After jury’s stalemate, judge dismisses charges against New Kent man

After six and a half hours of deliberations and with the jury unable to come to a unanimous verdict, a New Kent Circuit Court judge granted a defense motion to dismiss two felony charges involving a county man.

Judge Thomas B. Hoover dismissed charges of abduction and inanimate object sexual penetration, both in connection with an underage girl, lodged against Jeremy Wayne Hall, 35, of the 13800 block of Cypress Drive, Lanexa. The judge’s decision followed a Feb. 27-28 trial in New Kent Circuit Court.

With the jury deadlocked, Hoover ruled in favor of defense attorney Susan Allen’s motion to dismiss, saying the prosecution failed to prove its assertion that a violent attack had taken place.

Prosecuting attorney Clay Blanton said Hall allegedly attacked the victim on Oct. 26, 2010. During an earlier hearing, the prosecutor had said the delay in coming to trial stemmed from the girl’s reluctance to testify.

In his opening statement, Blanton said the girl was in Hall’s care at the time inside the defendant’s residence. The prosecutor said the victim was taking a shower and trying to remove glitter from her hair after a pep rally at school when Hall allegedly entered the bathroom. The attorney continued, saying the victim was pulled from the shower, tossed to the floor and detained, hence the abduction charge, before being touched in a sexual manner.

Allen rebutted in opening arguments, saying Hall merely brushed the girl’s hair in an attempt to remove the glitter after she had stepped out of the shower. She said, however, that the alleged victim was “upset” by what was taking place.

Shaking nervously, the girl testified before the panel of eight women and four men. She described the incident, saying she recalled the night when Hall allegedly restrained her against her will.

“I tried to get up and stand up, but he was on top of me and held me down,” the girl said. “I was thrown down and my back was against the door and I tried to scream.”

Often glancing at Hall during her testimony, she said the commotion attracted her brother and sister and they tried to enter the bathroom. The door did not have a lock that secured properly, but Hall used his body to prevent the door from opening, she said.

“He said it would be the worst day of my life and he’d kill me if I told anybody,” the girl added.

Other prosecution witnesses, including friends of the girl and a school counselor, testified as to what the girl had told them concerning the incident.

Under cross-examination, Allen attempted to discredit the girl’s account, saying the alleged victim had fabricated the story.

But key to the defense’s case was testimony from a medical expert who examined the girl the day after the alleged incident.

In testimony, Kim Austin, a former forensic nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital, said, “I found nothing out of the ordinary.

“Other than a normal variation of the genital area, there were no bruises, red marks, or anything of that sort,” Austin said.

The alleged victim’s brother and sister testified that the bathroom door was never closed. Both said they observed Hall brushing the girl’s hair at times when they walked past the bathroom door.

Hall testified in his own defense, reaffirming his stance that the girl’s version never took place.

“I never grabbed her or threw her against the door,” said Hall. “I never touched [her] in a sexual way, period.”

Closing arguments by Blanton emphasized the demeanor of both the victim and defendant on the stand, but Allen countered, pointing to what she labeled as a poor investigation by authorities at the time of the incident.

“Nobody bothered to investigate, and we’re relying on the words of the victim that were refuted by her siblings,” Allen told jurors.

“The nurse testified her findings were normal,” she added.

“There was nothing else done,” concluded the defense attorney, noting the matter has been hanging over her client’s head for the past three years.

Jurors took an hour and 45 minutes during the trial’s first day to deliberate but could not reach a verdict. The foreman told the court the jury became mired in a 10-2 deadlock. That impasse apparently carried over to the next day.

Out of earshot of the jury, Allen motioned for dismissal with prejudice, saying a similar occurrence would happen with another jury. Hoover agreed. When jurors returned, the judge explained the situation.

“Mr. Blanton, you said at least three times the word ‘attack’ and said the victim was violently attacked,” the judge said. “The nurse said there were no injuries, no trauma, and no bruises.

“How can there be a violent attack when no bruises, scratches, or red marks were reported by the nurse?” he continued. “The nurse found nothing.

“No reasonable jury can find any reason to convict the defendant and for that reason, I am dismissing the charges.”