WALTERBORO — A teacher accused of having sex with a 15-year-old student tried to kill himself on the eve of his trial this week after mailing a suicide note full of apologies and allegations, authorities said.
Tracy Lee Judy, 36, was transported to Colleton Regional Medical Center Monday night after taking an overdose of painkillers, authorities said. His condition today was listed as stable.
The Forest Circle Middle School teacher was scheduled to go to trial Tuesday on April 2008 charges of criminal solicitation of a minor and two counts of criminal sexual conduct with a minor. His trial was postponed due his hospitalization, said Heather Strickland of the 14th Circuit Solicitor's Office.
Before overdosing Monday, Judy mailed a four-page letter to The Post and Courier, the FBI, the State Law Enforcement Division and others apologizing for his actions and accusing investigators and prosecutors of violating his civil rights.
"The reason I am writing this letter is twofold. I would like to make amends for my life as much as possible and I would like to bring some misdeeds by others from darkness to light," he stated. "If you are reading this letter, then I am dead. My name is Tracy Lee Judy and I committed suicide last night."
Judy went on to apologize to his family for "the pain and suffering that I have caused them." He said he had not been "the father that I should have been" to his three children and told his parents "
I fell from the highest point in my life to the lowest because of reasons that I believe were out of my control." (
yeah , you had no control at all, dumbass)
Judy also vented frustration with detectives from the Colleton County Sheriff's Office and prosecutors working the case. He accused the lead detective of sending the girl, whom he referred to as "the victim," to his home four times as "bait" to entice him after the girl's father made allegations against him. He stated the detective also ignored his requests for a lawyer during questioning.
Judy also accused prosecutors of trying to intimidate him and his family by giving his daughter a subpoena at school and using the victim to try to coerce him into pleading guilty rather than fighting the charges at trial.
Sheriff's officials could not immediately be reached for comment this afternoon. Strickland said only that prosecutors "cannot legally or ethically" comment on the allegations because the case remains under investigation.
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