By Kacie Breeding
Kingsport Times News
June 11, 2011
http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=9032779
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| William Casey |
The defense team of a former Kingsport priest accused of child sexual abuse failed Friday in their latest bid for dismissal of all indictments against their client.
William Casey, 76, 740 Shakerag Road, Greeneville, is charged with first-degree sexual misconduct and two counts of aggravated rape in a Blountville court. He was indicted on Aug. 31, 2010.
Casey’s charges stem from allegations reported by Warren Tucker, 45, of Jeffersonville, Ind., who has previously addressed the media about his claims. He alleges that Casey began to sexually abuse him shortly after becoming priest of St. Dominic’s Catholic Church in Kingsport in the 1970s. Tucker has said the alleged abuse occurred when he was an altar boy there, between 10 and 15 years of age. At the time, his mother was romantically involved with C a s e y.
During Friday’s hearing, Casey’s attorneys, Rick and Matthew Spivey, argued a renewed motion for dismissal of all of Casey’s charges, which they had filed on May 20.
In that filing, the Spiveys said they wanted the March hearing reopened so they could cross-examine Tucker about statements he allegedly made to Detec- tive Jennifer Trantham of the Mc-Dowell County (N.C.) Sheriff’s Office and to Kingsport Police Department Detective Chris Tincher. They said the state produced the statements after the March hearing, and a review uncovered “inconsistencies” with Tucker’s testim o n y.
During the hearing, they argued that Tucker has been inconsistent about his age at the time of the alleged abuse for which Casey is charged, leaving them unable to form a proper defense for trial.
They also argued that based on Tucker’s own statement to Tincher, he was 15 when count three — one of the alleged aggravated rapes — occurred. Based on that information, they argued the statute of limitations has expired.
In a June 7 filing, Sullivan County Deputy District Attorney Barry Staubus and Assistant District Attorney Julie Canter responded that they believed the reasons cited for dismissal were without merit.
During Friday’s hearing, Staubus and Canter acknowledged that Tucker has said his memories of what occurred were returning a little at a time and contended that the issue of Tucker’s age at the time of the offense is one for a jury to decide after hearing his testimony.
“If his proof is at trial that he’s 15, then I’ll dismiss it,” Sullivan County Criminal Court Judge Robert Montgomery told the defense at one point.
At the end of the hearing, Montgomery found that the issues the Spiveys had argued should be resolved at trial, not before. It is currently scheduled for July 11.
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