Published: March 18, 2008 07:41 pm      

Scallon to stay in jail til trial

By Cristin Ross

cross@jacksonvilleprogress.com

Former Rusk teacher Harold Scallon last week waived his right to his initial court appearance and detention hearing scheduled for March 12.

Scallon’s attorney Barett Keith Brown of Sherman filed the paperwork waiving the court appearance on March 11. A not-guilty plea was entered by the court.

Brown did not return phone messages left Monday at his office by the Daily Progress.

Harold “Bo” Scallon Jr. was indicted March 4 on one count of possession of and one count of distribution of material involving the sexual exploitation of minors.

The indictment charges Scallon owned a personal computer — confiscated from his Jacksonville home during an investigation by the Longview Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation — allegedly containing sexually explicit material featuring minors and that he allegedly distributed sexually explicit material in August 2007.

Scallon’s family and former students are showing their support of Scallon, as shared in a Daily Progress letter to the editor — found on today’s Opinion page.

Scallon was booked March 5 into the Gregg County Jail, where he will remain through his trial, set for May 12 in U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith Guthrie’s court.

Scallon faces up to 30 years in prison — a maximum of 20 years in prison for the distribution and a maximum of 10 years for the possession charge.

Scallon retired from teaching senior English at RISD, effective June 2002, but continued to teach under one-year contracts until April 2007. He had worked for the RISD for more than 28 years.