NMSVH Settlement Announced

(the blind school)

“Beginning with the October, 1996, issue of the Braille Monitor, we have periodically reported on the unfolding problems at the New Mexico School for the Visually Handicapped (NMSVH). A settlement in the civil suit brought by a number of current and former NMSVH students was worked out last January shortly before the case was due to go to court. The terms of the settlement were kept secret for six months, but in August they were made public. Here is the text of the Albuquerque Journal article reporting the details that appeared on August 4, 1998:
Blind Suit Cost Released
$1.2 Million Settled Student Abuse Claims
by Rene Romo
Las Cruces—The state and an Alamogordo-based school for the blind paid $1.2 million to settle a civil suit involving the alleged physical and sexual abuse of fifteen former students.
The state Risk Management Division, which insured the New Mexico School for the Visually Handicapped, on Monday released the figure corresponding to its share of the settlement—
$800,000.

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One former female student, the first to go public with criticism of the school, said she was gang-raped at knifepoint by four other students in the school gym in 1976 and then told to remain quiet when the incident was reported to the former school superintendent.
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From another publication (Braille Monitor July 1997):
Pasternak said he has been informed that Watkins "is not in therapy, but he is on medications."
"If Watkins is mentally ill, that explains everything about this case," Pasternak said. "It becomes pertinent to this case."
He did not speculate as to when Watkins, who retired July 1, [1996], might have become
mentally ill.



Mathis ordered that Watkins make himself available for depositions before June 24. Pasternak expects a week or two delay.
Through his protective order, Watkins escaped previously scheduled deposition dates on January 15, February 15, and May 15.”

So, at that stage, more than 15 years after Frank Carr's demise the Blind School finally gets rid of Watkins- New Mexico, grrrrrr

The judges-

Three judges were prominent during the arrest and trials of Frank Carr, many other judges appear previous to his first arrest. We will deal with them later, as there are many.

The Three:

Henry Prelo, Magistrate Judge. Prelo was from Tularosa but served in Alamogordo. Around forty years on the bench, he was well liked, respected by the police. Prelo had no power to do anything legally without a Grand Jury indictment or a signed complaint. Prelo had sent people out of the county to file complaints.

Prelo issued the arrest warrant for Carr after the first Grand Jury issued a “true bill” based on testimony from some victims, one was seven (7) when Carr raped her- her father was involved.

Robert Doughty II, District Judge, ex-lawyer, District Attorney then appointed as judge. Doughty had been District Attorney while many complaints involving Carr floated around. Doughty buried every note and any leads not “lost” were disappeared. As District Judge, Doughty quashed (removed) the Prelo arrest warrant. The Grand Jury and its “bill” were gone. Doughty was one of the “bank-boys.”

George Zimmerman, District Judge. Zimmerman was an ex-lawyer then district Judge, He was a neighbor of Carr's, a “bank-boy” and a member of Carr's church. He presided over the second Grand Jury. Initially he controlled the subpoenas. After many no-shows and failure to deliver returns the Grand Jury told him to give them signed, blank subpoenas or they would complain to the state Supreme Court. He delivered a stack of pre-signed subpoenas. Presiding over the arrest and both Carr hearings he lost much of the respect he had once had in the local community. The first hearing stunned everyone in the packed courtroom- no jail time!

The rest of the Carr Grand Jury/courtroom/arrest warrant story is elsewhere.