Daycare provider's widower sentenced for sexual battery
By Anne Marie Kyzer Staff Writer

A retired tractor mechanic was sentenced Monday for fondling two young girls his late wife provided childcare for in their home.

Rufus Julian Eskew, 69, of Waynesboro, was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of sexual battery. Superior Court Judge Duncan Wheale handed him the maximum allowable sentence for each count.

Eskew was accused of touching the breasts of young girls and was originally charged with child molestation, according to Assistant District Attorney Hank Syms.

The charges were reduced as part of a plea agreement.

After reports from a local family that their 8-year-old daughter had been molested several times while staying at the Eskew residence, the Georgia Bureau of In- vestigation found three grown women who said they had also been abused by Eskew when they were younger. Then, the parents of another young girl, 10 years old at the time, came forward with similar claims. Eskew's late wife provided childcare in her home for some 30 years.

"Rarely do we see a case where so many victims say the exact same thing happened to them," Syms said.

The youngest victim's father gave an emotional statement at the sentencing, describing how several of Eskew's supporters had persecuted him and his family for coming forward. Vicious messages were left on their answering machine, and one man stood on their front porch yelling at them. He said his wife was even chastised by someone at church.

"People tried to make us out to be the criminals for doing the right thing," the victim's father said. "I'm sorry the Eskew family had to go through this, but (my daughter) has to live with this the rest of her life."

Eskew's attorney Scott Connell, who called Eskew a "model of stability and extremely respected," maintained that Eskew meant no harm when he touched the girls and said the girls must be mistaken as to his motives.

"It's been difficult for him," Connell said. "In his mind, he did not have any intent to harm anyone."

At that point, one of the grown victims, a relative of Eskew's, opted to make a statement, saying he had molested her when she was 11 years old and she was certain of his intent.

More than 25 friends and family members attended the sentencing in support of Eskew, and a handful told the judge they could not imagine him capable of such crimes.

However, when one supporter conceded that Eskew may have made a mistake, Judge Wheale stopped him short.

"No," he said. "Running a red light is a mistake." He added that actions like those taken by Eskew ruined children's lives.

Judge Wheale also warned Eskew's supporters who might be inclined to further harass the victims' families.

"Shame on anyone who blames the (victims' family)," he told them sharply. "Eskew is the one who brought this on himself."