Libel Suit Calls On Ex-Gubernatorial Candidate To List Sexual Partners

Republican Ray McBerry, a two-time failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate, saw his pending libel suit against a campaign adversary complicated this week when he was asked to provide a list of partners with whom he has partaken in "physically intimate, romantic, or sexual relationship[s]."

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports:

"In November, four months after he was culled from the Republican [primary] race for governor, Ray McBerry filed a libel suit against a Henry County woman for referring to him, on a Facebook page, as a "child molester" during the campaign."

Now the woman's attorney is asking for a trove of personal information about McBerry's sexual history.

The AJC outlines several of the attorney's specific requests.

"Identify all persons with whom you have had physically intimate, romantic, or sexual relationship," the document demands, specifying that they want details from the period between 2002 and the present. "Identify all instances in which you have been accused of any kind of sexual misconduct. For each such instance, identify the person(s) who accused you, the date of the misconduct, and the nature of the misconduct."

Linda Pittman, the defendant, posted the molestation accusation on Facebook during McBerry's 2010 campaign, having already alleged in 2003 that the political hopeful had engaged in an improper relationship with her 16-year-old daughter while he was employed as a high school teacher.

In the aftermath of those claims, McBerry admitted giving the underage girl a personal cell phone that allowed her to communicate with him without parental tracking -- he ultimately stepped down from his position at the school. The state's licensing board later sanctioned him for his behavior during the investigation.

Operators of Georgia blog SWGA Politics were also targeted in McBerry's libel suit for their coverage of the story.

Comments

[Jaxy]

08:29 AM on 01/05/2011

Ah, the perils of the Discovery process ... it'll be interesting to see how this wily Plaintiff handles those Interrogatories.

[Supersteel]

08:28 AM on 01/05/2011

"Georgia has sent mixed messages when it comes to sexual ties between teachers and students. HB 571, a bill approved by the General Assembly on Tuesday, forbids relationships between students and teachers in the same schools.
But not, as Rachel Gandee says happened with McBerry, teachers and students from different schools. The measure also creates an exception for teachers and students who marry."

[Supersteel]

08:27 AM on 01/05/2011

BTW, for accuracy sake, he wasn't her teacher nor a teacher at her school.
 
She was 16
 
He was a teacher at a different school
 
But the article may give the false impression he was her teacher
 
What he was was her youth pastor.
 
 She claims they had sex when she was 16. (initially he said they didn't)/
 
He claims it never got physical. Though he did lie about meeting her. and admits he gave her the phone
 
More details here
 
http://blogs.ajc.com/political-insider-jim-galloway/2010/04/29/parents-church-and-judge-told-future-gop-candidate-for-governor-leave-the-girl-alone/

Some more details:
 
On Jan. 17, 2003, the mother brought McBerry before Henry County Magistrate Wesley J. Shannon, on charges of interference with custody, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
McBerry had an attorney. The Pittmans didn’t. Examining his files this week, Shannon said the parents didn’t present enough evidence for an arrest warrant. But they raised enough suspicions, the judge said, that he signed an order requiring McBerry to stay away from their daughter for six months.
“If I was to take an educated guess as to what I was doing at the time,” the judge said, “I was putting the ball in his court — saying, ‘Do you want to go to jail? Leave the girl alone.’ ”
No one showed up at a July 17, 2003, follow-up hearing. Without the Pittmans to press any accusations, the judge had no choice but to dismiss the charges.

[boyoboy]

12:30 AM on 01/05/2011

At the very least, one can hope McBerry is bankrupted.

[NWGeorgiaBoy]

09:54 PM on 01/04/2011

Y'all may want to check the entire story both here: http://swgapolitics.com/index/2010/05/06/mcberry-saga-story-timelin/

and here

http://gaconservativevoter.wordpress.com/2010/07/20/the-real-mcberry-predator-bully-and-secessionis/

http://gaconservativevoter.wordpress.com/2010/07/20/part-1-mcberry-the-preying-candidate/

http://gaconservativevoter.wordpress.com/2011/01/03/im-going-to-sue-you-ray-mcberry-do-not-hurt-his-feelings-or-challenge-him-otherwise-he-make-idle-threats-of-lawsuits/

Also note that Thomas Raymond McBerry Jr's (Ray McBerry) father is Thomas Raymond McBerry Sr (Tom McBerry), who is the Chief Assistant District Attorney in Henry County, Ga - where all of this has happened. http://www.co.henry.ga.us/DistrictAttorney/Staff.shtml

[barknasty]

08:47 PM on 01/04/2011

This guy either didn't tell his libel lawyer the whole truth about his past OR he has one dumb libel lawyer!

[pantherburns]

07:33 PM on 01/04/2011

Just more republican family values.

[blueman00009]

07:24 PM on 01/04/2011

This is the glaring problem with bringing a libel suit. File one at your peril. Everything is fair game and discoverable because the suit is based on the claim that your reputation was harmed by the libel. Therefore, you get to delve into what the person's reputation was who filed the suit.

Too funny. Poor republic has to go into his sex history. Way too funny.

[JesusGlock9OilBaron]

07:10 PM on 01/04/2011

Will he have to list all the 4th graders at Robert E. Lee elementary school? That would be the "family values" thing to do.

[gypsysailor]

05:23 PM on 01/04/2011

Another God-fearing conservative republican.

[MohammedAbbasi]

05:14 PM on 01/04/2011

I have a better idea with Americans pre-occupation with sex, why not have everyone wear either a chastity belt (in case of women) and or a device around their thingy (in case of men) and link it up on the internet so the world knows... and you can keep a record about these things? naturally should one have the urge to have sex then they should email their pastor (who will naturally have the unlocck code) and hey bingo!

[roshni]

06:49 PM on 01/04/2011

Actually you are not that far off. This guy hit on the girl under the guise of religious concern.

[traceymarie]

10:10 PM on 01/04/2011

Teacher/student...not preoccupation just identifing a pediphile.

[Rahm11219]

03:16 PM on 01/04/2011

"Linda Pittman, the defendant, posted the molestation accusation on Facebook "


Um really?

[juzcuz]

01:32 PM on 01/04/2011

Identify all persons with whom you have had physically intimate, romantic, or sexual relationship, between 2002 and 2011. Nine years of his 'junk' could take pages and pages... and that's a whole lot of syphillis roaming around this planet. Ugh.

[SitandStay]

12:22 PM on 01/04/2011

Doesn't this woman know the proper chain of evidence starts with Larry Flynt? Oh, never mind, he's the one for elected officials in office.

[Puzzlr]

12:09 PM on 01/04/2011

People who live in glass houses....