Letters to the Editor

Editor, Your coverage of the sentencing hearing of Frank Marino on eight counts of indecent liberties with a minor was remarkably free of balance. Yes, Frank Marino was a “popular” teacher who earned a great deal of respect from students and parents alike during his years in our schools and for his crimes against a student in his care his life is a shambles. May he have the strength to regain his footing and place in the community after he serves his time in prison. That he has many friends and supporters who will be there to help him through his personal ordeal is admirable.

What about the victim? That the victim was a student at George Mason High School in the care of Mr. Marino could not have been learned from your reporting - which focused more on the severity of the punishment than the horror of the crime. Your reporting included two letters of support for Marino - one expressing outrage for the treatment by the judge of Marino's supporters and another by his attorney - seemed designed to engender further sympathy for the guilty party with scant mention of the plight of the victim.

Where is the outrage that this crime involved a trusted teacher and a student? Is the fact that the student involved is no longer a student, or that the family does not live in the City a factor in our community’s apparent lack of interest? Is this the first time this has happened or is it the last? Perhaps others want to know as well.

The City of Falls Church is justifiably proud of its schools but one wonders what is being taught and learned when the only publication in town shifts the focus away from the crime committed to the plight of the criminal. If our students are reading your coverage, we wonder if they will be emboldened to report similar incidents or fearful that the perpetrator might be placed on a pedestal. As editor, you have a right to your opinions and they ought to be labeled as such on the editorial page, not embedded in your news stories.

Louise Hilsen and Donald Foley Falls Church