WEST VIRGINIA
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
Samantha Perry
Timothy Probert is a bastard. I’ve waited two years, four months, 13 days and roughly 17 hours to write those words.
Under the guise of a Christian face, Probert used a carefully manipulated role of prominent community member and child of God to gain the trust of adults and then sexually molest their children.
What could be worse?
lll
Since late 2013 I have covered this case as an impartial journalist — all the while knowing the evil acts perpetrated within Probert’s home. I have done my best to report the facts — and only the facts — when covering the story.
It’s not been easy.
In our role as journalists we learn things — know things. We hear the off-the-record comments. We read detailed case reports and court documents. We see the victims and their families in the courtroom. We report the facts and testimony, but some information can not be shared. And that knowledge can eat at us from the inside.
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