Editorial

It was only a matter of time, but nonetheless it is more than a little

disheartening to see the beginnings of a lawsuit in the case of Trenton

Veches.

Veches, readers may recall, is the city employee charged with

inappropriately sucking the toes of young boys in the Newport Beach

recreational program that he supervised.

And let us be real clear. If he is found guilty, we hope with all our

heart that he gets swift and severe punishment and will be forever banned

from working with children or teens.

But we must remind all that Veches is charged with a crime and it is

in the criminal courts where this case, which shocked many Newport Beach

residents and officials, will and should be decided.

Still, already there is a legal claim filed against the city by one

father of a boy, whom Veches is alleged to have touched inappropriately.

The claim, in the amount of $2.5 million, alleges that the city did

not do enough to protect his child from Veches. That city officials

should have done a more thorough background check. Of course the end game

of such claims is to be able to file a lawsuit.

Let’s review a couple matters here.

First, to file a claim so early seems incredibly premature. Veches has

not even been convicted of a crime yet. There is no court testimony or

evidence for the public to review. It’s still all part of a criminal

investigation. He still must be considered innocent.

Second, if he is convicted, we trust the courts will mete out justice

correctly and Veches will be made to pay the price for his crimes. The

criminal courts, as we said, is the appropriate venue.

Third, in our view, the city is just as much of a victim as those boys

whom Veches touched.

The city performed a standard background check on Veches and his past

history in the city of Tuscon came back with nothing unusual or

suspicious. He had good references and no prior convictions of any kind.

City officials hired Veches in good faith and had no reason not to

trust him. The city’s good name was also tainted the day the news broke

that Veches was arrested.

But the father and the family’s hired attorney believe city officials

should have been suspicious of Veches’ personal e-mail address.

It certainly seems an unreasonable expectation for the city to spend

its resources investigating personal aspects of its employees like e-mail

addresses.

If Trenton Veches is guilty of all that he is charged with, it is an

unfortunate case of criminal activity on the part of one man entrusted by

the public.

But if that’s the case, let’s not forget who’s at fault. It is not the

city, it is the perpetrator of the crimes, who again, is being dealt with

appropriately.

Unfortunately, though, attorneys, eager to drain the deep pockets of

the taxpayers, are always willing to find other scapegoats.

We’ve seen it happen many times before and the result has been

devastating -- losses of traditions because of liability fears and worst

of all the loss of the public’s sympathy for the victims.

It’s an epidemic that seems to have no cure.