boys molested by Walls, notes the irony of her helping Walls' family while he was abusing her boys. Even after the murder of the his family, Heath did not reveal his relationship with Walls. Does that, because it came out later, make him a liar? Not to my mind. Even if he had made the connection at that point, when you consider how Walls had already gotten off, why would he think that anyone would believe him?

A year later, when one of the scouts, Josh Aukes, who had testified for Walls in the first trial, broke down and told his parents what was going on, the parents got together with the Knox family. Two of their boys were victims as well. Wade Knox got a gun, got Jack Walls and marched him at gunpoint to his home, where Walls admitted that it was all true in front of Wade's parents, Karen and Charlie Knox.

Walls, after some 30 years of molesting over 50 children, pled guilty to four counts of rape and pleaded "no contest" to another count. He was sentenced to two forty-years terms and four life terms to be served consecutively. He was also charged with solicitation to commit murder with respect to the Stocks case, however, he was not prosecuted for that and although the Circuit Court Judge considered it as an aggravating circumstance at sentencing, this was later reversed by the Arkansas Supreme Court.

In November 2007, Heath Stocks was again denied a commutation of sentence at a clemency hearing before the Arkansas State Parole Board. HIs previous application was denied by then Governor Mike Huckabee. Stocks' petition cited conflicts of interest, personal and professional connections that impeded his defense. He claimed that Walls' father, a former circuit judge, was instrumental in blocking pertinent information about Jack Walls. His position was supported in a letter from the special prosecutor in the scoutmaster's case. However, one law enforcement individual on the Court TV show commented that Jack Walls molested a lot of boys and none of them murdered their families so as far as he's concerned, Heath Stocks is right where he should be. The Parole Board took some 15 months to consider the most recent application. In December 2007, they announced their unanimous decision to deny clemency due to "insufficient time served" and the "nature and seriousness of the offense." The petition then went to Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe, who denied the request to commute Heath's sentence so that he will someday be eligible for parole. Heath Stocks can reapply for clemency every 6 years.

The fallout from this case has been horrendous. As far as I'm concerned, it's just unbearably tragic there were people who would not listen to Doug Hogan, even when they saw that Doug's own parents believed him. It is shocking and tragic that Heath Stocks never even had a childhood, thanks to Jack Walls, and that this abuse and brainwashing led him to commit this terrible crime. Surely, Jack Walls has some culpability in that crime. In 2003, Wade Knox committed suicide, having never fully recovered from years of abuse and torment. His parents lent their financial support and their son's name to the establishment of a center to help abused children. The Wade Knox Children's Advocacy Center of Lonoke County was opened in August 2005. I guess you could say that's the only good thing that came out of all of this, but when you think about the cost in terms of destroyed lives, it really should make you see that people who turn a blind eye to sexual abuse or cover up for child molesters are evil.

Links:
Under a Spell, 20/20 Interview with Barbara Walters
Arkansas Supreme Court, Walls v. State Opinion
Heath Stocks.Org