By: Rick Thoma

Serving Williamsburg - James City County - York
Saturday, May 27, 1995
Headline Article:  WERE 28 SEX CHARGES REPRESSED?
By Alison Hagenah

     YORK - A former York Sheriff's captain, charged with 28 counts
of sexual abuse against a girl, waived his right Wednesday to a
preliminary hearing.  That could speed up the trial, but it does not
imply any guilt.

     Rex Sulik, 43, of Yorktown, was charged last month with statutory
rape, sodomy, taking indecent liberties, aggravated sexual battery and
incest.  The charges were certified by a judge at a closed hearing in
Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. The case next goes to the grand
jury.

     If convicted, Sulik could face multiple life sentences. The case
is sensational for involving a law enforcement officer.  Sheriff's
investigators won't say if the case hinges on repressed memory, which
has become increasingly controversial in recent years.  Nor will they
disclose his relationship to the girl, but she's thought to have lived
with him for years.

     Sulik, who worked on the Sheriff's office for 23 years, is out of
jail on $50,000 bond.  Before he resigned, he was the administrative
captain in charge of the civil division, courtroom security and the
jail.

     The victim, who is now an adult, lives out of state and claims
the charges span an 11-year period.  Her allegations came to light
after a mental health agency where the woman lives contacted York
Social Services.  It is unclear if the woman's case arose from
psychiatric therapy.

     "I've known him most of his life," said York Sheriff Press
Williams. Sulik got along with everyone in the department, and
Williams said he would never have expected allegations of this type.
He has also known Sulik's family for years.

     Sulik has two brothers who are in law enforcement and a third in
Civil Service.  He also has a sister who works for York County.

     Williams couldn't say more because he was subpoenaed as a witness
to testify, though he doesn't know for which side.  He contends Sulik
is "innocent until proven guilty."

     "Captain Sulik was very professional and he was a nice person
to work with.  I had a lot of respect for him as an officer and a
supervisor," said Lt. Sheryl Castellaw of the Sheriff's department.

     One former colleague said he worked with Sulik and considered him
one of the better officers on the York force.  Sulik was a "good
father," whose children were "very well behaved," he added.  He said
Sulik's daughter would be close to 14 by now, which may rule out the
possibility of her involvement in the case.

     After Sulik divorced his wife, he dated frequently and at one
time went out with a woman who worked for the Sheriff's department.
But he kept his personal experiences to himself, said the colleague.

     Repressed memories cases gained currency a few years ago for
exposing sexual abuse that had long been forgotten.  More recently
the concept has been questioned as a dubious byproduct of ambitious
psychologists.

     The alleged crimes occurred in Yorktown during 1974-85.  A
special prosecutor from Hampton has been assigned to the case, which
is standard procedure whenever potential conflicts of interests arise.