What’s Going On With Charles Wilcox?

Meet Charles Wilcox. Charles has an interesting story to tell, regarding his conviction for sexual assault. He’s been trying to get someone to listen for over 20 years. We’ve agreed to listen and share his story here. If he’s innocent, we’ll show that. If it turns out he’s guilty, we’ll show that too. He is willing for us to show you whatever we find. In order to understand Charles’s story, you need to understand his family story as well. Here’s what we know so far.

Charles Wilcox and his sister had a difficult childhood. By his own admission, they pretty much ran wild, and adult supervision and guidance were lacking. This resulted in behaviors that came into play down the road and into adulthood. Charles became known to local law enforcement first at an early age because of school truancy. It appears that at least one of the truancy officers was involved later in the investigation of the sexual assault. Memories are long and it’s possible that the officer remembered Charles from back in the day. This same officer was also involved in a custody dispute between Charles’ sister and the father of her children.

There is no dispute that the little girl, Charles’ niece was sexually assaulted. The dispute is with who actually committed the crime. The date of the assault was in February 1994. Charles Wilcox was convicted on April 4, 1998, just over 4 years later. He had a wife and children then. He was convinced to accept a plea deal for a lighter sentence. He served 6 months, was paroled, but ultimately was sent back to serve the rest of his sentence, because he refused to say he was responsible for the assault in his mandatory classes. As a result, he lost his wife and children, his freedom, and his future.

Now, you have to know a little bit about his sister’s situation as well. She became involved with the father of her children, including the one that was sexually assaulted, at an early age. With no real adult supervision or guidance, she became sexually involved with him when she was 12 years old. He was in his early twenties. Sadly, this was never properly questioned or addressed. Short of being a pedophile, what possible interest could a grown man in his twenties have with a pre-teen? It’s fair to say that she didn’t understand at the time, or see why this should have been a huge red flag. She was a child. By her account, it was also a physically abusive relationship, that resulted in hospital stays. By the time she managed to leave him, she had children. They were at the center of the custody battle that played out between the time of the assault and the time of Charles Wilcox’s conviction. Those children bear scars to this day of the hell they’ve experienced. Not the physical kind, but the emotional scars that affected how they live their lives as adults today.

When the little girl, 4 years old at the time, was questioned by police, she was reportedly adamant that Charles Wilcox was not the person that assaulted her. According to her mother, she was very clear that it was actually a paternal uncle that had done it. This was supported by certain medical evidence. Yet the police never looked at anyone on the father’s side of the family. While everyone on the mother’s side was tested for the medical condition, and found to be negative, the paternal uncle reportedly would have tested positive. The medical condition, you ask? Gonorrhea. A 4 year old girl had gonorrhea, and rather than test every person that had contact with her, they only focused on the mother’s side of the family.

This is part of why we agreed to dig deeper into the case of Charles Wilcox. Twenty years later, reasonable doubt demands that we examine this case more closely. We’ll be looking at family, friends, lawyers, detectives, judges and medical professionals. We’re going to try and track down trial files, case notes, transcripts and evidence. We’re going to share all of it here, and let you be the judge. We’re shining a spotlight on the case of Charles Wilcox. Only time will tell what we find. We hope you’ll follow along.