A Mississippi Highway Patrol master sergeant from Warren County under indictment for fondling a child in Oktibbeha County will face trial here Monday on the charge for a second time. Richard Dane Davenport, 45, of 407 Warren St., Vicksburg, was indicted by the Oktibbeha County Grand Jury on the fondling charge in January.
Judge Jim Kitchens will preside over Davenport’s trial in Oktibbeha County Circuit Court, which opens with jury selection at 9 a.m. today.
The charge stems from an incident on Sept. 23, 2007, in Oktibbeha County, involving a young boy under the age of 16, according to the indictments.
The local incident reportedly took place while Davenport was in town attending Mississippi State’s football game against Gardner-Webb University on the day in question. Information on the specific circumstances of the incident — including the time of day and location where it occurred — have not been made public.
Brandon Ogburn and Jean Vaughn with the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office are prosecuting the case since Davenport is a state employee and since he is charged with offenses in two counties. Attorney John Zeibst of Lawton, Okla., is defending Davenport.
In Davenport’s first trial in October 2008, Kitchens was forced to declare a mistrial based upon the improper admission of a character evidence, though he found that the error was invited by Davenport’s attorneys.
Zelbst’s opening statements in the case were interrupted twice by potential witnesses, including the reported victim. These interruptions, however, were not what led to the mistrial.
Prior to the start of the trial, Kitchens had ruled that testimony related to Davenport’s alleged rape of the victim was inadmissible.
During the prosecution’s case, the victim, 15, was called to the stand, and, while answering questions under cross-examination from Zelbst, the victim referred to being raped by Davenport three separate times.
Zelbst then moved for a mistrial, which Kitchens granted, though he stated the defense attorney’s “not well-crafted” questions “invited the error.” Family members said Zelbst purposely elicited the testimony to get Davenport’s case thrown out.
Davenport also faces nine similar charges in Warren County stemming from incidents alleged to have occurred between October 1999 and August 2007. A mistrial was also declared in Davenport’s Warren County trial in September 2008. Jurors deliberated for about four hours in that case before reporting back to the judge they were deadlocked and could not reach a verdict. He faces a second trial in Vicksburg on May 11.
Davenport remains on administrative leave with the MHP until the charges against him are resolved.
_________
http://www.wxvt.com/Global/story.asp?S=9772451
1 comment:
ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? Does anyone in their right friggin mind think that ANY child would even get up on the stand and subject him/herself to this kind of torture if it were not true?? And no mother is interested in their child being raped again by the justice system like this child was.
shame shame shame on all of you who helped put this pedophile back on the streets!!
You had better pray that if he gets reinstated and back into a patrol car that it is NOT your child that he stops and forces them to "trade off" sex for not citing them. Mr Davenport is scum.
NINE other counts....wow....way to go Mississippi.
Shame on you too.
Post a Comment