The Oei Case: Closing the Curtain

While “Closing the Curtain” may be premature, it is a fact that the child pornography charges against Ting-Yi Oei have been dismissed, and his life can begin again. This case will be spoken of in school board meetings, political campaigns, and in the halls of justice for years to come.

The case itself might fade from memory over time, but some young law student or skilled defense attorney will return to the lessons learned and use the saga to seek justice for others wrongly accused. For all the pain that this case has caused one man, one family, one school system and one county, one can hope that knowing this brings a small bit of comfort.

In his first extensive video interview, Ting-Yi Oei spoke with the Loudoun Independent about fighting the Possession of Child Pornography charge that has haunted him for more than a year. Torn from Freedom High school, where he served as assistant principal, Oei was thrown under the harsh light of the media, to be judged by some and defended by others.

“I can’t tell you how overjoyed I was,” Oei noted, upon hearing the news of the dismissal of one count of Possession of Child Pornography and two counts of Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor. He smiles. He is clearly relieved. “I didn’t know what possibly I could have done that could have brought about such a charge,” he added.

When asked what the most frustrating part of the case was, he responds with what happened on August 20, the day he was arrested. “When that comes with a child pornography charge, that’s almost too much to bear. With that (child pornography charge) comes such a weight,” he said. “The loneliness one feels just becoming estranged from ones community you have been a part of, the students you have worked with over the years, and the faculty you suddenly don’t have any contact with. All the rumors that must go out there.…”

During the video interview, he noted his concern that even now, some might have doubts of his innocence. “I knew in the back of my mind so many times–even now after I have been cleared by the judge and the case has been dismissed–there might be some lingering doubt in somebody’s mind.”

When asked if life can return to normal, Oei took a deep breath and answered, “When I spoke before of the weight of a child pornography charge, I don’t know how…I will do the best I can to try. One of the focuses I have tried to have is how do I make myself whole again? And that is very hard.” It was at this point that Ting-Yi Oei broke down. 

Oei’s future with Loudoun County Public Schools remains to be decided. “We’ll talk about that with the school system when the time comes,” Oei answered.

In his first video interview, Defense Attorney Steven David Stone had harsh words for Commonwealth’s Attorney Jim Plowman and renewed hope for the future of his client, Ting-Yi Oei.

Stone provided details of how Oei came to face a felony charge:

“The police department became involved three weeks after the incident. The student who had the cell phone, whose picture it was retrieved from later, got in trouble for something entirely unrelated. The disciplinary sanction–again Mr. Oei being involved, because he’s involved in disciplinary matters in the school–was the child was to be suspended for a period of time.

“His mother was not pleased with that, came in, and met with Mr. Oei and other school officials. The student was still suspended for his actions. The way out the door, so to speak, this mother threatened Mr. Oei. She said she was going to get back at him for suspending her son.”

Stone continued, discussing the case law cited in his Motion to Dismiss. “The case law was rather amazing when we looked at it. The United States Supreme Court, the Supreme Court of Virginia, Court of Appeals in Virginia had all reviewed cases about pictures that were alleged to be child pornography. The cases were clear as to how the statutes were to be interpreted.

“They were very clear. And as Judge Horne found, agreeing with our position, the picture that was placed before him was the exact type of picture that all these courts had ruled were not child pornography. Not a close call.”

He further stated that a prosecutor’s responsibility “…is not to look to advance their political career. Their responsibility is to uphold the oaths of their office. When a crime is committed they are to bring it forward to the public and let it be judged. The real responsibility is to see that justice is done. He works for the government, which means he works for the people. That’s who elects him. So there is lesson number one. Beware of zealous prosecutors. Beware of politicians.”

When he was asked if the Commonwealth’s Attorney was doing what he thought was best for the Loudoun community, Stone had a quick and clear answer. “Absolutely not. How do I know that? I did the exact same research that he should have done. Except he should have done it before he filed the charges.

“Because had he done his homework he would have found these cases and he would have known that the charge was not sustainable. It is absolute irresponsibility on the part of the Commonwealth’s Attorney. Not knowing the law? Not knowing the state of the law? What kind of Commonwealth’s Attorney is that?” 

Plowman had previously gone on the record with the Loudoun Independent after the dismissal, stating, “Legally we knew this could go either way from the beginning, as it was a very close factual case. There still remains the issue of how to address the inappropriate handling of the photograph which at this point will be left to someone else.”