The Washington Times
December 22, 1995, Friday, Final Edition
Not-guilty dad still may lose daughters, job ;
Police, family services ignore rape verdict
BYLINE: Jim Keary; THE WASHINGTON TIMES
SECTION: Part C; METROPOLITAN TIMES; VIRGINIA NEWS; Pg. C5
LENGTH: 767 words
Although he was acquitted of criminal charges that he raped
his own child, Fairfax County Police Officer Larry Neidig may still lose his
job and never see either of his two daughters again.Both the county's police
department, where Officer Neidig has worked for 19 years, and the Family
Services Department, which has branded the officer a child molester, are
ignoring the jury's verdict."It seems to be never ending," said
William J. Scheme Jr., Officer Neidig's attorney. "I find it frustrating
to prevail in the criminal case, then he's faced with all this."
Officer Neidig, who has been on paid administrative leave
since the allegations surfaced in May, was found not guilty Sept. 21 in Fairfax
County Circuit Court of a charge he raped his 11-year-old daughter. He was also
acquitted on a sexual battery charge. But the Department of Family Services had
already put him on a list of child abusers in June and did not remove his name
when he was acquitted. Family Services had already ruled he sexually abused his
daughter and is not bound by any verdict in a court, department officials
say.Neither is the Police Department's internal affairs bureau, which this week
notified Officer Neidig that it has concluded he sexually abused the girl. By
Dec. 29, the department will tell him if he will be fired.Officials from both
departments say the same rules of evidence used in criminal courts do not apply
for their investigations."Family Services has no feelings for the love
between the parent and the child. These children can't even see their
daddy," said Officer Neidig's sister-in-law, Cathryn Bonzano, 33, of
Centreville.Her sister, Marianne, was married to Officer Neidig before she died
of lupus in 1992. The couple's two children, 11 and 4, now live with Mrs.
Bonzano's sister, Nancy Bond, who is married to Charles Bond, a Fairfax County
police lieutenant who worked for the child-abuse unit when the allegations were
made but was reassigned over the summer.Officer Neidig, 40, of Fairfax,
yesterday went before a Family Services hearing examiner to appeal the
department's finding. The closed hearing will continue on Thursday, and the
department must make a decision within 30 days from the last hearing
day.Officer Neidig, who has not seen his children since May, said he could not
comment on the matter until it is resolved.Susan Alexander, program manager for
Family Services' crisis management department, said she also could not discuss
the case, but said that even if a person accused of child abuse is acquitted in
a criminal court, Family Services could continue to pursue the case to keep the
person from children.Because of the Family Services' finding of child abuse,
Officer Neidig has been listed on the state's Child Abuse and Neglect
Information System Central Registry as a child abuser. The registry is used as
a tool to screen people who work in the child care industry and other
businesses that require security clearances - like law enforcement.If he is
successful in his appeal, his name would be removed from the registry. Officer
Neidig needs to clear his name before a hearing scheduled in March to regain
custody of his daughters because it is unlikely he would succeed in that
hearing with his name still on the state registry.Mrs. Bonzano, 33, of
Centreville, who does not get along with her sister, Nancy Bond, said Officer
Neidig's problems began on May 10 when Family Services received an anonymous
complaint that he had fondled his daughter. She said the children were taken
from their schools the next day and handed over to the Bonds.Even though
Officer Neidig's 11-year-old daughter initially denied her father had sexual
contact with her, after two months of interviews by investigators, she said her
father had had sexual intercourse with her twice a week since she was 6 years
old, Mrs. Bonzano said.But that would have been nearly imposssible, Mrs.
Bonzano said, since her sister, Marianne, was at home most of the time until
she died on Nov. 14, 1992. She said after her sister's death, she often cared
for the children and never saw anything amiss."I had been around them
frequently. It didn't seem like much was going on," Mrs. Bonzano said.
"They loved being with their father."She also said there was medical
evidence presented in Officer Neidig's defense that showed her 11-year-old
niece had no signs of sexual activity and that her hymen was intact.