New Kent Charles City Chronicle

News for New Kent County and Charles City County, Virginia | March 28, 2024

June jury trial set for CC man charged in sex crimes

By Alan Chamberlain | March 26, 2008 2:43 pm

A Charles City man, indicted on 15 felony sex charges involving underage girls, is scheduled to stand trial before a jury in county circuit court in June.

Forrest Everett “Skeeter” Evans was scheduled for trial before Judge Thomas B. Hoover last Friday, but instead the defendant switched lawyers and requested a jury trial. Trial is now set for June 5.

Evans, 74, of 5901 Courthouse Road, faces 10 counts of aggravated sexual battery and five counts of forcible sodomy. The charges stem from allegations in 2006 and 2007 involving two girls who were age seven and 10 at the time.

Evans was indicted on Nov. 13 by a circuit court grand jury and disappeared soon thereafter. Authorities were unable to locate the suspect before he surrendered on Feb. 1. He has been held since then without bond in Riverside Regional Jail in Prince George County.

During last week’s court appearance, Evans’ new attorney, John Schilling, requested “some sort of reasonable bond” for his client. The lawyer said Evans is retired, lives in the county, and has family ties here. Schilling also said Evans has significant health problems and would be better off at home than in jail.

Hoover, however, denied bond, citing the seriousness of the charges and the length of time between the indictments being handed up and Evans turning himself in.

Schilling argued that his client was unaware of the indictments since he was on a hunting trip in Bath County and had no communication with people back home. Schilling said Evans returned around Christmas time, learned of the charges, and then contacted a lawyer.

But Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Tyler told the judge that sheriff’s deputies had started searching for Evans before the grand jury convened and family members had told police they did not know the suspect’s whereabouts.

“I’m not worried about him leaving the area, but I am worried about the girls being out there,” Tyler told the court in recommending that Evans be denied bond.

Hoover, however, labeled Evans a flight risk in denying bond. Evans can appeal the judge’s decision to a state appellate court.

The judge scheduled a May 6 hearing date at Schilling’s request to review defense motions in the case. Schilling is requesting transcripts of what the two girls have told police and is expected to challenge what he deemed “inconsistent statements,” hinting that the girls have made similar allegations against others in the past.

Hoover, meanwhile, told Tyler to narrow the time frames listed in the indictments and try to establish specific dates, times, and places for alleged incidents.

Two indictments allege that Evans “repeatedly committed aggravated sexual battery” on each girl from July through December in 2006. The other eight sexual battery charges stem from allegations made during May through August in 2007. The five sodomy indictments involve just one of the alleged victims and cover the same time frames in both 2006 and 2007.

“I understand it’s difficult working with children on dates and times, but try to pin it down as best you can,” the judge told Tyler.

Tyler told the court that Evans has no recent criminal record. The defendant pleaded guilty in 1977 to one count of taking indecent liberties with a minor and has two burglary-related convictions dating from the 1950s, he said.