Man attempts suicide on eve of sexual misconduct trial
By Glenn Smith
WALTERBORO — A teacher accused of having sex with a 15-year-old student tried to kill himself on the eve of his trial this week after mailing a suicide note full of apologies and allegations, authorities said.
Tracy Lee Judy, 36, was transported to Colleton Regional Medical Center Monday night after taking an overdose of painkillers, authorities said. His condition today was listed as stable.
Colleton County Sheriff
Tracy Judy
The Forest Circle Middle School teacher was scheduled to go to trial Tuesday on April 2008 charges of criminal solicitation of a minor and two counts of criminal sexual conduct with a minor. His trial was postponed due his hospitalization, said Heather Strickland of the 14th Circuit Solicitor's Office.
Before overdosing Monday, Judy mailed a four-page letter to The Post and Courier, the FBI, the State Law Enforcement Division and others apologizing for his actions and accusing investigators and prosecutors of violating his civil rights.
"The reason I am writing this letter is twofold. I would like to make amends for my life as much as possible and I would like to bring some misdeeds by others from darkness to light," he stated. "If you are reading this letter, then I am dead. My name is Tracy Lee Judy and I committed suicide last night."
Judy went on to apologize to his family for "the pain and suffering that I have caused them." He said he had not been "the father that I should have been" to his three children and told his parents "I fell from the highest point in my life to the lowest because of reasons that I believe were out of my control."
Judy also vented frustration with detectives from the Colleton County Sheriff's Office and prosecutors working the case. He accused the lead detective of sending the girl, whom he referred to as "the victim," to his home four times as "bait" to entice him after the girl's father made allegations against him. He stated the detective also ignored his requests for a lawyer during questioning.
Judy also accused prosecutors of trying to intimidate him and his family by giving his daughter a subpoena at school and using the victim to try to coerce him into pleading guilty rather than fighting the charges at trial.
Sheriff's officials could not immediately be reached for comment this afternoon. Strickland said only that prosecutors "cannot legally or ethically" comment on the allegations because the case remains under investigation.
Check back with postandcourier.com for more on this developing story.
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Comments
CNN_10 (anonymous) says...
Well he wanted to go. But he failed.
May 13, 2009 at 5:09 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
coolfreaknbeans (anonymous) says...
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
May 13, 2009 at 3:19 p.m. ( permalink | )
coolfreaknbeans (anonymous) says...
How/why on Earth was my comment removed? I'm serious. I don't understand.
May 13, 2009 at 5:55 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ccfirefighterchick (anonymous) says...
Wow! 4 removed comments. Too bad I missed them. Must have been good.
May 13, 2009 at 6:11 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
gococks1985 (anonymous) says...
harold...Jesus had long hair and prayed. Did not know that you had to have short hair to do this..
May 13, 2009 at 6:18 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
SeaSaw (anonymous) says...
Darn, I ran to the Post Office and missed reading whatever got deleted. If I wanted to kill myself, I would take the pills and just go to bed. Either he backed out or left clues around the house so someone would know.
May 13, 2009 at 6:26 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
abitskeptical (anonymous) says...
CFB I read your comment & I'm not sure why it was deleted either.
AmericanZero..While I appreciate the concepts of forgiveness, turning the other cheek & the evils of unjust & petty criticism of others, you seemed to have missed the boat on this one...at least as far as the quotes used in your post.
We are NOT advised to mindlessly have no discernment about wright & wrong. Granted we cannot judge another's heart, but I do believe we not only are allowed to determine right from wrong actions, we indeed have a duty & responsibility to address the wrong actions, especially when our innocent little or young ones are in jeopardy.
So on that note here's a quote for you to ponder:
It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. [Luke 17:2]
Also, while I agree that the man engaged in pathological (sick) behavior, it is a bit presumptuous to assume he is merely sick. He might be just plain evil. For an interesting read on this topic read Scott Peck's book People of the Lie. If you are not familiar with this man..he was a physician trained in pediatrics as well as psychiatry & was a man of deep faith.
May 13, 2009 at 8:03 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
JustJennings (anonymous) says...
Whether he is guilty or not (probably is), the description of improper police tactics is probably true. There can be no excuse for failing to have a lawyer present if requested during questioning. Such cops should be fired, but they won't be. For some reason, it is okay for the police to violate the law.
May 13, 2009 at 8:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
oslo59 (anonymous) says...
Hey everyone, lighten up!! It's not like he started a war based on lies and deception and then everyone just stands around and waves minature American flags and places jingoistic magnetic bumper stickers on the back of their cars, like THAT makes it all better! Just clear a path to the slaughter house and let you Bible-zombies go first!
May 13, 2009 at 8:43 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
abitskeptical (anonymous) says...
JustJen-I agree there never is an excuse for LEO to violate the law, especially when due process is at stake. But, they do it all the time with impunity.
oslo-if the 15 yr old was your daughter..would you want anyone to "lighten up"?
Why on earth are you attempting to drag politics into this? Sounds like you have a corn cob somewhere it shouldn't be.
Are you trying to minimize what happened(is alleged to have happened) in this case because you have strong negative opinions about the Iraq war?
Sure.. well...of course that makes loads & loads of sense...very rational of you.
May 13, 2009 at 10:15 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Tracy_Judy_Supporter (anonymous) says...
ya'll need to leave this man alone. he didnt do a damn thing. how the hell would ya'll feel if your entire life was posted in a news paper? pretty damn bad huh? how do you think his falimy feels?
May 20, 2009 at 6:59 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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