Courts Drop Charge Against Parker; Schools' No Trespass Order Stands
by Jim Brown
October 21, 2005
(AgapePress) - Law enforcement officials have dropped the charges against a Massachusetts father who was arrested and jailed after he refused to leave a scheduled meeting with school officials until they agreed to notify him when homosexual relationships are to be discussed in his son's kindergarten class.
Middlesex County District Attorney Martha Coakley has decided not to prosecute Lexington parent David Parker, who was arrested for alleged criminal trespassing at Estabrook Elementary School. Parker was arrested on April 27 during the school meeting over his insistence that he be allowed to opt his six-year-old son out of classroom discussions of homosexuality or transgenderism. The school officials ordered him to leave, and had him arrested and charged with trespassing when he refused.
Parker has maintained his innocence of any criminal wrongdoing throughout the months of court appearances and legal limbo since the incident. Meanwhile, the Lexington School District has barred him from setting foot on any Lexington Schools property. According to the ban initiated by then acting-superintendent William Hurley and continued by the current Superintendent Paul Ash, Parker cannot pick up his son from school or attend parent-teacher meetings, school plays, or sports activities.
Nor can Parker attend School Committee meetings; and although a Lexington Schools facility serves as a local polling place, the ban even forbids him going onto the school grounds to vote on election days. But, despite the embattled parent's own protests and a groundswell of community support for him, the superintendent of schools has refused to lift the ban.
Since the criminal trespass case against Parker had no legal connection to the school district's ban, the order barring the Massachusetts dad from all school property in Lexington remains in effect. This fact has caused considerable outrage among Parker's supporters, who see the ban as a punitive act and an attempt to intimidate -- particularly since the area parent has never shown himself to be a danger to anyone.
As far as the courts are concerned, Parker has been placed on "pre-trial probation" for one year, a legal procedure that simply requires him to "obey all lawful orders" and pay a $50 fee. His lead attorney, Jeffrey Denner, calls this resolution is "a great result," as it means "no admission of guilt and no presumption of guilt." In other words, the District Attorney's office has simply decided not to pursue the charge against the defendant.
Brian Camenker of the pro-family activist group Article 8 Alliance, a supporter and spokesman for Parker, says although the Lexington parent agreed to pre-trial probation, this outcome represents a caving in on the part of the District Attorney.
"What this shows is that the State of Massachusetts didn't think that he was guilty enough to try to try him and, in their eyes, he's innocent. So that's a big victory," Camenker asserts. He says Parker is likely to file a civil lawsuit against Lexington Schools if the superintendent continues to bar him from all school property in the district.
