to two counts of furnishing alcohol to a minor, permitting an unlicensed person to drive and violation of oath by a public officer. a dui charge against him was not prosecuted due to lack of evidence, according to judge tommy wilson.
wilson sentenced abreu to 5 years probation and fined him $5000 plus surcharges which will increase the fine considerably. abreu is prohibited from holding public office either elective or appointive. he is subject to a search and specimen clause and must stay away from the victims, their families, homes and places of employment.
he must also publish and pay for an ad in the herald-gazette apologizing for his actions.
abreu, the former barnesville municipal court judge, issued a public apology in the courtroom saying, "i stand before you and i stand before my God and apologize to the entire community and the families involved. i hope they can forgive me and i hope the community can forgive me."
judge wilson commended abreu for taking responsibility for his actions and noted the victims' families and law enforcement had signed off on the plea agreement. both lt. grier smith, who ran the case, and sheriff joe buice stated publicly they approved the sentence.
abreu was sentenced under the first offender act. if he abides by the rules of his probation, the felony oath of office charge will be removed from his record. his plea to the felony count was entered under case law from alford v. north carolina wherein pleas may be entered without an admission of guilt.
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32 comments:
Hey Barnesville, lockup your children because any official can have their way with your children and the law will let them get away with it. I don't know why we make make laws to protect our children when they are not enforced. Everyone just wasted their time and the tax payers money. Serious crimes deserve serious time!! It makes you wonder what you can do and get away with!
Giving someone alcohol and "having your way with your children" are two different things. But please consider this...this dude has lost his business basically (I noticed the Century 21 sign is gone and all the agents work at other companies), I imagine a good percentage of the Lamar County population thinks about what you think every time they look him in the face, and he's going to bed every night thinking about all that. That's a pretty good ass whoopin' to toat right there.
Um anonymous... I don't see how you could say that he got away with anything... First let me state that I do not believe he is guilty...now if you kept reading the post (or had any formal law education) a guilty plea is NOT admission of guilt. He lost so much that I doubt you have the ability to comprehend. I'm sure jail time is the only punishment you might understand. but losing a respectable position that you worked very hard for, a family, friends and your reputation are all more valuable than a few years in jail. Things like this make me glad I don't live in backward small town where everyone has it so easy they live on other peoples problems... my guess is your children are safer with Henry than they are with the teachers in our public schools.
And where the hell is the punishment for the girls who were after the alcohol... last time I checked minors (and their trashy parents) are held responsible if they attempt to buy alcohol from a private citizen or a business..... oh and my mom let me drive her car when I was like 7...guess I should go turn her in! Again let me say those of you that are perfect please cast the first stone!!!!
I find it difficult to accept plea bargians when the offence deals with adults taking advantage of minors. Does this mean the DA failed to demand more restitution?
Does this mean the Judge was weak kneed, and didnt impose a stronger sentence? Could the DA and the Judge not have protection of the local population foremost in their minds?
Everyone keeps saying he took advantage of these kids but I have not seen or heard any official evidence of this from his arrest. He took them alcohol and all the charges and plea agreements have been about alcohol. You better believe if they could have hammered him with more they would have so obviously there was no sexual misconduct between he and the teens. I am not condoning what the guy did and he has paid heavy price -- but sex crimes have never been indicated or implied to my knowledge. If someone has actual evidence other than hearsay to the contrary I would like to see it.
intent to prey on minors are aginst the law as well. What do you thinkhis intentions were? The 20/20 sting made many felony arreests and no actual act was committed. Teh only difference in this case and those, id that law enforcement arrested him before he had the oppoprtunity to proposition the girls. He is a pig who apologized because he was made to. That is no sencere apology in my book, and regardless if it was or was not, being sorry does not mean you should not have to suffer teh consequences of your actions. Again, no question in my mind what his intent was, so for that he should do time. This sets a bad precedence.
Once again, its a case of who you know.
If this had happened to a "regular" person, there would have been jail time.
Any 50 year old man showing up at my house to visit my teenage daughter with beer and condoms would get more than probation if I caught him.
There are already too many people trying to suck all the good and money out of our community. A creep like that needs to go to jail. In five years his felony will vanish.
This explains it all:
http://www.peacecandy.com/gwbush/dishonestdubya/
Well all you folks that Love our
D.A. maybe now you will see it's time for a change, looks like he is
on the wrong side when money talks
huh.
Small minds think alike...
Nobody goes to jail for furnishing alcohol to minors. If they did, there wouln't be enough cells to hold them. This incident was blown way out of proportion because certain people don't like Henry. If it was a matter of "who you know," he wouldn't have been arrested in the first place.
I haven't heard anything but negative comments about the girls, excuse me, the "victims." Several men around town have been approached by them. Unfortunately, Henry fell into their trap.
It's sad that some people delight in others' problems.
Why couldn't former high school teacher Tyshon Byrd get the same deal? Wasn't he banned from the county on top of spending weeks in jail? Seems like something is wrong with this picture.
There was evidence in the Abreu case...nothing concrete ever surfaced in the Byrd case. What's the difference?
Walter, seems like you got your answer on the race relations blog. :-(
digusted,:should be named disgusting
blown out of porportion. Get Real. He was a judge! Do you think he was just planning on dropping off some boos and leaving? What ever dude. If he had not gotten caught before he had the opportunity, his intent was to prey on minors. End of discussion. Once yuo accept that and the want to have the opinion he needs forgiveness as we all screw up, just some in ways that break the law and some not, then fine, but quit the crap about he was railroaded becasue the fact is regardless of motivation, he is guilty as sin and is a grown up that must accept responsibility for his actions. It sounds like he has whether forced to or not, so you need to quit trying to make it look it not his fault.
It appears to me the Judge, nor the DA have the intestional fortitude to do the right thing. The Ballot Box should be used against both of them. I do not know the accused, wouldnt know him if I met him on the street. I think what he did needs to be used an example for others who would do the same thing. It seems to me he would have got at least what the School Teacher got.
some boos?
That's funny! So he was just trying to scare them!
No evidence against Byrd? Didnt he have nude photos of himself? Wasnt he a teacher? I think being in the school system, around children all day long is a little different than the Abrue case. But Here is another perfect example of someone trying to use the race card.
The "victims" had to have some sort of responsibility. There is a huge difference in 17 and 14, or atleast there used to be.
Henry was not a judge. He was a real estate broker who wanted the title to add to his resume. He is not meek and humble, but arrogant. Oh, how the mighty hath fallen. Henry is a Cuban refugee who needs to be deported back to his homeland. He has lost his business. His marriage is gone. A convicted felon cannot be a real estate broker. So he will lose his broker's license. What else do you want to do him. Is castration an option. Why don't you ask Christ what He would do. Probably forgive him and love hhim.
Disgusted,
I've heard that ignornace is bliss. You must be a happy individual.
Are you reading the words you're writing? You sound like a California Liberal or someone speaking from experience and trying to justify it.
Phil, are you saying that he should be deported or that you are Christian and leave the judging to a higher power? It sounds like you contradict yourself.... if we should ask jesus what he would do he would probably also mention that calling someone names, making racist slurs, and spreading gossip about someone else's marriage is how do you say frowned upon....
I don,t condone abrues actions one bit and someone is to blame for those girls actions too either them or their parents.They put theirselves in an unexcuseable situation and who knows whether this was the first time these 3 have been in this situation together or maybe with someone else.My opinion is all three are losers in this one.
In regards to the annonymous person who commented on the "nude photos" of the former teacher-
No photos were ever found. The young girls said that they saw them on his PERSONAL cellular phone (they were trespassing, by the way as he did not give the phone to them). These girls later got caught up in a web of lies. Yet, Mr. Byrd still received a harsher punishment for something that can never be proven! He did not hand nude photos of himself to the girls in front of a SWAT team surveillance like Abreu approached his intended victims. There was clear evidence of Abreu's actions. And if he did have nude photos of himself, that was totally his business. As I last recall, it wasn't a crime to snap a photo, even in the BUFF! It is, however, a crime to supply minors with alcohol and to have sexual relations with minors (Why else would he want to get them drunk?) However, credit must be given when due: He did bring condoms for safe sex....what a commendable act!
Anonymous, Stop making excuses! There is no race card...just the TRUTH card.
Dear anonymous 4:47pm:
You're right! I am very happy. You ask if I'm reading what I write? Ignornant? Apparently, you aren't reading what you write!
And, by the way, I'm happy because I don't take pleasure in seeing peoples' lives ruined because they made a poor decision. I'd be willing to bet you've made a few. Otherwise, you wouldn't be so angry! I feel badly for you.
It is a crime to take a photo of yourself "in the buff" and distribute it to minors. Indecent Exposure.
It's entertaining to keep seeing everyone refering to these girls as "minors" and then bashing Henry about showing up with some booze to try to "take advantage of them." Granted these girls were minors for the purpose of the alcohol related charges, but doesn't anyone know it is perfectly legal to have sex with a 16 year old? There is nothing illegal (I'm not saying nothing immoral) about consentual sex with a sixteen year old. These two "girls" are far more familiar with the law concerning the age of consent in GA than most of the people o this blogg.
Praise the lord, it sounds like Abreu found god or is that just another front by Abreu to DECEIVE THE PEOPLE (BEWARE) when he said he stands before god in his apology.
i have heard Abreu on several occasions say he doesn't believe in any god
FYI: Byrd never distributed the photos to those girls...they said that they removed his phone from his desk drawer and went through it, thereby "finding" the photos. THERE IS A DIFFERENCE! He did not show them the photos (and this comes from testimony from the girls, who later refused to testify in court). Make sure you know your facts before making comments here.
Apparently his personal photos (if there ever were any to begin with) were more of a crime than showing up with booze and condoms for a night of fun with those young girls. Stop hiding behind idiotic chatter and just face the truth. Abreu got off with a hand slap and it's not right. It's down right disgusting. When you set out to abuse children, you deserve the worst possible punishment. He should lose his marriage, business and reputation. I hope he gets out of Lamar County all together.
You know whats funny to be a small town and county. There is more junk happening in Lamar county and
Barnesville Geogia than any other county this year.You don't have to turn on the Atlanta news just go to the Past time grill and Hardees
and read The Herald Gazette and there you will know the latest it
about to make a person sick.
tru enough he was wrong about the alcohol, but when did it become a law to carry a condom in your pocket
Has Abreu lost his marriage? Last I heard she was standing by her man... maybe that was only while he was saying that he didn't do it. Possibly things have changed now that at least part of the truth is out.
i don't agree with anything henry did but that my friend is none of your bussiness
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