I have my own beliefs regarding the guilt of Bob Brozman as a child molester. They are changing as more information comes to light but I won't go into them here. Divorcing the whole guilt or innocence question, what I am concerned with is the way that in this digital age a person can be tried in the court of public opinion with very little evidence or evidence that would not be admissable in a courtroom. In just a few days time I read the forums and witnessed a master become a monster. I'm not excusing child molesting, which I believe to be one of the most heinous of crimes, but given the hysterical outbursts of hate and vitriol (from all sides) on several of the forums I do have to wonder whether we are getting so worked up by this emotional topic that our judgement has become clouded.

The sad fact of the matter is we may never know for certain whether Bob Brozman was a child molester. If he was indeed about to be criminally prosecuted for the crimes the government will almost certainly not proceed with a costly trial on a dead person. Whatever evidence they may or may not have will never see the light of day. Since civil cases are a matter of public record, we do know that at the time of his death there were no civil cases against him pending within Santa Cruz county (check the Superior Court, Santa Cruz website for verification) but I would not be surprised if several were filed against the estate. Hopefully someday an investigating reporter will use the freedom of information act to find out more and we can make more informed decisions but until then all we are left with is ambiguity.

I do know this. The internet is a very cheap and easy place to make accusations against people and foverer after have them be seen in a different light. These are very serious allegations and should not be decided by reading a few forum posts. If after my death someone was to accuse me of being a child molester I would hope that people would do as much research as possible into the matter before jumping to a conclusion. Some people here claim to have done that and have reached a conclusion of either guilt or innocence. If they are satisfied with their own inquiries, good on them. If and when the full truth is known some will be right, some will be wrong. Let everyone be convinced in their own mind.

I also know that all this bickering serves no purpose but to bring additional pain to family members and any others who may be affected in this case. For those people I pray for healing and peace during this most trying time. It has been difficult enough for his fans and former fans to make sense out of all this. It must be hell for them. Guilty or innocent, Bob Brozman is dead but our actions and comments affect the living who are left behind.