Elwood City Police Department, Monday Evening, 5:15 pm

Nigel Ratburn sat handcuffed in the interrogation room without his sport coat, his belongings, and his dignity. The already long day had just gotten longer. He knew what he was doing was wrong, yet he ignored the obvious reparations and continued to do it anyway, and now he was paying the consequences. He stared up at the gray wall in the interrogation room, and put his head down, nearly in tears. But moments later, the female detective came in the room. Nigel gave out the mandatory info such as name, address, etc., but he did not waive his rights.

"Can I please have an attorney?" the man asked quietly.

"I'm sorry, could you speak up a little?" asked the detective nicely.

"I would like to have an attorney present, please." replied Nigel again.

"Okay. That won't be a problem." replied the detective.

"What's next?" he asks.

"You will be transported to the Elwood County Jail, and tomorrow morning, you will see a judge, and he will set your bail." said the detective.

"Oh God." Nigel said, putting his head down, still handcuffed.

The detective stood the handcuffed Nigel up, and led him outside. Nigel hung his head, averting the camera in front of him. He was then placed in the police van, which dropped him off at the Elwood City Jail. There, he was fingerprinted, given the jailhouse uniform, and locked in a cell until the next morning with four other inmates, who thankfully didn't hear about the man's charges.

The following story that night was a main headline in not just the small city, but the surrounding Pittsburgh area. The local television affiliates had extensive coverage of the arrest of the teacher. Some of the local townsfolk were upset, hurt, and a couple were in denial, saying that the teacher was completely innocent, regardless of the evidence against him and his arrest on national television.

Tuesday Morning, 8:30 am, Beaver County

The next day, at 8:30 am, Nigel was brought in front of Judge T. Wallace, one of the most feared judges in the state of Pennsylvania. As Nigel walked up to the stand, the judge gave him a particularly icy stare, as did a couple of the inmates that were caught in the same Elwood City sting.

"Nigel Charles Ratburn." said the gray haired judge, peering down his glasses at the man.

"Yes, your honor?" replied Ratburn.

"You are charged with two counts of lewd and lascivious acts against a minor due to your online chat, which is a 3rd degree felony under Pennsylvania law, which carries a maximum of up to five years in prison if convicted. How do you plead?" asked the judge.

"Not guilty." replied Ratburn.

"Your bond is set at $50,000 with no 10 percent eligibility. Your next court date is Friday at 11am." The judge said.

Once Nigel was finished, he used the phone call that he was granted to call a defense attorney to work out a payment plan for his bond, asking the attorney to do everything he can to fight for him.

Ratburn posted bail an hour later, and was granted his temporary freedom.

Nigel drove off to his house, relieved to be out of the jail, which was a hellhole. Once he got inside, he made some food, then got to work on grading some of the papers. He was convinced that he would be acquitted of the charges against him and that he would keep his job.

Word did eventually get out about Nigel's actions, and as a result, he got quite a few threatening voicemails because of his arrest that eventually made national headlines.

Principal Herb Haney e-mailed him, asking him to come in the very next day. Nigel figured that if he could trust anyone besides his attorney, it would be Herb Haney, his colleague for almost twenty years. Ratburn would tell Haney that what happened was a big misunderstanding, Haney would threaten to hit Dateline NBC and the Beaver County Sheriff's Office with a multi-million dollar lawsuit, which would lead to the eventual end of the show, and what he felt would be his rightful exoneration.

Nigel Ratburn didn't get a lot of sleep, because the charges against him weighed heavily on his mind. What if nobody believed him? What if people believed that he was a sick pervert? What if he was convicted and sent away for a long time? What would he say to his students, if he was able to even address them? What would he say to his colleagues? He was also worried that someone would come to his house and try to hurt or kill him.

The very next morning, Nigel Ratburn got up and drove to the school. He had eventually gotten so many death threats on his voicemail that he turned the thing off. He played this scenario in his head, and hoped that Principal Haney would be willing to hear the man out. As he walked in the front door, nearly every eye turned toward his way was that of disgust and anger. Nevertheless, Nigel ignored their silence and proceeded to the principal's office. The door was open, which meant that the principal was in his office.

"Good morning, Herb. How are you doing today?" asked Ratburn.

"Get out." replied Herb Haney coldly, staring at the man as if he was expecting him.

"Herb, it was a setup. I'm completely-"

"I don't want to hear it. You are a disgusting freak, you know that?" asked Haney, rightfully pissed.

"Herb, that man barged into my classroom with falsified allegations." replied Ratburn defensively.

"Nigel. I heard about the chat. GET OUT." said Herb pointing to the door in front of him.

Nigel laughs nervously. "Come on, Herb, do you really believe everything you hear on-" Herb Haney grabs the man by his collar, in no mood to talk to, let alone be in the same room with a man he once considered one of his best colleagues. The other teachers looked at the men through the window in pure disgust.

"Listen to me, you fucking pedophile. You have thirty seconds to get out or I will call the police and have your ass hauled off in handcuffs. Do you hear me?" he asked through gritted teeth.

Nigel responded, nodding slowly, then walked out the door.

"Don't drop the soap." one of Ratburn's former co-workers replied snidely.

Nigel proceeded out of the building, head down. He had feared that he would lose his job due to his actions, and Herb Haney would not even hear him out. Nigel then sat in his car, tears running down his face at his horrible mistakes. Why did he enter the chatroom that day, knowing it was a setup? Why did he throw almost 20 years of his career away? Now he had no job, basically no friends, and depending on the charges, his next "house" would be a 6 by 8 jail cell.

He got home, kicking off his shoes, and just laid on the couch, too depressed to move and too depressed to turn off the TV that was showing Steve Wilkos yelling at a guy who was accused of molesting his daughter. Ratburn shuddered in fear, then fell asleep, anxious and worried about the future. He had not gotten enough sleep over the past two days, and was hoping to prove his innocence, but things would go from bad to worse in a heartbeat for the already disgraced teacher.

Later in the afternoon when Nigel got up and was sipping tea, watching a TV show about puppet making, there was a loud pounding on the door.

"Who could that be?" he wondered curiously. He peeked through the eyehole and saw two detectives at the door. The same detectives that arrested him two days ago.

"Police department, open up." Ratburn's eyes widened in horror as he opened the door. The two police officers grabbed him and placed him under arrest almost immediately.

"What's going on? What are you doing?" asked Ratburn.

"Nigel Ratburn, you are under arrest for the sexual assault of a minor." said the female detective, leading him away roughly by the arm.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law..."

To be continued...