A few weeks ago, Ashley Welch, district attorney for the 43rd Prosecutorial District, issued a statement online that rightly criticized a western North Carolina newspaper that unfortunately identified the minor victim of a case of sexual abuse. Even worse, this was apparently not the first time that newspaper had identified a sexual assault victim.
The prosecutorial district that includes Cherokee County has seven counties overall, and the newspaper that made this disclosure was The Mountaineer in Waynesville, which is far outside the
Cherokee Scout’s coverage area. This offending information most certainly was not published in the Scout – and we would never do so.
Unfortunately, and without even attempting to confirm the information, at least one person incorrectly posted on Facebook that the Scout was the source of Welch’s statement. However, the local newspaper did not, and would not, publish any disclosure of this sort.
We regret that at least one person has not deleted their offensive post, even when they were provided with the correct information from multiple sources. We also regret that any newspaper would add to the agony endured by a minor crime victim by publishing details that don’t need to be included in a news article.
Welch is absolutely correct when she said the media can, and should, do better.
– Publisher David Brown