Lawyer of the Day: Non-Consensual Sex, Drugs, and a Smokin' Ex-Wife
For our Lawyer of the Day, we bring you yet another sordid story, this time about a prominent personal injury attorney; his young, gorgeous, allegedly abusive ex-wife; and the criminal charges they currently face for allegedly drugging and assaulting a young woman....
It’s been quite a day here at Above the Law in terms of our coverage of lecherous lawyers, specifically those who like to leer at ladies.
For our Lawyer of the Day, we bring you yet another sordid story, this time about a prominent personal injury attorney; his young, gorgeous, allegedly abusive ex-wife; and the criminal charges they currently face for allegedly drugging and assaulting a young woman.
Whoa, that is a mouthful. Let’s sort this out, and check out some pictures of the former couple….
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Joseph Neal Jr. and his 23-year-old ex-wife, Caroline Caldwell Neal, are the center of a strange, unsettling criminal investigation. From the Augusta Chronicle:
Augusta lawyer Joseph Neal Jr. and his former wife were both indicted Tuesday on charges of rape and furnishing alcohol to a minor, according to Richmond County sheriff’s investigators and court records.
Neal will be held without bond until a Superior Court judge sets one, a Richmond County jail spokesman said.
An 18-year-old woman told police Dec. 20 that four days earlier Neal, 43, had given her four or five alcoholic drinks and marijuana before he had “carnal knowledge of her without her consent and against her will” at his Kings Way home, according to a sheriff’s office incident report.
Dude. Not cool. To make matters even stranger, at least one news report says the alleged (barely of age) victim was the couple’s babysitter. Eww.
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That’s right, you heard that correctly folks, both Neals were charged with raping the babysitter.
Neal (a graduate of Mercer Law School) is a high-profile personal injury attorney in Augusta. His website not only touts his legal abilities, but also his positive local reputation, community involvement, and artistic interests.
His personal life has been less successful. He and Caroline got divorced in February, not long after the rape allegations surfaced.
Alleged babysitter assault was not the only major relationship issue the ex-couple faced. In December, police were called in a totally separate incident, after Caroline allegedly attacked Neal by hitting and scratching him in front of his 13-year-old son. (Presumably the child is from a previous relationship, otherwise the math… just doesn’t work out. At all.)
So, who is this femme fatale? Here is Ms. Caldwell Neal, looking fancy, in a photo from her ex-husband’s website. The two men in the photo? Mr. Neal and, oh, just the governor of Georgia:
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Caroline surrendered to law enforcement early this morning to face the rape charges. The Augusta Chronicle posted a picture of her mug shot. (Neal was arrested earlier this week, and his mug shot is also available here, for anyone interested):
She is racking up quite a collection of jailhouse photos. And somehow she still manages to look quite pretty in them. Here’s the mug shot from December (courtesy of Look Who Got Busted):
But it looks like the fast life for this ex-power couple has come to a screeching halt. It’s all fun and games until someone allegedly gets drunk, high, and becomes an involuntary part of a threesome between a middle-aged attorney and a hotheaded hottie.
Prominent Augusta Attorney’s wife wanted on same rape charges [WRDW-TV Augusta]
Augusta attorney arrested on rape charge [Augusta Chronicle]
Ex-wife of Augusta attorney surrenders to authorities [Augusta Chronicle]