Jerry McCloud committed suicide after the sex sting. |
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — Over a two-week period in late September, 40 men — including one preacher and employees of school systems — were arrested in undercover sex stings in Johnson City, Tenn. public parks, possibly leading to the suicide of one man less than 24 hours after charges against him were announced.
According to The Johnson City Press, the police targeted two parks they felt had become known for sexual activity. The report of the sting was featured prominently as the lead headline on the paper’s front page and included names, addresses and photographs of each man arrested.
One of the area’s television news stations, WJHL Channel 11, also carried news of the undercover operation and posted on its website the Johnson City Police Department press release, which also included names, addresses and photographs.
The men arrested ranged in age from 26 to 85 and lived in areas scattered across Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia.
Arrestee Jerry McCloud, 55, of Newland, N.C., was found dead in his home around 10 a.m. on Oct. 2. No details on funeral arrangements were published by The Johnson City Press and could not be ascertained by Q-Notes.
Like most of the other men, McCloud was charged with indecent exposure. Some were also charged with sexual battery after they groped undercover police officers.
LGBT organizations in Tennessee and nationally monitored the situation. Many took issue with its handling.
“Without condoning public sex, I think it is clear that this newspaper is perpetrating a punitive culture around issues of sexuality and now we are seeing the tragic results,” said Chris Sanders, president of the Tennessee Equality Project. “There is no lobby for public sex and no one is advocating for it, but at the same time we know that this is really not where media coverage needs to be.”
Attempts to reach John Molley, managing editor of The Johnson City Press, were unsuccessful, but John Mosier, a local psychologist who wrote a guest editorial to the paper, says the community has not looked favorably on how the sting was reported.
“People are in shock and disbelief, all across the political and philosophical spectrum,” he stated. “Even fundamentalist Christians took issue with the way the event was reported.”
Calling the reporting of the sting “a widely perceived act of social injustice,” Mosier says community response has ranged from calling the reporting “unconscionable” to “sensationalistic.”
His guest editorial delves into the psychological state many of the men could have been in before arrest and the likely stress the arrest and public shaming could have caused or made worse.
“There is a likelihood that several of the men have struggled a lifetime with an internalized sense of fear, guilt and shame regarding their identities. As such, the arrest itself would constitute a psychological crisis. With the added component of public humiliation and embarrassment … an inability to effectively manage the overwhelming stress is easily understood,” wrote Mosier.
Other community members cited concerns over the prejudice and violence still faced by the LGBT community in rural areas across the South as a reason why more caution should have been used in the reporting.
While numerous calls to The Johnson City Press’ Molley and reporter Kristen Swing were not returned, news director Christine Riser of WJHL told Q-Notes that extensive conversation and reflection on the ethical issues of reporting this story took place in their news department.
“If this had been a story on heterosexual people or other crimes, would we have reported it in the same way? The answer is yes,” she said.
A Johnson City resident, who requested to remain anonymous due to the nature of the story, told Q-Notes that area police have a history of questionable tactics when it comes to sex sting operations.
When he was charged with prostitution after accepting a small sum of money to help pay for a hotel room, he says the police used the media as an intimidation.
“If you will agree to help catch other men, then I can help keep this out of the newspaper,” he said an officer told him.
At press time, attempts to speak with a representative of the Johnson City Police Department were also unsuccessful. |
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