Florida school board member under fire for 'repulsive' Facebook posts about rape, assault

Kristine Solomon

A Florida school board is scrambling to distance itself from a board member’s statements after she came under attack for her Facebook posts about victims of rape and assault.

Nancy Stacy, who is on the Marion County School Board in Ocala, Fla., fired off a series of posts this week on the social media platform, including one that read, “I do not consider a whore to be a victim in rapes. They go to a motel with a rich man in hopes of getting preg so they can then rape him financially for 18 years. If you walk into a lion’s cage and get attacked it’s not the lion’s fault either!!!”

In another post, Stacy wrote, “A couple whackadoodle liberals have commented I deleted [sic]. If the girls went with a married man to forbidden grounds they went looking for trouble. Whores hanging with men in hotels are not victims of rape folks!!!!” Stacy stands by the harsh comments, according to local Orlando news station WFTV.

Even on Facebook, Stacy responded to criticism of her comments by writing, “All U know what comes in my head is out my mouth! Tired of WHORES destroying men!,” and even defended one of the country’s most high-profile convicted sex offenders, adding, “‘Set Bill Cosby free’ says ‘Mama Bear’ with sons!”

Angry residents showed up at Tuesday’s school board meeting to address the offensive posts in person. Yahoo Lifestyle spoke with a representative at the Marion County School Board, who shared this statement on behalf of the board’s chairman, Beth McCall:

“As chairman, I want the community to understand that I have no authority over another board member. My job as chairman is to keep the board focused on the business of the board. I am challenged with distractions that take away from that business. I want to acknowledge those citizens who have come tonight to declare their outrage at comments a board member made on her personal Facebook page. I too, am personally angered and appalled at the repulsive, degrading and insensitive comments unbefitting a public official, especially a school board member who is to work diligently for the betterment of our students. Public officials are held to a higher standard and should understand that all comments whether public or private, reflect on the office they hold. However, I reiterate again that I have no authority over any other board member. The comments were made on a personal page and not associated with the Marion County Public Schools.

The comments have been widely circulated in the community. They have no place in public discourse. They do not in any way reflect this board or this school district. These comments and this behavior do not portray the traits of a leader that our community aspires in its elected officials.

Community leaders and organizations work hard to bring a spotlight to Ocala/Marion County and to sell the assets of our community to bring new businesses to help our economy thrive. Yesterday’s comments were not the spotlight they wanted.

If an elected public official is unable to act or express one’s views with decorum, show respect for others, including those whose opinions may not align with their own, or refrain from inflammatory remarks, I suggest that that public official thinking deeply about the responsibility this community has entrusted to them and consider if public office is for them.”

Yahoo Lifestyle tried to contact Stacy, but her voicemail was full and was not accepting messages. On Tuesday, WFTV managed to reach Stacy by phone, and she doubled down when asked whether those posts were sincere or the result of her account being hacked.

“Oh, I made those posts,” she told a reporter, before making a baffling comparison. “I feel our nation has regressed back to the days when one white person accused a black person of something and he was hung or jailed. Today one woman can accuse a man of all ethnicities and he can be jailed.”

When asked to clarify what she means when she refers to women, Stacy said she was talking about prostitutes. “I do not believe prostitutes can claim rape and have me believe them,” she demanded during the phone interview with WFTV.

People are now clamoring to have Stacy removed from the Marion County School Board, but only the governor can do that, according to WFTV. An online petition has been created on Change.org to urge the governor to take action — but the petition is not new, because this is not the first time Stacy has been embroiled in controversy.

The petition was created in June 2018 by resident Marc Halcomb, a former state child protection investigator, who has been trying to get Stacy ousted ever since she was accused of bullying members of the community — again on social media. Each time Stacy commits a perceived offense, Halcomb adds to the petition, which was less than 1,000 signatures away from the goal of 2,500 at the time of this article’s publication.

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