Dave Hughes/dcrtv.com AN OPEN LETTER
I'm going to attempt to keep this brief, as the topic is not one I want to discuss openly, but have to.
FACTS:
In 2006 I received a letter, in the mail, at my home, from a deranged fan of my radio show.
My family and I had dealt with him and his issues for well over 10 years prior to the letter that prompted the involvement of the police.
The letter opened with, "YOU HAVE ONLY YOURSELF TO BLAME FOR WHAT'S ABOUT TO HAPPEN!"
In the letter, he threatened to, "Kill you, or your girlfriend, or your son." He also said, "You will never be able to open a piece of mail without wondering if I have sent you something. Any time a delivery truck or someone comes to your front door, you'd better be worried. It might be me."
He continued, "Over the next 10 years, I will make you think about me and what I might or might not do every waking moment."
It continued, but you certainly get the gist. He even threatened to poison my dogs.
I called the Fairfax County, Virginia police and met with detectives. They told me they would investigate, then followed up and said there was enough to prosecute, so I did.
This lunatic topped off years of various forms of delusion and harassment, in regard to me and my radio show.
When he literally threatened the lives of my family, I did what any of you would have done.
He was found guilty and sentenced to a jail term and supervised probation, with other provisions.
When this incident happened, I only spoke of it ONCE on the air (less than thirty seconds total), after I was spotted in the courtroom the day of sentencing, and I wasn't on the air. I mentioned NO particulars, and moved on.
At that same time, Dave Hughes (webmaster of dcrtv.com, a radio gossip site) contacted me and said he'd heard about the threat. I asked he keep it under wraps, and he did. I appreciated it, and let him know.
Four months ago, the man got out of jail. One of the first things he did was to write a note to dcrtv.com, claiming the cops involved were somehow against him, and I unfairly accused him of the crime, stating he had a medical condition that excused his behavior and actions.
The rantings of a madman.
I contacted Mr. Hughes, and told him EXACTLY how serious the threat was to me and my family, and he agreed that the topic, and the man's post should be edited out.
Shortly afterward, it continued.
Not understanding why this would be troubling to me, he informed me it was a "judgement call" and he was going to let it go.
I severed any communication with him at that point.
The man who went to jail died about a week ago. His sister and brother penned their own diatribes to dcrtv.com, blaming me for their brother's death, citing an illness that made it impossible for him to understand conversation. And stating I should have simply snapped my fingers and made it so he wouldn't go to jail for his crime.
Those two are obviously wrong and I pity them. Dave Hughes posts this crap, even though it clearly has no place in his radio/tv website. It has no place because it was a crime, and my family and I were the victims. It was never front page, or back page news in the Washington Post or anywhere else. The only place it was "news" was on dcrtv.com.
And for a few weeks, it's been a topic of deliberation in a 'mailbag' moderated by him.
I would be writing nothing at all about this, if Mr. Hughes wasn't continuing his "coverage". Which incidentally, never even involved a call or Email to me for my position. He certainly knows how to get a hold of me, as just this weekend he sent me a note on Twitter referencing a trip to New York I recently took. Like we're good old buddies. Quite the contrary.
I ask anyone reading this:
If someone threatened your family with death, and was prosecuted and found guilty, how would YOU feel if some scumbag was digging it all up and presenting a point of view that's not only wrong, but bordering on outright slander?
I committed no crime against the stalker. It was he who violated my family.
Who would possibly want any of this very private and troubling news made public?
The stalker was obviously troubled and had mental issues. I really don't know what Dave Hughes's problem is.
Simple civility and morality would say, "No."
Yet he still says, "Yes."
Hell has a special place for both of the men I have written about this evening.
d.
August 31, 2009
