William has always been a law abiding, kindhearted, caring, and giving individual. While he has never had any children of his own, he always made sure that his nieces and nephews (7 in all) never went without. During times of hardship, his gifts were the only ones under the Christmas tree. A little over a year ago, he was going through a financial hardship of his own due to a change in jobs. His youngest nephew, then 14, approached him and begged his uncle to buy him an X Box One, along with a few games. William tried to explain that due to his change in jobs, he could no longer afford to buy the gifts that he once had been able to. The next day, the nephew came to his mother and step-father and accused his uncle of touching him inappropriately. Due to the nature of his job (first motor coach driver, then OTR Truck Driver), William was barely home at the time he is accused of doing this. He also lived with his mother and stepfather (the grandparents of the nephew), making this impossible.
William was not arrested after this accusation, but instead was issued a restraining order, and made to appear in court twice (without providing him a defender) to face the accusations and hear the child's deposition (which has changed dramatically over the course of this).
He was advised by an attorney to remain silent in the court proceedings. He did this, and about two months ago he was the subject of a "secret grand jury" that he was never notified of. They came back with 4 felony charges, and one misdemeanor charge without ever hearing a word of his testimony. A warrant was issued, he voluntarily surrendered, and due to the $300,000 bond amount he is still sitting in county jail. He has been appointed a Public Defender, who has only been to see him once during his 6 weeks in jail. Due to the severity of the charges, we would rather have him represented by a criminal defense attorney. In order to do this, we will need $10,000 up front and an additional $10,000 if it goes to trial. At this point, no other depositions have been taken, and no family members or others were allowed to speak in his defense at the grand jury proceedings. We feel we have a convincing case to prove his innocence.
We are concerned for William's health as he has Stage 1 renal failure (he only has one kidney), Sleep Apnea, and uncontrolled high blood pressure. He has never been arrested and has had to pass strict background screenings for his previous jobs. His next court date is August 27, and we're hoping to raise enough for the attorney to take his case before this date (or at least so he can file for an extension).
Thank you in advance for your consideration.
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