EDITOR’S NOTE: The following article is based solely on an exclusive two-hour interview between TheBAYNET.com and John Edison, Sr., Aunt Alice Gaskin and attorney, Kevin J. McDevitt on Monday, Dec. 22. During that interview, certain allegations of wrong doing by authorities were brought by family members. What is presented here is an encapsulation of that interview. TBN takes no position on what was said during the interview. None of the information provided for in the article is corroborated as fact as of this writing.

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When John Edison Jr. was released the   whole family rejoiced.

One hundred, fifty four days after John Edison, Jr. was spirited from his home in hand cuffs and entombed in the bowels of the St. Mary’s County jail as an adult for charges of rape, assault and sexual abuse, a jury found the 16-year-old child not guilty on all charges. On Dec. 19 at 3:15 p.m., Edison’s jury took less than an hour to deliberate and to exonerate the jailed youth.

Alice Gaskin stuck with  John Edison, Jr. through  every step of the process.

Allegedly that was the case even after the Department of Juvenile Justice ruled that the youth should be handled by juvenile authorities. Gaskin stated that nothing seemed to matter to those prosecuting her nephew, even though John Edison, Jr. repeatedly maintained his innocence.

“He turned down a plea bargain that would have seen him go free in four months,” said Gaskin. She maintained that her nephew told prosecutors that the “… plea would have been good for someone that had done the crime, but I didn’t do this, I am innocent and will not take a plea.”

There were allegations of invalid warrants and searches, hearings derailed by perjury and misstatements, states attorney misconduct and over zealous prosecution.

According to John Edison, Jr.’s attorney, Kevin J. McDevitt there were delays in crucial discovery of evidence throughout the process, much of which would prove exculpatory. The material evidence in question was all disclosed as part of the four day trial that concluded on Dec. 19.

John Edison, Sr.

 John Edison, Jr. now having been found not guilty on all charges, faces a daunting challenge to put his young life back in order. According to his father, “We have received a number of things from Great Mills High School already and will be meeting with people at the Board of Education as soon as the winter break is over.”

The family is now rallied around John Edison, Jr. and will do whatever it takes to make the young man whole again after losing four months of his life to the process. “He was going to be a junior this year, but we’re

Upon hearing the verdict, Edison's family were  all smiles waiting for his release.

“John was stronger than all of us throughout this whole thing,” said Gaskin. She indicated that just when the family had pretty much given up hope in the middle of the process, that it was John Edison, Jr. that held the family together. “I received a call from John one night after another hearing was refused. He said, ‘Don’t worry, I will be home for Christmas.’”

It turns out that the young man was correct; home for Christmas and free. Time will tell what lingering effect the ordeal will have on the young man in the long term. Now, at least he is home with his family and can take comfort in their undying support.

Some of the pictures included in this article were taken by Trevor Bothwell and used herein with grateful permission. To see more please visit his Web site at http://bothwell.typepad.com/whos_your_nanny/.

TBN covered this story originally here.

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