Breaking news as reported on Delaware 105.9 earlier tonight, 3/17/15. It seems as though after professing his innocence throughout, Eric Bodenwieser has decided to plead no contest to a misdemeanor charge of unlawful touching. It remains to be determined what the sentence will be for this crime.
This all stems from allegations made by a then minor, that Bodenwieser had sexually abused the victim when they were a young boy.
Bodenweiser had been a candidate for the Delaware state Senate, and had won a primary as a Republican, when these charges came to light. Once the allegations were made public Bodenweiser first went into hiding and was later forced to withdraw from the campaign.
Throughout Bodenweiser had claimed innocence, even after damning testimony in his first trial from his friend and pastor, in which Bodenweiser admitted that there, “was something there”. That first trial ended in a hung jury on an eleven to one vote to convict.
The second trial had been scheduled for this spring, and the Bodenweiser defense team had won a change of venue to Kent County.
All that awaits now, is to see what punishment is handed down for this, and what tier sex offender Mr. Bodenweiser is listed as on the sex offender’s registry.
Mr. Bodenweiser was the first in what has become a never ending story of embarrassing situations and charges against members of the TEA faction of the Delaware GOP, a list that includes former Sussex County Councilman Vance Phillips who is awaiting a civil suit on charges of sexual abuse of a former intern on the Glen Urquhart campaign. More recently there has been the arrest of Matthew Opaliski on charges of illegal selling of guns, Opaliski was at the time the RD Chair of the 35th District. And while we are still waiting for the other shoe to drop, the still on going issue of several members of the Sussex GOP Executive Committee’s involvement in what may end up being campaign finance fraud.
There seems to be no end to the TEA faction’s ability to find themselves in trouble with the law.
Here is a link to the news report from Delaware 105.9
So let me get this straight, EVERY news agency got the news release about this and was asked to hold off on reporting it until tomorrow morning so 105.9 decides to ignore that request and claim they got a scoop????? That is shoddy reporting at its best.
So let me get this straight, someone thought it was a good idea to release a news story to all media outlets and thought no one would release it early? Pretty stupid.
EVERY news agency got the news release about this and was asked to hold off on reporting it until tomorrow
If you listen to the audio you will find that it wasn’t a “news release” or a “press release” it was a 105.9 reporter with information from a source close to the case.
I always believed there was “something” there, witness, as Frank points out, Eric’s utterance to his preacher.
I think Eric got drunk or high on drugs, decided to watch dirty movies with that kid and with mind and conscience not working, they both had some carnal fun.
That’s just my hunch and I know Eric right well. Please don’t think he ever admitted a thing to me.
Here’s the thing….thousands of former children were not coming out of the woodwork declaring Eric a serial molester. If they were out there they’d have come forward.
So I stand by my suspicion that this case was a way to thrust Eric out of his lawfully elected office and I dunno, maybe that was right but I don’t think any of these prosecutors involved in this did if for no other reason than upon command from someone else. I note we have a new attorney general and now this case is put to bed.
Eric Bodenweiser promised me that he would give me the first interview ever once his case was over. I was writing for the other site back then so we shall see.
This was nothing but a trumped up blown up from nothing case and I always argued, rightfully, that the state should have let this kid take Eric to civil court and not get involved in trumped up criminal charges. Maybe have saved the state a couple million bucks while at it.
What “lawfully elected office” ?
Frank, you are not in the media biz so let me tell you a little secret. Holding onto a story until a certain date, or embargo, is common practice in the news room. I work in one of the biggest for a television station on the eastern shore in the news room. Common practice for a reason.
What 105.9 did, and it’s not the first time, was unethical. Take some media law classes and learn for yourself.
Every time you write that Mr. Bodenwieser was “elected”, I onder if maybe there is another old fence that is over the line!
Harry W., do you believe all audio you hear? He got the same information everyone else did. There was no secret reporting and he wasn’t close to the case. Here’s a hint: everybody had the info and followed the embargo with the exception of 105.9, and that is unethical.
Pat… Lawfully elected office??? Can someone… ANYONE PLEASE EXPLAIN TO HER THAT HE WAS NEVER ELECTED TO ANYTHING????? Winning a primary is not getting elected. Geesh. And the conversation about embargo? Come on. The story isn’t 105.9 breaking an embargoed story. It’s about Bodie admitting that ‘There’s enough evidence against me that I will be found guilty.’. It’s about the poster boy of the looney tunes bunch going down. Maybe we can now silence that bunch and get some substantive conversations on how to move the state back to a place where everyone can be successful.
Notsocool, and your point is? What difference does it make? It seems that you seek only to deflect from the real issue, that Bodenweiser had plead out, and want to try and shift focus to a meaningless point about who knew what and when.
http://www.wmdt.com/news/more-local-news/update-eric-bodenweiser-enters-no-contest-plea-to-unlawful-sexual-contact-charge/31863678
A twist Wednesday in the ongoing controversy surrounding child sex abuse allegations against Eric Bodenweiser. The former Delaware State Senate candidate entered a “no contest” plea in a Sussex County courtroom for two counts of third degree unlawful sexual contact. Bodenweiser was set to be re-tried in Kent County in April after his first trial last year ended in a mistrial. The allegations of child sex abuse stem from more than 25 years ago.
Sentencing was deferred Wednesday morning in court. Bodenweiser could receive up to one year in jail on each count and up to a $2500 fine. Officials say he could be back in court in May. Bodenweiser will also have to register as a “tier one sex offender,” but he can appeal that decision.
I have heard it reported May 22nd for sentencing.
“notsocool”: Our news report last night was not based on any “press release”, nor did we have any “embargoed story”. Our reporter Joe Irizarry developed this story with personal interview with contacts he has had since the beginning of this ordeal. Other staffers confirmed the details and we aired the news to the public, as we should have. PS. carry on.
-Dan
And now something that is actually on topic: To me the quote of the morning is, “As a result of the plea, Mr. Bodenweiser is classified as a sex offender.” –Delaware Department of Justice
TNJ writes that Joe Hurley would ask the court to waive a requirement that Bodenweiser would need to register as a sex offender as a condition of his sentence, given the 25-year gap between the offenses and when prosecutors brought charges.
“There’s no precedent in this state” for a convicted sex offender to have the registration requirement discarded,” Hurley said. “I don’t know if there’s ever been a hearing. So, you’re plowing new snow.”
http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/crime/2015/03/18/bodenweiser-pleads-contest-lesser-sex-crimes/24951229/
I do think that the registry is abused or rather misused. The registry needs to act as an alert, warning, and communication system to the public. It should be risk-based. Are there offenders who pose no risk? Of course. Does it serve a public need for them to be on the registry? Certainly in some cases, but not in all cases.
I think Eric got drunk or high on drugs, decided to watch dirty movies with that kid and with mind and conscience not working, they both had some carnal fun.
For clarification, Pat Fish, it is never appropriate for an adult to have sexual relations with a child (this boy was between the ages of 9 and 13) even if they “both had some carnal fun.”
You have made these types of statements before and I am beginning to question whether you should be allowed around children at all. I pray for the safety of your grandchildren.
Pat wrote “I think Eric got drunk or high on drugs, decided to watch dirty movies with that kid and with mind and conscience not working, they both had some carnal fun.”
Let me ask you Pat, do you realize that in that statement you are excusing the behavior of a pedophile? Or should I say SEX OFFENDER since that is the official term from the DE dept of Justice. It’s absolutely repulsive of you to make the gross assumption this was “carnal fun” for this boy who was 14 and younger during the times of the reported actions. So PAT you are saying this child enjoyed being sexually molested!!!
Your statement is DEPRAVED and PERVERSE. Since you don’t research much let me help by giving you the definition of PERVERSE “showing a deliberate and obstinate desire to behave in a way that is unreasonable or unacceptable often in spite of the consequences.” And the defintion for DEPRAVED is “marked by corruption or evil”.
“EVERY news agency got the news release about this and was asked to hold off on reporting it until tomorrow morning so 105.9 decides to ignore that request ”
Generally speaking, news organizations are under no obligation to honor embargoed information if it is sent to the media organization without asking first whether the outlet intends to honor the embargo. The “agreement” to embargo information must be reached by both sides, or else it’s not an agreement.
When such embargoes are until “tomorrow morning,” it’s merely a way to curry favor with the newspapers, which won’t be on doorsteps until then. It does nothing in serving the public, and it takes a true tool to argue against releasing the information as soon as it’s released.
” It seems as though after professing his innocence throughout, Eric Bodenwieser has decided to plead no contest to a misdemeanor charge of unlawful touching.”
Frank, you can’t be that stupid but your are. Bodenweiser plead out because Juries are not predictable. Meaning that he will probably not be classified as a sex offender because he plead “no contest” to a misdemeanor charge.
Frank, your hatred for Bodenweiser is so great according to your previous posts, that you can’t discern the law from the truth. Bodenweiser plead out because it was easier than paying exorbitant attorney fees to forgo another trial and possibly being convicted of charges that he did not commit. He opted for the lesser of two evils. You know very well what evil is, because you practice it daily, and you’re good at it.
You sensationalize everything to your benefit and don’t believe that people see through you as the transparent individual that you are. You are but a fool that is in love with yourself. What a shithole!
Wondering, you may want to take off your hate colored glasses and go back and read Dan Gaffney’s second comment, let me help you, “And now something that is actually on topic: To me the quote of the morning is, “As a result of the plea, Mr. Bodenweiser is classified as a sex offender.” –Delaware Department of Justice”.
So you see, he is classified as a sex offender.
The info you didn’t get is that the judge will decides what happens at sentencing, not the Dept of Injustice that will decide what sex offender status, if any will be imposed on Mr. Bodenweiser.. On a misdemeanor offense, many things are determined at sentencing and this is one of them. You don’t get but a little information and you think you are the one that determines the outcome of everything and you were wrong on the outcome of the SCGOP elections and lost badly. That loss is because you believe you can determine the outcome of everything because you are Frank Knotts. you should take a poll of what people you think of your influence. You’re just an empty mind that is desperately seeking to be somebody.
It reminds me of the Steve Martin movie “The Jerk.” Steve Martin is walking down the street with his dog “shithead” and stops in front of his house and picks up the new telephone directory and says to his dog, “hey shithead, look, I’m in the phone book, I’m somebody, I’m somebody.” The dog looks up and whines repeatedly.
That’s who you are Frank.
Thank you Wondering for your kinds thoughts and for sharing them with everyone. I must ask however, do you actually read the post, or do you simply respond based on your preconceived idea of who I am?
In your obsessive defense of Mr. Bodenweiser, you seem to have lost sight of the fact that he is an admitted pedophile. Maybe you have forgotten that in his first trial when on the stand he admitted to giving pornography to a minor, he admitted to watching porn with a minor, he admitted to “wrestling” with a minor. Now at least two of those things are illegal, and the third is creepy at best.
Now I don’t know about you Wondering, but in my fifty plus years, I have never given porn to a minor, I never watched porn with a minor, have you?
If you are comfortable defending this admitted pedophile feel free. But understand, that you acting as if you are an authority, and belittling my opinion does nothing to change the fact that Bodie’s plea of no contest does make him a sex offender, it does carry penalties.
One of the things that happens when a defendant agrees to plea no contest, is that the judge ask whether the defendant understands the ramifications of entering such a plea. And now in typical Bodie fashion he now is trying to rewrite the rules. Even his lawyer says there is no precedent for asking to be kept off the registry.
Sleep well Wondering, shouldn’t be a problem since it appears you have no conscience.
Wondering? I can see why you don’t use a real name. Not Many people stand up for a child molster.
hey “Wondering”
” you should take a poll of what people you think of your influence. ”
I believe we did last November, does the number 217 mean anything to you. That’s a poll you can believe in, for sure.
Hey there “Wondering”! I was wondering, Mr. Wondering, if you had any idea that everyone reading this post with average intelligence can tell that you are trying to distract from the situation with Eric Bodenweiser by bashing Frank Knotts. So your pathetic attempt is not going to work. Seriously man! What the heck does Frank Knotts have to do with Eric Bodenweiser being charged with molesting a child?!!! Is he oh so powerful that he made up these charges to make all of this happen? Wow! I never knew Frank had such power and influence! Just to help you some more Mr. Wondering let me say it again – everyone knows this is about a SEX OFFENDER!!!! Also Mr. Wondering I was wondering if you you realize that you look perverted by DEFENDING a man who openly admitted to showing pornographic videos to a MINOR? I guess that behavior is OK with you Mr. Wondering? It’s amazing how people will go to great lengths to justify behaviors. To help you out Mr. Wondering I’ll share with you the definition of Perverted – “(of a person or their actions) characterized by sexually abnormal and unacceptable practices or tendencies.”. Or, Mr. Wondering, is showing porn to minors “Acceptable” in your book?
But he’s a right wing “Christian” and that’s all that matters to the GOP these days. Its always some hate or tribal religion behind everything done by “conservative” Republicans. They ran John Adkins out for some guy who lobbies for polluters and real estate development companies. They ran out Venables who was the head of the bond bill committee. But I doubt that the extremely few voters who voted in the last election know anything besides what they hear on talk radio..
“Bodenweiser plead out because it was easier than paying exorbitant attorney fees to forgo another trial and possibly being convicted of charges that he did not commit. He opted for the lesser of two evils.”
Always nice to hear from the mind-reading community. How you been, Don?
Mouse, that is a pretty broad brush your painting with. Not all Republicans are of the fringe mentality, or else they wouldn’t be the fringe. Unfortunately the fringe is louder right now and seems to be speaking for the party. That is the problem with the Sussex GOP Committee, it is not representative of the majority of the rank and file, it never was. There was a time when the hard right of the party was the base. However, the hard right has gone so far right that it has isolated its itself from the main body of the party.
There are plenty of people who are happy to allow that fringe faction to remain as the face and voice of the GOP. I just don’t happen to be one of them.
Agreed, but when I look locally and more so when I look at washington, it seems the fringe has all the power. I used to be a Republican and worked hard to elect Bill Lee and came close the first time. I’m looking for government that is responsive to to the needs of average people and today’s GOP nor the Dems are responsive to the things that we really need to carry on as a first rate power.
I agree with Frank, I know quite a few people who were sick of being associated with the Silvas, Jordans, Curries etc…. Since the night Ron Sams was ousted from Chair here is what has happened…
-We fell to a supermajority
-Vance Phillips was interim president- He has now lost and is facing some serious charges
-Eric Bodenweiser was RD Chair- won primary then charged with sex crimes for which he is now a registered Sex Offender
-Urquhart- President and gone all within a year…Phillips charges stem from his campaign
-Opalinski Arrested
-Christopher and Vance fight in GOP Office
– Election Law/ Fundraising Violations for O’Donnell and now again for Sussex GOP
-Cops called for somebody not signing their name
So to the GOP officers and hard right leaders of Sussex, tell me why good people would want to associate their good name with this crap? I would love for any of you to tell me why I should give you my money, my time, or my reputation, given all the information above?
I mean, I mean, I mean, don’t the republicans in washington in the House understand that it takes 60 votes to get their bills through the senate and 66 to override a veto? It appears they are merely posturing for their their extreme elements They have both houses of congress, it would seem that they could figure out how to compromise and get some legislation through that actually helps average people. But instead, every bill is about abortion, repeal of Obamacare or giveaways to the wealthy or corporate polluters. How about stabilizing medicare and social security? How about some living wages jobs? How about letter the1% and defense contractors pay a bit more in tax to help the deficit? How about working to make the Affordable Care act better? Its obviously working well in some ways. How about eliminating tax breaks for the 1% to screw the middle class? The republicans fillibustered a blll to take tax incentives away for outsourcing jobs to chinese child labor. I mean I am not wedded to a political party and world quickly switch if one party showed signs of working on real problems.
” I mean I am not wedded to a political party and world quickly switch if one party showed signs of working on real problems.”
I’ve said it before and I think it’s worth repeating. The right is filled with rage. The left is filled with outrage. When you have those extreme emotional forces at work, there is no space left to sit down and figure out how to govern. I wish both parties would acquire a dose of pragmatism. I know it’s not exciting. It doesn’t generate headlines. It doesn’t get the juices flowing. But it often gets things done. I’ll take quiet competence any day over what we have now.
Quiet competence, I would vote for that