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38 Years Later:
Councilman Responds To Sexual Battery Accusation
Note: The Sentinel does not routinely iden- tify individuals who al- lege sexual battery. However, the woman in this case is being identi- fied because she identi- fied herself in a public City Council meeting.
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Last Thursday morning, during the public comment section of City Council, a woman accused Council- man Frank Reddick of sexually battering her. She stated the incident had taken place 38 years ago when she was 11-years-old. At the time of the alleged crime, Red- dick was 25 and an em- ployee at Wilson Junior High School.
“I feel this is the only way I can get acknowledgement needed to freely move on with my life,” Mrs. Tasha McCray told City Council.
Mrs. McCray stated that she had suppressed the incident. “I had a mental block of it and could not un- derstand why my relation- ship with men has always been horrible,” she stated.
She further said that she observed Reddick on televi- sion and remembered him as the man who sexually bat- tered her in 1981 or 1982, when she was 11-years-old.
Council rules do not allow the public from naming spe- cific members during public comment, so Mrs. McCray did not mention Frank Reddick by name. However, she said she had filed a re- port with the Tampa Police Department against the cur-
FRANK REDDICK Chairman, City Council
rent Chairman of the City Council.
Attorney Daniel J. Fernandez, who is repre- senting Councilman Red- dick responded to the accusation with the following statements: “Councilman Reddick is 63 years of age. He has been an outstanding public servant, serving on City Council since 2011 and as CEO of the Sickle Cell As- sociation of Florida for the last 20 years. In 2016, the complainant identified as Tasha McCray sent a letter to Mr. Reddick. In the let- ter, Mrs. McCray accused Mr. Reddick of sexually abusing her 38 years ago.
“Mrs. McCray stated that she remembered the as- sault only after seeing a ther- apist. She then saw Mr. Reddick on TV and remem- bered him as the person she believed assaulted her. She blamed her four failed mar- riages and delayed mental development on the event.
“Mr. Reddick did not know Mrs. McCray and so did not respond. Two years later, November 2018, Mrs. McCray sent Mr. Reddick a text message threatening to
MRS. TASHA McCRAY ... Shown at City Council meeting where she accused Frank Reddick of sexual battery
expose him during an open mic session at City Council if he refused to meet with her personally. She wanted a meeting to discuss a way to achieve “Permanent Clo- sure.”
“Mr. Reddick, believing this to be an extortion at- tempt reported the threat to the Tampa Police Depart- ment. TPD investigated and closed the file without charges.
“There are always two vic- tims in these kinds of scenar- ios. The complainant who, in her mind no doubt believes she was assaulted 38 years ago. And the wrongfully ac- cused, in this case Mr. Red- dick.
“In these types of cases recent history demonstrates that in the court of public opinion there is no presump- tion of innocence and there is no requirement that accusa- tions be proven beyond a rea- sonable doubt. There is a willingness by many to be- lieve these types of accusa- tions, despite the lack of credible evidence.
“For the wrongfully ac- cused many times damage to reputation is irreversible. Anyone who knows Mr. Reddick personally or pro- fessionally would know him as a man of great integrity who has served this commu- nity for over 40 years,” At- torney Fernandez concluded.
29 Years Later:
Kitchen Assistant Continues To Give To Children
Delwyn Collins has been giving back for the past 29 years. (Photo courtesy of Tampa General Hospital).
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
On Thursday, representa- tives for the Foster Angels program will pick up gifts for children living in foster care. They will receive more than 500 gifts from Tampa Gen- eral Hospital.
The gifts are the result of the generosity of Tampa Gen- eral and USF Health staff, volunteers and even patients and their families. The hospi- tal has been the largest con- tributor since the program began in 1989.
One individual who has been involved in the program since its inception is Delwyn Collins, a Kitchen Assistant at the hospital. Each year, Collins selects dozens of names of children and teenagers from the tree and purchases three gifts for each person.
And this year is no differ- ent. Collins said, “I do all I can every year. I shop all year long.”
Collins, who is legally blind, rides a bicycle to work. He saves his money all year, sometimes working two jobs, to support his goal of provid- ing presents for children in foster care.
In August 2016, Collins suffered a major heart attack. But he has never missed a year of providing gifts for the
children.
He overcame learning dis-
abilities as the child of a sin- gle mother. And, he obtained employment at the hospital as a (dish washer) Kitchen Assistant the same year the Foster Angel Program launched. That same year, he began using his own money to purchase gifts for the chil- dren in foster care.
Collins has been featured in a book written by Ms. Deanna Lawrence, retired reporter, anchor, and pro- ducer for FOX 13 News. The book is entitled, “Some- times ... A Storyteller’s Journal.”
In October, Collins was chosen as the first Lightning Community Hero of the 2016-2017 season. Collins selected the Foster Angels of Hillsborough County as the recipient of the $50,000 do- nation.
The names, ages, and other information are placed on a Christmas Tree at the hospital. Employees or visi- tors can select a name and place their gifts under the tree. Each year, the list of An- gels has grown and the people who select their names have grown.
Collins couldn’t be hap- pier about that, but he contin- ues to do his part to make Christmas special for the chil- dren.
PAGE 2 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2018