Courage

Courage.

That's it in a word.

It took courage to come forward and admit that terrible things happened to him when he was just a kid growing up in North Augusta. David is 45 years old now and lives out of state. But he could never forget the years of molestation he endured at the hands of Ed Meloan.

David says it started when he was in the seventh grade. His brother introduced him to Meloan in their driveway one day. In court, David told the Judge how his brother was also molested by Meloan and that he later lost that brother to AIDS. He considers him to be just another victim- among many. If you haven't done it yet, go back and watch the interview David did with us. No one can tell it better than he can.

What we need to remember is that if David had not decided to call North Augusta Public Safety, we would never have known what those victims have been living with all these years. Ed Meloan would have gotten away with it.

In a way, we feel like a crime was committed against us too, since Meloan worked here and brought some of his victims to WRDW-TV. Knowing it happened a long time ago still doesn't make it any easier.

Thanks to David and the other victims who had the courage to face their demons in the light of day, Ed Meloan will spend the rest of his life in prison. I hope this is the new beginning they all need to begin living the rest of their lives--demon free.

Richard Rogers
News 12