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Hi - I’m Phil. I am an experienced lawyer licensed to practice law in Delaware. I have prosecuted hundreds of criminal cases and want to help people find justice against the abuse they have suffered. My team and I are here to help.
Were you or a loved one sexually abused by Joshua Rutherford, a former teacher and track coach at Smyrna High School in Delaware? Our experienced sexual abuse attorneys are here to help.
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A Smyrna High School teacher has pleaded guilty to sexual misconduct charges. Joshua Rutherford, 39, was convicted in 2018 on one count of attempted inducement of a minor. The Delaware teacher was ensnared by an undercover operation in which a member of the Delaware Child Predator Task Force posed as the father of a 14-year-old girl.
Were you or a loved one sexually abused by Joshua Rutherford? Our dedicated personal injury attorneys are here to help. Under Delaware's strong tradition of civil law, you have powerful legal options. Your family may be eligible to file a private civil lawsuit.
Thankfully, Joshua Rutherford has been held accountable by the criminal justice system. In June 2018, the former Smyrna High School teacher was sentenced to 12 years in jail for soliciting child pornography and meeting a minor with the intent to commit sexual offenses. Civil action may also be possible. We believe that full justice has yet to be done.
Your family deserves justice. If you or a loved one were sexually abused by Joshua Rutherford, our attorneys can walk you through the legal process with confidence. In a private civil lawsuit, your family can pursue valuable financial compensation to support you and your family's recovery. This is your right as a resident of Delaware.
According to federal prosecutors, Joshua Rutherford attempted to solicit a minor for sexual intercourse in 2016. In February of that year, Rutherford answered an online ad for "family love, all taboos, no limits" under the handle DoverGuy777 and began chatting with an undercover police officer, believing the man was the father of a 14-year-old girl.
During his conversations with the police officer, Rutherford admitted that he had sexual intercourse with underage girls on previous occasions, also admitting to having received a picture of the buttocks of a 16-year-old girl. He also asked the man to send him nude pictures of his daughter, but told the man that, because the girl was underage, he should send photos that do not include her head. After several weeks, Rutherford made a date to meet the father and daughter at a park in Dover on March 11, 2016.
Rutherford attended the meeting expecting to have sex with the girl, having purchased condoms for the occasion. But instead, he was met by a team from the Delaware Child Predator Task Force and taken into custody. He was charged with one count of sexual solicitation of a child under 18 and one count of attempted dealing in child pornography, facing a minimum of 10 years in prison. He quickly admitted to the allegations against him.
Continue reading: Smyrna Middle School Teacher Karen L. Brooks Convicted Of Sexual Abuse
Rutherford pleaded guilty to one count of attempted inducement of a minor in March 2018. In exchange for his plea, charges of attempted inducement of a minor and child pornography were dropped. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison in June 2018.
At Smyrna High School, Joshua Rutherford served as a special education teacher. He also coached shot put and discus for the school's track team and served as an assistant football coach. He graduated from Newark High School and attended Ursinus College, before receiving a graduate degree in sports management at Wesley College.
