Williams Moves Forward With Life

El Camino Real High pitchers were told by Coach Bob Ganssle last week to throw in the bullpen either Thursday or Friday to stay in shape.

Senior right-hander Dan Williams wasn’t satisfied.

“How about throwing both days?” Williams pleaded.

Williams has an urgency to play baseball. He’s like a child at the entrance of Disneyland ready to charge through the turnstile to be first in line for a favorite ride.

His hunger comes from discovering how much he missed baseball when it was suddenly taken away from him last year. He suffered the consequences of a fateful decision he will regret for the rest of his life.

As a sophomore, Williams started in right field at Dodger Stadium in the Conquistadores’ 13-11 City Section championship victory over Banning.

He was set to fill a key role as a junior pitcher and hitter for the Conquistadores. Then, on March 2, the day before El Camino Real’s 1998 opener, he was taken away from school in handcuffs.

His troubles started with plans made in a third-period Spanish class. He and a female student decided to cut their next class together. Williams drove her to his father’s house near campus.

“We started fooling around,” he said.

They had sexual relations. He was 17, she was 15.

They returned to El Camino Real during lunch. Williams dressed for baseball practice. Not long afterward, a teammate informed him the girl was telling people Williams had raped her. Williams insisted that sex had been consensual.

Still dressed in his baseball clothes, he went to the dean’s office to tell his side of the events. He learned that police already had been called to the school.

“I didn’t feel I was going to get in trouble,” he said. “I knew I didn’t do it.”

But Williams didn’t understand how much trouble he was in. The police arrested him, put him in handcuffs and took him to the West Valley station. He was charged with forceable rape.

He was transferred the same night to Sylmar Juvenile Hall. They took away his clothes and gave him an orange jumpsuit.

“I was so shocked and scared and angry,” he said. “At the same time, I was so alone.”

For the next 17 days, he was locked up.

“It’s the worst place you want to be,” he said. “Everything is on a time limit. You wake up at the crack of dawn, go to bed at sunset.”

He got to speak with his mother and father. His attorney, Jim Grover, worked to free him. Friends, teammates, coaches, even people he didn’t know, sent letters to the district attorney in support.

On March 19, he was released. The charges were dismissed. But his life didn’t return to normal.

“Wherever I went, people made comments,” he said. “They still do. I had a couple girls spit in my face. I was scared. I didn’t want to face society.”

Williams’ time away from school forced his teachers to give him failing marks that made him ineligible to play baseball. He missed last season.

After briefly returning to El Camino Real, he went to a continuation school to regain his academic standing.

The trauma brought him closer to his family. His parents are divorced, but they united to help him get his life back in order. His younger brother, Greg, an eighth-grader, provided emotional support.

“He [Greg] stood up for me a lot and I’ll never forget it,” Williams said.

Williams resumed classes at El Camino Real in September. His reputation might be tarnished forever, but he’s trying to live a normal life.

He has learned some important lessons.

“Sex is not a game,” he said. “Sex is not for fun. Sex is not something to play around with.”

Williams said if he had a second chance, “I would take back that whole year.”

But he can’t. That’s the problem when teenagers make adult decisions without thinking of the consequences.

“In one decision, my whole life changed,” he said.

Williams doesn’t dwell on the past, but he said, “I’ll never forget it.”

Baseball offers him a chance to start over. That’s all he wants, that’s all he asks.

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Eric Sondheimer’s local column appears Wednesday and Sunday. He can be reached at (818) 772-3422.