Grandfather pleads guilty to child sex abuse charges

By Karen McNew
WSLS10 Anchor
Published: July 24, 2008

A local man is serving ten years in prison after pleading guilty in court to child sex abuse charges. 

68 year old Edward Lee Schofield walked out of Botetourt County Court on his way back to jail.  His granddaughter, Anna Wright says his guilty pleas involve a family member and that he abused her as a child too.

Anna says now, she can begin to move forward, “It was hard seeing him like that the whole thing has been surreal I mean I am just really waiting for the emotion to hit and it probably will tonight but I am just glad it is done. I’m just glad it’s over with.”

As a young girl, Anna Wright and her family lived with her grandparents in New Jersey.  She says her grandfather Edward Lee Schofield sexually abused her as a child.

Anna:  Everybody thought that he was this great wonderful man.  Everybody got along with him great.  It was all just a lie I felt like i was the only one who knew.

She says, she thought she was his only victim, but helped police with their recent investigation involving another family member and sexual abuse charges in Botetourt County.

Karen:  So you confronted your grandfather?

Anna:  Yes, on the phone.

Karen:  What did you say to him?

Anna:  I told him that I knew what he had done to other family members and that I remember what he did to me.  And there was no emotion whatsoever in his voice.  He said, well what are you going to do with the information?

The Botetourt Commonwealth Attorney’s office tells WSLS, that information is what helped convict Schofield, who pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated sexual battery involving a minor.

Anna has also filed charges against him in new jersey for what she says happened there.

Anna: He would stay in my room for a while, a room I shared with my sister.  She woke up one night and asked what I was doing.  I turned around and yelled at her go back to sleep.  Please go back to sleep, I don’t want him to go over there.  She turned over and went back to sleep.  Grandma called down the steps, What are you doing down there?  What are you doing down there? But she never came down to see what he was doing. She just stayed upstairs in her safe haven.

Anna says, while many have been supportive, some family members have shunned her decision to go to police and share her story in a letter she has written for anyone who will read it.

Karen:  You write, I struggle with emotions everyday.  What emotion?

Anna:  He’s my grandfather.  He’s always been there, we’ve been a close family.  Anytime we have moved from another state they have moved with us and it’s not that I feel pity or sorry or anything else for him… I want a normal family for him… I just.. I want my grandpa.  He’s not normal he’s not a person I want in my life.

Even with some relatives against her decision to come forward, she says she only regrets that she didn’t speak up sooner.

Anna: It has to stop somewhere.

There is local help for abuse victims.  A program called SARA (Sexual Assault Response & Awareness) may be able to help you or someone you know. 

The Statewide Hotline phone number is 1-800-838-8238.
The S.A.R.A. 24 Hour Hotline number is (540) 981-9352

Teresa Berry, LPC, LMFT is the Program Coordinator she says “The challenges that Virginia faces are the same that communities throughout the nation and that is… it is an issue that a lot of people don’t want to talk about and they never think it is going to happen to them, and then when it does it can be incredibly overwhelming for people.”

Volunteers are also needed for the program.  If you choose to volunteer you will receive training to help victims.  (540) 345-7273.

Berry says, “What we see a lot of times with the people that come for counseling are they are overwhelmed, and they don’t know what to expect and this is not something that we see people expect happen to them so it is unrealistic to expect that people are going to know exactly what to do. The best thing people can do when something like this effects their lives is reach out and get help, and the SARA program is one of those programs that can help them do that.”

In a 2003 study, The Virginia Department of Health learned that 25 percent of the people they surveyed were sexually assaulted as children and almost half of the abusers were family members. 

More quotes and information from Teresa Berry, S.A.R.A. Program Coordinator:

Explain the crisis counseling offered through the SARA program?
“Offers 24-hour crisis intervention support via a hotline, and again it is 24-hours a day, seven days week people that have been sexual assaulted or sexual abused, or who want to talk about that issue. It has effected there life in some way. We have people available 24-hours a day to talk to them about that.”

“Not only do we talk and offer crisis intervention, but our volunteers also go to the emergency room with victims, especially those that have recently just happened, when they are going through the physical evidence recover kit and looking for services that are immediately flowing an assault.”

Can anyone in our area call you for help? (More factual in the pamphlets)
“Anyone can contact us, again our hotline is 24-hours a day, our office is Monday through Friday, and if folks are more interested in getting an appointment or getting more information about the program. Maybe getting information about being a volunteer they would call our office number, and then if it is more wanting to just talk to someone about something that is going on that is more issue specific to a sexual assault they can call our hotline.”

What is the biggest challenge facing Virginia and our area when it comes to education people about sexual abuse?
“Sexual abuse and sexual assault are issues that everyone likes to think happens to other people. We hear about it, there is talk about it, there are news stories about it, but folks like think that is something is never going to happen to them or never going to impact there life.”

“Unfortunately ¼ girls are sexual abused by the time they are 18 and 1/3 in their life time, and that is a huge percentage of the population.”

“So the challenges that Virginia faces are the same that communities throughout the nation and that is it is an issue that a lot of people don’t want to talk about and they never think it is going to happen to them, and then when it does it can be incredibly overwhelming for people.”

“What we see a lot of times with the people that come for counseling are they are overwhelmed, and they don’t know what to expect and this is not something that we see people expect happen to them so it is unrealistic to expect that people are going to know exactly what to do. The best thing people can do when something like this effects their lives is reach out and get help, and the SARA program is one of those programs that can help them do that.”

How do you help families cope with abuse that has happened with in the families?
“It takes a lot of courage and a lot of guts for someone to come forward and disclose that they are being sexual abused and especially when it is by another family member.”

“There are a lot of times abuses may abuse multiple people within the same family and may abuse just one person. And it is often times those persons feel guilt, shame, fear, anxiety, depression a wide variety of emotions and so the first thing that families can do if this issue comes up is to get help and not try to deal with it on your own.”

“If your child comes to you and says to you that they have been sexually abused. Period! Or especially by some in the family. Believe them children don’t make these kinds of things up.”

“It takes a lot of courage and a lot of guts to come forward and disclose.”