Unpopular decision correct by Hartley

I recently offered public praise to Judge Teddy Hartley for making an extremely difficult decision in a very serious matter.

I was present during proceedings related to the John Jacobs sexual assault case.

Judge Hartley listened to each of the testimonies. He has numerous years of experience as an attorney, and now as a judge. He must have certainly deduced facts that caused him to place Jacobs on probation and make the comments he did, which included criticism of the victim.

I have more than 35 years experience in criminal investigations and I have extensive knowledge of the Jacobs case.

I totally concur with Judge Hartley's comments and my support is based on my knowledge of the facts of this case, not on newspaper articles, gossip or emotions.

I would encourage anyone who wishes to admonish Judge Hartley, or any other judge, to attend the public trials, or, at the very least, review the public tapes of the testimonies before doing so.

I believe Clovis should be proud to have Judge Hartley. He has shown that he has the wisdom, compassion, and the guts to make unpopular decisions that are fair and reasonable based on facts.

Additionally, do you know what your children are doing? Is your son or daughter spending the night with their friend? Are they really? Have you checked on them?

Having spent 13 years as a deputy sheriff in Curry County, and raising four sons and a daughter here, I can assure you there are a lot of parties going on in Clovis; nearly weekly, some daily.

These parties involve drinking and sexual activity does occur. Recently, a law was passed in New Mexico making it a felony if adults allow underage drinking to occur in their homes. It’s a great law; however, it needs to be made known.

Shockingly, there is considerable underage drinking in Clovis and this unsupervised activity leads to other inappropriate activity, including sex, drugs, misuse of firearms, etc.

Parents must get involved with what their children are doing when they are visiting their friends.

Judge Hartley said during proceedings related to the Jacobs case, “...This whole thing could have been avoided if either of you had any sense.”

I believe Judge Hartley was sending a strong message to our children and to the parents.

Our children need to use common sense, and as parents, we must educate our children about what can happen in unsupervised areas where alcohol and/or drugs are, or may be, consumed.

If you do not know whether your child is attending parties at homes that are unsupervised and involve alcohol and sex, perhaps you should. And perhaps the fault not only lies with our children not using common sense, but some of the blame should be carried by the parents.

Do you know where your children are and what they are doing?

Chet Spear is a private investigator who was involved in defending John Jacobs. He can be contacted at:

[email protected]