FORT PIERCE
A prosecutor said Wednesday afternoon that evidence will show that Dwight L. Toombs, “while on duty as a Fort Pierce cop, sexually molested and battered (a) 15-year-old girl.”
A defense attorney countered that DNA evidence, or lack of it, “completely clears Mr. Toombs of these charges.”
After 2½ days of jury selection, a panel of six men and two women — six jurors and two alternates — began hearing testimony in the trial of the seven-year veteran of the Fort Pierce Police Department who is charged with three counts of sexual battery, two counts of lewd or lascivious molestation and one count of lewd or lascivious conduct.
Authorities allege that on Dec. 18, 2007, while on foot patrol on Hutchinson Island, Toombs found the girl naked from the waist down in a parked car at Kimberly Bergalis Park with a 20-year-old man.
Assistant State Attorney Victoria Winfield told jurors in an opening statement that Toombs, 33 at the time of the alleged incident, handcuffed the man and girl and then fondled the girl using a glove.
In his opening statement, defense attorney Jack A. Fleischman of West Palm Beach told jurors that none of the tests on items recovered from the site showed a mixture of DNA from both the girl and Toombs.
“It’s easy for the alleged victim to make these allegations,” Fleischman said, “but it’s very difficult for the state to prove it. In fact, they can’t prove it beyond a reasonable doubt.”
The trial in the St. Lucie County Courthouse before Circuit Judge Larry Schack is expected to last into next week.
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