Please allow me to tell you about my amazing partner, Luke Mohatt. For over twenty years he has worked tirelessly for children’s rights. He started volunteering for organizations that fight for the prevention of child abuse when he was just 15 years old. Throughout his time in college he was a volunteer for Junior Achievement, an at-home care giver for two boys, who’s weddings we’ve attended, and a summer camp counselor. Later, he became a camp director and an educational consultant. Most recently he's been a classroom teacher. He has dedicated twenty years of life to making the lives of children better. Why? Because he firmly believes that children are the best natural resources that the world has, and they should be valued and cherished as such. Every child, no matter who they are or where they come from, deserves the right to a high-quality education, and the opportunity to become the best version of themselves that they can be.
In addition to being a life-long child advocate, Luke, clearly, is a gay man. We have been together in a monogamous, committed relationship for nearly fourteen years. We met when we had both moved to NYC, me from Alabama, and him from Kansas. We were small town guys in the big city and through thick and thin, we stuck by each other. A couple of years ago we decided it was time for a change (mostly at my urging!), so we packed up our lives, including our two dogs and our cat, and made the drive from NYC to LA.
Shortly after arriving in LA, Luke was offered a teaching position at a progressive small school in the mountains of Malibu. One of their teacher's was going through a difficult time and was not going to be able to go on, so three months into the school year, Luke was hired to take over. Students and parents were thrilled with his efforts and resulting progress with their children. Moreover, every day Luke would come home, brimming with pride about what his students had done that day, and talking about how very much he loved his new school. Luke continued on into the next year, quickly advancing into working on curriculum and introducing a new way to teach math to the entire school. From colleagues to administration, students to parents, Luke was welcomed with open arms and well respected. We both felt that we had found our new home. At Luke's insistence, we even moved into an apartment just minutes from campus. Luke was sure that he had found a new home, and that he would be teaching there for many years to come.
Then the impossible happened.
In March of 2017 one of his students accused him of inappropriately touching them at an event in January. This never happened. Luke would never touch any child inappropriately. He is innocent. I know Luke. I know his heart, and I know his soul. He could never do anything inappropriate to a child. He has dedicated his life to helping children in a positive way, being a good role-model for them, and helping them to become better people. Luke recently told a supporter that he would rather have been accused of committing murder. For Luke, this is the worst crime to be accused of. This is something that his spirit could just never allow him to do.
For many months, Luke has wanted to communicate his story, but out of respect for the school, and on the advice of legal counsel he has stayed silent. However, he has now been charged with a felony, and beyond mounting legal costs, he is facing a possible $1,000,000 bail. He is facing the battle of his life, and he needs your support.
Luke's 73+ year old parents have already cashed out their retirement to pay for the legal fees to this point, and that is only a tiny portion of what the total costs of this could end up being. Beyond bail Luke WILL be mounting a defense of his innocence. If that means going all the way to trial, he is ready to do so. Many (myself included) have already asked, why not take a plea deal? Taking a plea would mean accepting a felony conviction and mandatory registry on the national sex offender data base. WE will not accept these terms for an action Luke did not commit.
Make no mistake, the legal system is forcing this issue. They have taken the remarks of an admittedly confused child (apparently they said that they thought Luke did something, then thought he didn't, then thought he did again) and twisted it into the monster that we are now facing. I am also sure, that in their heart of hearts, the parents of this child never wanted it to come to this. Apparently, when first contacting the school, the father went as far as to say, "we don't want to press charges or anything, we don't him to go to jail, we just want to talk this through." However, due to the mandated reporter law, the school was legally bound to get the authorities involved. Once that happens, humanity is out and the pressure for detectives to find something, anything, to "get their man" begins. Don't get me wrong, the Mandated Reporter Law is very important, and is a law that Luke has vehemently supported, and has unfortunately had to use as a child caregiver. Now, that law is why he is in the position he is in now. There was never an opportunity for Luke to even hear the details of the accusation. He was simply sent away and told to stay quiet.
When this all started, Luke and I, and even the school, thought that this was a case of a confused child and it would all be resolved. The child may have even, very possibly, been using the accusation to get out of going on an upcoming class trip that he was afraid to go on. Nevertheless, the detective started talking to others and began twisting this into something that it clearly was not, and now Luke is facing serious time behind bars. Somewhere he does not deserve to be.
While we have not heard the full charge(s) yet, nor do we know exact details yet, it is becoming clear that Luke is being targeted because he is a gay man. Many parents within the school community have now reached out to me to urge Luke's lawyer to get the ACLU or Lambda Legal involved as they have witnessed rampant homophobia as parents were discussing the situation. Apparently comments such as, "Luke's great and all, but he is a gay man" as if his sexual orientation makes him more likely to do something wicked like this. The implication is disgusting. Make no mistake, although the LGBTQ community has made strides, we are still seen as "different" or even "something that can't be understood." Human beings are hard-wired to be suspicious, even scared, of anyone different from themselves. Even those with good intentions, when comes right down to it, have that voice in the back of their head that causes doubt, even for the most well-liked of people.
Because of this discriminatory fear-mongering on the part of the legal system, and because we have no other options, Luke has accepted to fight this fight, not just for us, but for anyone who has ever been wrongly accused or discriminated against for who they love. It is time that everyone learns to fully accept all LGBTQ people as equal members of society. It is not a choice. It is not a preference. It is who we are.
Luke has fought for children's rights and protections for twenty years. He is also a gay man, but he is also so much more. Luke is a dedicated teacher, coach, and mentor. He is my partner, a son, a brother, an uncle, an animal lover, and a life-long advocate for those that don’t have a voice – but regardless of this, he is now clearly being persecuted for who he loves, me. AND HE IS INNOCENT.
Luke has to fight, and he needs your help. You can be named in your donation, or you can make it anonymously. Any amount that you can give will make an impact.
Regardless of the pain and betrayal Luke feels, he is ready to take on this challenge and fight to clear his name. Luke commits with all that he is, to stand up for justice, love, and equality for all.
Thank you for your help.
Josh
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