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Thursday, October 01, 1998 Page: 4A
Whittaker enters offender program
District Justice Donald Whittaker on Wednesday entered a program for
first-time offenders in Cleveland Municipal Court, after previously opting to
fight a public indecency chargeWhittaker, 39, of Roberts Street, Sheatown,
Newport Township, was arrested on Aug. 15 by Cleveland police who said they
observed a woman performing oral sex on him in a car in a hotel parking lot.
If Whittaker successfully completes the Selective Intervention Program, the
charge will be expunged from his record, said prosecutor Reuben Shepherd.
The Selective Intervention Program for first-time, non-violent offenders,
is similar to Luzerne County’s Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program.
Shepherd said Whittaker will have three months to complete the program and
he must pay $100 to participate in it.
“It’s what he should have done in the first place,” Shepherd said.
Whittaker was previously accepted into the program, but he decided to fight
the charge.
Four days after his arrest, Whittaker was relieved of his duties
indefinitely by Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Pre