Thursday, January 29, 2009
News Ed Kramer finally to stand trial?
Posted by Scott Henry @ScottTheHenry on Thu, Jan 29, 2009 at 11:21 PM
Tomorrow, it will be seven full years since my cover story about the then-impending trial of Dragon*Con founder Ed Kramer on charges of child molestation. At the time, it had been more than a year since Kramer's August 2000 arrest. He'd already gone to jail, been granted house arrest, had his house arrest revoked, suffered a spine injury during a jailhouse riot and been placed once again under house arrest do he could receive treatment for a laundry list of medical conditions.
For most of the seven intervening years, Kramer has remained confined to his Gwinnett County home with an ankle bracelet. This past May, according to the AJC, a judge ruled that he could be allowed off electronic monitoring, so long as he check in with the DA's office every day. That would explain why I saw him this past September at a Libertarian fundraiser in Sandy Springs, dressed head-to-toe in black and wheeling about on an electric scooter.
Why has it taken so long to get Kramer inside a court room? Well, many of the delays have been the result of actions taken by his own musical-chairs legal team. The first postponement came in 2002 when his first attorney, high-priced litigator Walt Britt of Buford, succeeded in getting Gwinnett's entire jury pool thrown out on procedural grounds.
In 2003, the DA's office put the case on hold in order to file more charges. Kramer had initially been accused of molesting two brothers, age 13 and 15, during sleep-overs at his house; at the time, he was dating their mother. But a third boy came forward and alleged that he'd been molested by Kramer over a period of several years.
Prosecutors say Kramer has used a variety of stalling tactics – claiming he needed medical treatments, requesting extra time so new attorneys could get up to speed – in order to evade the 60-year prison sentence he faces if convicted. And a little more than a year ago, the Georgia Court of Appeals agreed that most of the delays could be blamed on Kramer.
Kramer's new trial date appears to be May 11. I don't plan to hold my breath, but it does seem that the courts and prosecutors are ready to finally see this one through. It's about time.
(Photo: Joeff Davis)
Comments (6)
Showing 1-6 of 6
Kramers partner Richard Hatch who he has several corporations with are claiming losses due to kramer being an owner of dragoncon and claim they have been cheated out of revenue.
Richard hatch has attended the con collecting statements from con fans and has been putting celebs on camera talking about the con claiming its a realityshow.
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Is this man guilty or not allowed to be around kids? He is claiming to be a photographer here in Barrow county !! He tried to get a friend of mine's son to go home with him to take pics. !!! The boy's mother read this about Ed Kramer & denied her son from going. Should we call the police?
I doubt if Tracy is your real name as you are posting an outright Lie. This is called slander and is one of the worse cases I've seen. Mr Kramer has not been able to leave his home for years. I can't imaging the reason you posted this but I hope that his attorney gets a court order to trace your IP address and sue you. Possibly criminally. He has a year from the day you posted to sue you and 4 years to seek criminal remedies. I will forward the link to your post to Mr Barr to see what he think.
Tracy Mr Kramer has not been able to leave his home for years because of his health. When he does he is hooked up to an oxygen machine. I hope his attorney gets a court order to trace your IP address so the can see you in court for making this stuff up. I do not know if he's guilty or not but making things like this up and posting on a public forum is wrong and hurtful. I am emailing his attorney the link to your post right now.
Hmmm, "Washington", I guess Ed's put the lie to your own claims: http://www.ajc.com/news/gwinnett/dragoncon…
No oxygen machine, no scooter, no nothing. Except Ed in another motel room with another boy.
Thank you, GrayGeek, for pointing today's news out and setting straight 'Washingtonorbust's false ignorant claims. This predator abused my nephews. This monster has been allowed to travel (i.e. hunt his prey) since 2008. Maybe the long-frozen wheels of justice will finally begin to turn.
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