News 12 First at Five; November 20th, 2008

AIKEN, S.C. --- A former Aiken County councilman no longer faces sex charges. Russ Ferrara was charged with many crimes, including lewd acts on a 13-year-old girl.

Two women, one of them the 13-year-old and another, 23 years old, say Russ Ferrara had inappropriate relationships with them. But those charges were dropped, and a big reason was their credibility.

Ferrara was accused of touching a 13-year-old girl inappropriately and soliciting a 23-year-old woman at a location at an apartment complex on Banks Mill Road in Aiken, among other charges. Now, Ferrara is a free man.

Solicitor Barbara Morgan says finding a new witness stalled the case involving the minor. "His address is unknown, his phone is disconnected, he has not responded to our last letter and even our computer search did not find him," says Morgan. She adds the case could have gone forward without that witness, but convincing a jury in a he-said, she-said story would be a challenge.

That's not all that was a challenge. So too was the credibility of the minor and of the 23-year-old. "Clearly, there was probable cause to arrest him. The difficulty becomes successful prosecution," says Morgan, in reference to the case involving the 23-year-old.

In court papers obtained by News 12, it's that credibility Ferrara's attorney argued long before now. Now, the man, the former politician, the husband and father of two, who faced charge after charge, is free.

Solicitor Morgan also tells News 12 there was another problem, in which parties involved in this case could not get needed information from the SC Department of Social Services quickly. In fact, it took about a year to get that information.

Several County Council members who served with Ferrara say he was a professional man and decent to work with. One Council member did say that these serious allegations should have been addressed in a more timely manner. He says that is something that concerns him.

News 12 did try to talk with Ferrara today. We went to his last known address in Aiken, but neighbors say he has since moved with his family. We also tried to contact him by cell phone, but that was unsuccessful. In addition, we tried to talk to Ferrara's mother, by visiting her at her last known address in Aiken and by the last phone number of hers.

News 12 also tried to talk to one of his attorneys, but that phone call was not returned.