Audio courtesy of Florida News Network      

11-9-09 Courtesy of Marc Bernier Show
WNDB-AM 1150

 
  11-9-09 Courtesy of Marc Bernier Show
WNDB-AM 1150

   
  Audio courtesy of WDBO-AM 580

No Jail For Man Accused Of Sex With Teens
WFTV Orlando April 28, 2010
Late Wednesday afternoon, a former radio station owner accused of molesting children made a plea deal in court. Doug Wilhite was accused of having sex with teenagers and watching teens have sex in his Ormond Beach-area home. However, Wilhite won't be going to prison. Instead, he'll go home. He walked out of the courtroom Wednesday afternoon with a sentence of community control, house arrest, and avoiding all but two of the 15 charges he was facing. The 57-year-old former radio station owner faced sexual accusations from seven teenagers, but he walked out of court without having to go to jail and called the accusations untrue and wrong. "Wish that they hadn't started these rumors and put them on the Internet and encouraged each other to corroborate them, but I do forgive them," Wilhite said. Wilhite was acquitted in a trial last year, where a boy testified he had sex with Wilhite in his home several times. He was charged again when friends of the boy said they had also had sex in front of Wilhite, who gave them alcohol. Wilhite said he believes he would have been acquitted again, but didn't have the energy to sit through another trial. "I'm too tired and too unhealthy to go to trial. I've been through a lot, my family's been through a lot and probation was preferable to me," he said. Wilhite even gave a short victory statement of sorts after his sentencing, thanking the judge for a wonderful job and the people of Volusia County for supporting him. "Even though there's been so much press against me, all I get are hugs and well wishes," he said. The judge quickly reminded Wilhite after that statement that he still faces two years house arrest and 13 years probation. The State Attorney's Office said it didn't want to put all those teenagers through a long, difficult trial.

ORMOND BEACH - In an act that left some of his own employees stunned, beleaguered AM radio station owner Doug Wilhite poured his heart out on his afternoon show, speaking of the 16-year-old boy he tried to help, but whose accusations have him on the brink of ruin. Monday afternoon, the 56-year-old Wilhite told The Daytona Beach News-Journal that he's living in fear because his life was threatened. The boy, whose name is not being published because he claimed to be a victim of a sexual assault, accused Wilhite of rape, a charge Wilhite was acquitted of this past November. "I'm afraid of him," Wilhite said, referring to the teenager who lived on and off at his Ormond Beach residence for several years. "I'm taking self-defense classes." Sitting in his radio station office on Nova Road on Monday afternoon, Wilhite pulled out a small knife that hangs from a chain around his neck. The weapon is stashed inside a black sheath that looks like a spade. When he dons clothing - Wilhite is a devout nudist - he also keeps a thin can of Mace in his pocket. The knife, though, is "the only thing I wear when I'm home," he said, smiling. But Wilhite has little else to smile about these days. Last week he pleaded not guilty to 15 counts of lewd and lascivious behavior. The charges stem from accusations by a group of teens who say Wilhite plied them with alcohol and showed them pornography at his house. Wilhite's financial problems are nearly as ominous. Various lenders and individuals are seeking more than $400,000 from the businessman. He also owes radio personality Big John more than $35,000. As a result, John is taking over the station - WELE-AM 1380 - as Wilhite's payment of the debt."I loaned him the money mostly for legal bills," John said Tuesday. "I have applied for the FCC license for the station." For now, though, Wilhite must face his demons here, and they seem mostly to center around the teenage boy he says he tried to help. "If I could have saved him, it would have all been worth it," Wilhite said, his eyes welling up. "I still love him." While Wilhite said he enjoyed having the boy with him because it seemed that the teen was beginning to get emotionally stronger after a tortured childhood with an abusive mother, he also said the child wreaked emotional and physical havoc in his life and the lives of his family. He got into trouble and had addiction problems, Wilhite said of the boy. When he took the teen to a psychiatrist, Wilhite said the doctor told him to get the teenager help. A short time after the boy moved in with Wilhite, his wife and their youngest daughter, Sherry Wilhite took her daughter and moved out because she and the girl were afraid of the boy's violent tendencies, Wilhite said. Then the teen accused Wilhite of rape and the radio man's life went static. Last week one of Wilhite's older daughters gave birth to a boy who lived only 22 minutes. Wilhite said he held the dead infant and thought of the 16-year-old boy he tried to save. "I thought I should tell people what I've been through," he said, his voice trailing off.

Brother Defends Wilhite In Sex Case
Dan Wilhite, brother of station WELE-AM 1380 owner Doug Wilhite came to the defense of his brother. Dan told WKMG-TV news in July, that his brother is the real victim in the case. He said the teen is seeking revenge. He also told Local 6 that the 15-year-old threatened his brother. According to Dan Wilhite, the teen said he would "take (Doug) down" if (Doug) didn't do certain things. Dan Wilhite said his brother didn't comply with the teen's demands and that the teen made up the allegations as revenge.

Big John On The Wilhite Arrest
Former Volusia County Council member Big John, hosts a program on WELE-AM 1380. On the day following Wilhite's arrest announced "Today we have to start off on a somber note. Our leader, Doug Wilhite Sr., has been arrested by the sheriff's department."  John told the Orlando Sentinel "I absolutely have confidence in Doug Wilhite being innocent until proven guilty and I think it will be a hard charge to prove." On July 13, 2009 Big John and Doug Wilhite and Pastor Charles Melvin of the Ormond Beach Union Church discuss the case on WELE. 

WELE Cleared of Criminal Wrongdoing     11-25-08
As being reported in the Daytona Beach News Journal, Ormond Beach Police said there is no evidence that the management at WELE-AM 1380 did anything criminal when it failed to return money to listeners who purchased tickets from "The Premier Travel Show". Sgt. Kenny Hayes, Ormond Beach Police Department spokesman told Lyda Longo of the News-Journal; "We saw no criminal intent on the part of the owner of the radio station." "For criminal charges to apply, police would have to prove that agents of the radio station knowingly sold packages that were worthless or knowingly misrepresented the packages which resulted in monetary gain to the business. No such proof was found in any of the cases. On the contrary, police determined that the radio station did in fact have business relationships with companies providing vacation accommodations or travel services and had good faith belief that the vacation packages were redeemable as advertised." Police said listeners who have not received refunds for their tickets could try to pursue the matter in civil court. See our original Closer Look.

Wilhite House Arrest Lifted     6-16-11
It's been a bit over a year since WELE-AM 1380 owner Doug Wilhite was sentenced to two years of house arrest and 13 years' probation for child abuse and neglect. On Wednesday, Wilhite, 58, appeared before Circuit Judge R. Michael Hutcheson, once again. Wilhite explained to the court that he has suffered a stroke and seizures since he was sentenced. Wilhite's Daytona Beach attorney, David Damore successfully argued to end the house arrest portion of Wilhite's sentence. Wilhite has completed all requirements of house arrest, and has been in full compliance, probation officials said. Wilhite will remain on probation for 13 years.