On Thursday, Dec. 14, I went to Superior Court to witness the conviction of one of my Woodleaf neighbors, Coy Sheets, who pleaded no contest and received a lengthy probationary sentence for 19 counts of taking indecent liberties with three young boys from the Woodleaf area. At age 68, Coy had no prior criminal record, and claimed to have once been a special agent for the FBI.

For Coy, it must be very difficult to submit to a DNA analysis as a convicted felon, as well as being a registered sex offender for all to see on the SBI Web site. It is my hope that attending court-ordered sex offender treatment will prevent future victims of Coy’s perverse sexual cravings.

When I reflect on the humility Coy Sheets must feel as a convicted child molester, I can’t keep my mind off those three boys.

Ranging from 12 to 15 years old at the time of the betrayal, they trusted what they thought was a sweet old man in their community. Weekends at Coy’s were spent fishing in the pond, hunting, shooting pool and, according to Assistant District Attorney Karen Biernacki, enjoying cigarettes and pornography with which Mr. Sheets plied them in order to satisfy his private pleasures with them.

Thanks to Ms. Biernacki and Detective Linda Porter, Coy Sheets was brought to justice. I hope that when Coy Sheets’ ankle bracelet (for electronic house arrest) is removed in a little over six weeks, he can reflect on the fact that none of those little boys, one of whom is now 18 years old, will be so quickly and conveniently able to remove the emotional albatross of what he did during the innocence of their childhoods.

It is my prayer that those young men find peace in their own lives.

— Jennifer Yount

Salisbury