“So it goes in journalism in today’s uncertain digital age. Publish a feature story on an interesting local character, and you might invite a maelstrom of accusations and pain from that person’s past.”
You published an account of a person with a long history of documented criminal behavior. Your version of that story was one that Bricker cultivated carefully throughout his long life of abusing children. In 1968 the principal at Hubbard Woods Elementary investigated numerous claims of abuse by a number of boys and he believed them. Having observed Bill’s behavior on the playground for 4 years, his concerns about Bricker’s disturbing behavior were confirmed.
I knew Bricker, unfortunately. Let me assure you from my own experiences, he was a vicious, two-faced criminal who only pretended to be an upright citizen. He was a vile, despicable, cruel, sadistic devil and he harmed for life many, many children. He was our enemy. For decades no one was watching close enough, or no one cared enough to stop him. He should have been in prison. He belonged in prison, behind bars, no question. We were just kids after all. He was an adult. We didn’t know how to protect ourselves from his constant assaults on our integrity, on our innocence. With unbridled cruelty, he took advantage of children in many hurtful and subtle ways in addition to his overt acts of sexual assault. He left a trail of damage in the lives of precious little fellas wherever he went. He was far more and much worse than your typical pedophile. He was the ultimate bully, and he loved to exert his demented influence as an adult over us to damage and to destroy our personal worth. He snickered at us when he’d gotten away with an attack on our confidence, our self-esteem. He lived for these kinds of opportunities. To this day most people don’t know how evil and perverted this monster was. He was a living nightmare.
Pray your grandchildren never encounter a Bill Bricker.