I can't help but be extremely cynical in today's world. It seems that whenever someone is accused of murder, rape or something 'similarly evil', that they are assumed guilty until proven innocent. And I've heard far too many cases of injustice mixed with injustice because of such assumptions.
This all said, I wanted to ask a question for people to answer in the comments below. If you hear that some author is accused (and the evidence stacks up more or less) of such crimes, does this taint your view of their work? I know for some people it does. My view however is this: a) people are screwed up, b)just because an author is screwed up, doesn't mean that their work is any less artistic (look into history about how many works of art were created by psychopaths, sociopaths and genocidal maniacs). Therefore, for me I can seperate a work of art from the artist (though I still keep in mind the actions of the artist to understand some elements).
My personal view is this: people only let themselves down when they put other people on a pedestal. There is no one who is perfect enough to avoid doing something which is the beginning of the path to 'evil'. So um, what do you think?