"An attorney for Greg Kelley confirms Dec. 18
that a state district judge in Williamson County recommends that
Kelley's conviction be overturned. Attorney Keith Hampton told
KVUE's and the Austin American-Statesman's Tony Plohetski that the judge
has ruled that he meets the standard for "actual innocence," which
means that no reasonable juror would convict Kelley. Kelley was
convicted in 2014 of sexually assaulting a 4-year-old boy at a Cedar
Park day care. His conviction has been in question since earlier this
year after prosecutors said a different suspect had been identified.
Kelley
has remained out of prison on bond since the summer as King has considered his case. "It's
clear that no reasonable juror could find Greg Kelley guilty today,"
said Williamson County District Attorney Shawn Dick at a press
conference later in the day Monday. Hampton told Plohetski that Monday's ruling puts Kelley "one step closer to exoneration."
http://www.kcentv.com/news/crime/ruling-expected-greg-kelley-case/500433980
See earlier (July 27, 2014) Statesman/American story by reporter Claire Osborn- on 'forensic interviews' in the case - at the link below; (Under heading 'Greg Kelley case highlights procedures for interviewing young victims.)
PASSAGE OF THE DAY:
"The Austin school
district police detectives are never allowed to interview children who
allege sexual abuse happened at a school, said school district Police
Chief Eric Mendez. They rely on trained counselors at the Child
Protection Center to question the children. Similar counselors
conducted the first and second interviews of the second boy in the
Kelley case. When he did not tell either of them he was abused, Cedar
Park detective Chris Dailey conducted a third interview. He acknowledged
during the trial that he went into the interview room with his gun on
his hip and didn’t take the time to establish a rapport with the boy. Kelley’s
attorney, Patricia Cummings, asked Dailey if he had learned in training
that it was not a good idea for a detective to interview a child in a
sexual abuse investigation. “Correct,” he said. Later, Cummings asked Dailey what he said to another official after he finished interviewing the boy. “Do
you remember telling her that you knew the manner in which you
interviewed with direct questions was going to cause problems with the
case?” Cummings said. “Yes,” he said. But Cedar Park police
officials said Dailey did not deviate from their policies on such
investigations and said no review of his conduct is in order. “The
successful prosecution of a child oriented sexual predator does not
signal cause to retool our investigative procedures,” Cmdr. Darlene
Lewis, a spokeswoman for the Cedar Park police, said in a statement.
--------------------------------------------------------------
"Tainted. That’s the word one juror used to describe the case
built against former Leander football player Greg Kelley involving the
second boy who accused him of molestation at a Cedar Park day care. The jury convicted Kelley, 19, earlier this month of two counts of
super aggravated sexual assault involving the first 4-year-old boy. But
when jurors shared their thoughts after the trial with the attorneys in
the case, one juror explained they tossed out “everything” involving the
second boy, who was also 4, because the evidence had been “tainted” by
the way investigators handled the case, defense attorney Patricia
Cummings said. The case, which hinged on the testimony of the boys
because there was no physical evidence, has put a spotlight on the
interview techniques recommended for particularly young children.
Experts and other local agencies say a young child should be interviewed
only once, using nonleading questions by a trained interviewer who has
established rapport with the child. The second boy in the Kelley
case, who first told his mother he had been abused, did not repeat those
allegations until his third interview, when a Cedar Park detective
stepped in. The boy then recanted during the trial. “If a child
has been abused, you know that everybody is going to want to talk to
that child, and the more that goes on, the more confused a child will
get,” said James Hord, a Florida psychologist who has testified in more
than 2,000 child sexual abuse cases. That’s why it’s important to limit the interviews and
ask nonsuggestive questions, he said. “You want as much of a pure story
as you can get from the child,” said Hord, who was not involved with the
Kelley trial. For those reasons, both the Austin Police
Department and the Austin school district police said their policy is to
have a trained counselor at the Child Protection Center interview a
child only once. “A second interview may be conducted on the
child, but these rarely happen and only if there is a critical piece of
evidence that was uncovered during the investigation that must be
cleared up by the victim,” said Austin police Sgt. Tracy Gerrish. “The
forensic interviewers will be the ones to re-interview the child,”
Gerrish added. “The forensic interviewers are specially trained to not
ask any leading questions or to offer up any information concerning the
case or what allegedly occurred.” The Austin Police Department
also doesn’t allow its detectives to interview children under the age of
13 in physical and sexual abuse cases, Gerrish said. The Austin school
district police detectives are never allowed to interview children who
allege sexual abuse happened at a school, said school district Police
Chief Eric Mendez. They rely on trained counselors at the Child
Protection Center to question the children. Similar counselors
conducted the first and second interviews of the second boy in the
Kelley case. When he did not tell either of them he was abused, Cedar
Park detective Chris Dailey conducted a third interview. He acknowledged
during the trial that he went into the interview room with his gun on
his hip and didn’t take the time to establish a rapport with the boy. Kelley’s
attorney, Patricia Cummings, asked Dailey if he had learned in training
that it was not a good idea for a detective to interview a child in a
sexual abuse investigation. “Correct,” he said. Later, Cummings asked Dailey what he said to another official after he finished interviewing the boy. “Do
you remember telling her that you knew the manner in which you
interviewed with direct questions was going to cause problems with the
case?” Cummings said. “Yes,” he said. But Cedar Park police
officials said Dailey did not deviate from their policies on such
investigations and said no review of his conduct is in order. “The
successful prosecution of a child oriented sexual predator does not
signal cause to retool our investigative procedures,” Cmdr. Darlene
Lewis, a spokeswoman for the Cedar Park police, said in a statement. She
said the department, as it does with every case, takes “an objective
look at what went right and what can be improved on.” “We
understand that it is the job of the defense to paint a distorted
picture of improper police work in high profile cases, which becomes the
low hanging fruit for follow-up stories,” she added. When Cedar
Park police handle a case involving accusations of sexual abuse for
children under the age of 6, “we coordinate a multidisciplinary response
with the Child Advocacy Center, prosecutors and (Child Protective
Services) as appropriate,” Lewis said. “There is nothing that
prohibits a trained detective from interviewing a child in this
multidisciplinary framework,” she said. Lewis said the Cedar Park Police
Department tries to keep interviews of a child to a minimum “to avoid
re-victimization to the child.” “However when a credible outcry is
made it is imperative that the truth be sought, both for potential
prosecution or exoneration of the innocent,” she said. “This may require
additional interviews to clear up inconsistencies.”"
The story so far: "Greg Kelley was arrested last summer on charges of sexually
assaulting a 4-year-old boy at an in-home day care in Cedar Park.
Kelley, then 18 and about to start his senior year at Leander High
School, was staying at the home with a classmate while his parents were
in the hospital. A couple of weeks after his first arrest, Kelley
was charged with indecency with a child involving a second 4-year-old
boy at the same day care. In the trial earlier this month, the
first victim remained steadfast in his accusations that Kelley assaulted
him, but the second boy testified that he was not molested. The jury
convicted Kelley of the assault charges involving the first victim and
acquitted him of the indecency charge involving the second boy. Facing
a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in prison — but potentially up
to life behind bars — Kelley agreed to a sentencing plea for 25 years
in exchange for waiving his right to appeal. His supporters have
launched a petition drive urging Attorney General Greg Abbott to review
the case."
http://www.mystatesman.com/news/local/greg-kelley-case-highlights-procedures-for-interviewing-young-victims/szMRCOXhYtvWe7IaGrUmSL/
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the
Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my
previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put
considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith
and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic
pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses
on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please
send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest
to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy;
Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog."
