Today was like any other. I woke up somewhat early (after sleeping way too much yesterday and last nite), had some toast and got ready for work. I minded my own business.

Then, via my friend Cali on Facebook, I learned of this:

Suspected child abuser Bradley Harlan Boda was arrested at his parents’ home Wednesday on felony and misdemeanor charges relating to sex assault on a child. [More…]

It took my brain a few minutes to register, and then I saw a post on Twitter from the local paper that spelled it out a little more clearly:

Rocky Mountain High School counselor arrested on charges of multiple child sex assaults

I was a student at Rocky Mountain High School from 1998-2001 and a staff member afterward through 2002. I worked alongside Mr. Boda (I still call him that) and was a student of his during my time there. Once it sunk in, I re-posted the link from The Coloradoan on my Twitter account, noting that I had worked with him.

Soon thereafter, my phone beeped with a Twitter reply from a staff reporter for The Coloradoan asking me if I’d like to be interviewed about Brad’s arrest. I deliberated about it for some time before coming to the conclusion that yes, I’d like to go on the record. Brad was always good to me, both as a counselor and as a colleague. I thought the reporter might try to go the sensationalist route, trying to get me to say something bad about him. I couldn’t, though — it’s nearly impossible to do that when you have nothing bad to say about someone.

When this sort of thing hits close to home, it’s easy to jump on the bandwagon or kick someone when they’re down. I had no interest in doing that, and if other people willing to be interviewed were, I was happy to be the lone voice that didn’t take that road. Since I didn’t take the opportunity to bash on him, I didn’t think they were going to use my statement.

But sure enough, there it was.

I have no idea if Brad did what they say he did. That’s not for me to decide. I can only speak to the person that I knew, and I feel good in doing that. He will get the support he needs, and things will work themselves out. They always do, after all.

I’ve had enough of the news for one day. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to return to my quiet life now.

UPDATE 9/24: A new in-depth article has been published by The Coloradoan today, re-using the quote from yesterday.