CC Sheriff’s Office Press Release Regarding Child Sex Crime is Unacceptable!! Too many stories told by too many people, so who knows where the truth lies!!
By all accounts, the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Department did a good job investigating a tip regarding the Washington Elementary School PE Teacher who was eventually charged, arrested, and jailed for three Felony Sex Exploitation with minor(s) children and under $150,000 Bond. The only thing wrong with that is the alleged perpetrator made bond, although further charges were expected, and the alleged perp was back on the streets in about 18 HOURS! So, an alleged Sexual offender is on the streets of Cleveland County (or somewhere) and parents everywhere have that to worry about.
That part is not the subject of this article!! This article is about the very likely possibility that CCS Superintendent Stephen Fisher learned about the investigation and high potential for arrest of a CCS employee prior to the February 12, 2024 School Board meeting and intentionally did NOT inform ALL of the CCS School Board Members. The Sheriff’s Office Press Release on the matter is unacceptable in that critical information regarding when the CCS Administration first learned about the sex crime situation and whether or not the CCS Admin, under Superintendent Stephen Fisher, knowingly withheld critical information of high public concern from the School Board or just certain members.
Note that if Superintendent Stephen Fisher knowingly withheld vital information from the School Board, such an act would be sufficiently wrongful to legally justify the CCS School Board discharging Superintendent Fisher from his overly generous Employment Contract without further payment. And the chance that Fisher’s pension would also be in jeopardy in some major way. Folks, that alone would be a major incentive for Superintendent Fisher and/or his supporters to cover up for Superintendent Fisher’s many transgressions.
Also note that the Sheriff’s Office Press Release did NOT include certain information so as to determine:
- Just exactly when the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office notified the CCS Administration of their investigation into the alleged perpetrator’s alleged criminal acts. Information from CCS stated that the alleged perpetrator resigned on Friday, February 9, 2024. Sources report that the alleged perpetrator resigned only upon threats of being fired by CCS. Indicating that the CCS administration, Under Superintendent Stephen Fisher, knew for a fact of the perpetrator’s ongoing investigation of child sex crimes on that Friday, Feb. 9, 2024. Plenty of time to notify the School Board before or at the February 12, 2024, School Board meeting. Which clearly indicated that Superintendent Stephen Fisher was indeed withholding critical information from the School Board. Or from selected members of the School Board.
- The Sheriff’s Office Press Release itself, although not mentioning any exact dates, stated that “Once it was discovered that he was a teacher at a local elementary school we notified the administration of the school and arranged to interview him. This interview led to a search warrant being issued for Mr. Neal’s residence, leading to several electronic devices being seized. Mr. Neal was suspended by school administrators that day,” Which indicated that the CCS Administration confronted the alleged perpetrator BEFORE the alleged perpetrator had resigned from CCS on February 9, 2024. Also note that this statement from the Sheriff’s Office Press Release conflicts with the statement from the Shelby Star regarding information provided by CCS that the alleged perpetrator had resigned on February 9, 2024. The prime question here is how could the alleged perpetrator be suspended AFTER he had resigned on February 9, 2024. More damning “proof” that the CCS Administration, under Superintendent Stephen Fisher, knew about the criminal investigation of the Washington Elementary School PE Teacher on, or before, February 9, 2024. And withheld that information from the full school board membership.
But, hey, there is more:
Near the end of the Sheriff’s Office Press Release, it states:
“During examination of the digital devices that were seized, images and a video were discovered of minor children involved in sex acts. These images and videos were not of anyone local or children from the Cleveland County School System. This investigation is ongoing and could result in more charges as evidence is still being completely processed.”
Note that the underlined statement that These images and video were not of anyone local or children from the Cleveland County School System,” begs the following questions:
- If the CC Sheriff’s Office does NOT know who those children in the pictures are, how can they possibly know who they are NOT???
- Since the CC Sheriff’s Office cannot possibly “KNOW” every child or minor in Cleveland County, the CCSO would have had to have worked with the CCS Administration on or before February 9, 2024, to conclude that the images of the minor children “were not of anyone local or children from Cleveland County Schools.” If that were the case, that the children were not able to be identified, then the charges would have been more like “Possession of Child Pornography.” This would lead to the obvious conclusion that the children in those child-sex pictures were, in fact, local and from the Cleveland County School System!!
Folks, there is only one thing certain regarding this situation. When Robert A. Williams wins election to the Cleveland County Board of Commissioners, much better than this will be expected from all Cleveland County agencies that receive taxpayer funding.
For your convenience, the entire Sheriff’s Office Press Release is shown below.
Sheriff’s Office Press Release:
The Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office has arrested Anthony Marqui Neal for sexual exploitation of a minor. The investigation began when a concerned citizen notified the Sheriff’s Office of someone, they had chatted with on a dating site that had revealed some disturbing information about children. The case was then assigned to our Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) investigators. Once it was discovered that he was a teacher at a local elementary school we notified the administration of the school and arranged to interview him. This interview led to a search warrant being issued for Mr. Neal’s residence, leading to several electronic devices being seized. Mr. Neal was suspended by school administrators that day and has worked in conjunction with the Sheriff’s Office as the incident is being fully investigated.
During the examination of the digital devices that were seized, images and a video were discovered of minor children involved in sex acts. These images and videos were not of anyone local or children from the Cleveland County School System. This investigation is ongoing and could result in more charges as evidence is still being completely processed.
Mr. Neal was released after posting a $150,000.00 bond.
Suspect:
Anthony Marqui Neal (11/01/1987)
702 Mount Sinai Church Road
Shelby, NC 28150
Charges:
First Degree Sex Exploitation of a Minor
Second Degree Sex Exploitation of a Minor
Third Degree Sex Exploitation of a Minor…