I failed to mention in the previous post that rape of a child in Tennessee means any miniscule amount of anything (body part or foreign object) that goes into a girl's vagina is considered rape. It can be .00000001 of an inch, and it is considered rape.
I also failed to mention that the little girl says that she did not tell anyone about it.
Day 2 consisted of a lot of in and out of the jury room too. Day 2 was the day that the grandmother took the stand. Her name was Cindy. She was on the stand the WHOLE DAY!
They asked her many questions about her financial status. When you go to court, they pull everything they can about you. Bank statements included. I know how much this woman makes, that she has two houses (one of which is in foreclosure because she cannot afford it with only one income), she has a savings account that is separate from the joint account, I know the the agreements in her prenup, I know how much money he spent out of their joint account while out of town.
Here is her story
Her husband (the defendent) had been in Texas for a long while because he had been injured in a motorcycle accident. While reviewing the bank statements, they show us how much money he spent while out in Texas. His food purchases looked like enough for two people if you ask me (no one every brought this up). She had injured her back at work, so she claims she hadn't seen her grandkids in a long time. When he came home, he wanted her to find his medicine. He has herpes and hepatitis C and needed his medicine. She also says that he wanted to see the grandkids. She tells him that she doesn't want them to come over because she cannot help take care of them. She wouldn't even be able to change the youngest one's diaper. She says he called and made the arrangements for them to come over. *He has also made the decision to have a party at the house that day for Labor Day (this was last year). She says she didn't want to have one and that he asked her to go to the grocery store with him, and she refused. Later she says that she went with him.* He leaves to go get the girls early in the morning. He comes back home. Everything seems normal. S comes into her nana's bedroom to tell her hi. The party ensues. It is mostly the defendant's family that comes over. Around 11 after almost everyone leaves, she begins to help S change into her pajamas in her bathroom. She says that S starts to cry and tells her about Peepaw touching her (she does not mention the masterbating at this time). She gets very angry and finds her husband upstairs and tells him that they need to talk. They go outside. She says, "She told me what you did." He throws his hands up and says, "I messed up. Can we just keep this between ourselves?" She does not ask him what he thinks she is talking about. No one asked her if she did either, so that left that up in the air. She tells us that she gets the youngest girl from her son's room and takes S, little sister, and herself and locks them all in the bedroom. She doesn't ask him to leave the house. She couldn't even tell us if he actually stayed at the home that night. Someone takes the girls home the next day. Nana does not inform S's parents of what happened that day. She claims that she was afraid of what her son would do, and she wants to wait until the defendant is out of town to tell him. She does however tell 3 people. Her ex husband and two other people. Fast forward to another day 20 days later. Nana is getting S ready for bed again. S tells her about the masturbation. Nana calls the ex husband. They make the decision to tell S's dad. She cannot remember who told him (the ex husband or herself), she cannot remember if the girls were there that day. She says he is furious.
The second person on the witness stand is Cindy's (Nana) neighbor. She says yes they did have a party. She was not there though. She also says that the day after the party, Cindy comes over and has a conversation with her that makes her feel that she should watch the house (You cannot say what someone else said while on the stand because it is considered hearsay). Cindy seemed really distraught. Later that night, Cindy called her and told her something that shocked her, and she understood why she should watch the house.
3 more days to go!
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