guess you never really know a person

Yesterday, while at work, I learned a bit of news about a former co-worker that completely shocked me. He was arrested over the holiday weekend and charged with a crime that even now I can scarcely believe. It made the local news and will continue to draw interest and publicity due to the nature of the case.

He and I always got along well. He started a few weeks after I did, so we basically trained together. We ate lunch together regularly, kept up on each other's lives, and I occasionally did social things with him and his wife. He changed jobs a few years ago, but we still would meet every once in awhile for lunch and share office gossip (we still worked for the same employer, just in different departments). I last saw him in September and life seemed to be going well for him.

Never in a million years would I ever have imagined him getting caught up in something like this. From what is being said, it sounds like there is very strong evidence against him and the other people involved. If the allegations turn out to be true, he has just ruined his life. I feel so badly for his wife. She must be in a living hell right now.

You know, I always believed the "innocent until proven guilty" ideal was to protect the rights of the accused. This week, I could believe it also serves as a buffer for the family and friends of the accused, to give them time to get used to the idea that the accused might not be who they thought he or she was.