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Assistant General Philip Hatch told a Cumberland County jury the one consistency in the rape case of a Crab Orchard area man was the victim’s statement on who sexually assaulted her.
The victim — age 14 at the time of the rape — identified her cousin, who was 24 years old.
The jury of eight men and four women deliberated less than an hour to find Quentin Eugene McDaniel, 30, guilty. Proclaiming his innocence as he was led out of the courtroom Thursday, McDaniel said, “I would never do anything to hurt my family.”
He then shouted over his shoulder at a woman identified as his wife, “We’ll get through this … Pam, I love you.”
Led by sheriff’s office court officers, McDaniel was immediately taken to the jail for booking, his bond revoked by Criminal Court Judge Shawn Fry in accordance with state law.
McDaniel will be held without bond until his sentencing hearing set for Sept. 17. McDaniel’s attorney, Randal Boston of Crossville, issued oral notice of appeal of the conviction with a tracking date of Sept. 17 for that motion.
McDaniel invoked his constitutional right to not testify. Boston reminded the jury McDaniel didn’t have to say anything. The burden of proof fell on state prosecutors who did have to prove the charge against his client.
Hatch and Assistant District Attorney Allison Null relied on the consistency of statements by the victim — who is now age 20 and married — given to several witnesses, and on deoxyribonucleic acid, commonly referred to as DNA.
DNA is the genetic information inside cells of the body that helps make people who they are, according to definition on a website, and is key evidence when prosecutors seek convictions. It provides evidence hard for defense attorneys to overcome.
The state called four witnesses, in addition to the victim, and introduced 18 exhibits consisting of two photos of the inside of the residence, property receipts to establish the chain of evidence had not been tampered, clothing and lab report from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
The victim waited more than six years for the rape case to wind itself through the justice system and for results of the forensic testing. Her nightmare took place on night of Jan. 29 and early morning hours of Jan. 30, 2018.
She relayed events of that night during questioning by Null. At the time, the victim testified, she and her 4-year-old brother lived with their grandmother at a residence on Cox Valley Rd. As was custom, the little brother slept with the grandmother in her bedroom, and the victim slept on a couch in a separate room.
On that night, the victim testified McDaniel went to sleep in a third room.
The victim she was awakened before midnight with someone lying on top of her, a blanket over her head, and the voice of her grandmother. A second voice she recognized as being McDaniel’s whom she quoted as stating, “I didn’t do nothing.”
The victim said she realized her clothing was in disarray with her underwear and outer clothing pulled down to the area of her knees.
The grandmother told her to go to her bedroom and get in bed with her brother, which the victim did.
As was custom, the grandmother awoke around 4 a.m. and started her day by going to the bathroom to freshen up and then the kitchen to start cooking breakfast, the victim continued. It was on this second trip that she was awakened again to the pain of someone in the process of assaulting her.
The grandmother was again alerted, told the young teen to get ready to go to school and at that time, the victin said, McDaniel left the house.
During the school day, the victim confided in a nurse about the rape, who contacted the Department of Children’s Services. Sheriff’s investigators were notified, and the victim was taken to Cumberland Medical Center for an examination.
Boston questioned the victim about inconsistency between statements given at the time and later. The victim responded she has been in therapy and counseling for two years, which has helped her block some details of the crime. Therapists, she said, have helped her put this incident “behind me.”
The next witness was Ivy Scott, a nursing supervisor who was a staff nurse trained as a sexual assault nurse examiner. She gathered swabs and clothing on Jan. 30, 2018, for what is commonly called a “rape kit,” and, along with a narrative form, turned the kit in a sealed container over to a sheriff’s deputy.
In addition to a medical examination by a physician, swabs were obtained from the neck, chest and vaginal areas.
Under cross examination from Boston, Scott said the exam is based on “what the victim tells us” and that is the only knowledge she had about the accusation.
Former CCSO Sgt. Sean Millikin, now working with the private company Blue Light Securities, testified he picked up the rape kit and delivered it to a secured locked box at the sheriff’s office.
Retired Sheriff’s Investigator Chad Norris, now head of security at Cookeville Regional Medical Center, testified at the time he was also an evidence custodian for CCSO.
Norris was called to investigate on a DCS referral and visited the scene on Cox Valley Rd., gathering statements and evidence. He also obtained a buccal swab from McDaniel to submit to the TBI lab outside Nashville, along with evidence from the CMC examination.
This set the stage for TBI Special Agent Alyssa Manfredi, a forensic scientist, who conducted the testing of evidence for DNA. She testified she found DNA evidence on underwear submitted to the lab for the presence of male and female matching the victim and McDaniel. Also found was the presence of cells indicating sperm presence on the inside and outside of the clothing.
At that point, DNA search of other items was stopped. Manfredi explained the backlog of rape kit analysis has resulted in a TBI policy of ending lengthy forensic examinations once the presence of DNA is linked to an identified suspect.
At the end of the first day of trial, the state ended its proof of the case and on Thursday morning, Boston called the grandmother to testify.
“I don’t believe he did,” the 84-year-old grandmother testified when asked about the rape accusation. She went on to explain upon the first incident, she went into the room where the victim and McDaniel were sleeping and found then on opposite ends of the sofa.
As to the second incident, the grandmother said she found it hard to believe because the little brother was a very light sleeper and would have been awakened.
When the accusation was made, the grandmother said she asked McDaniel, “Did you rape (victim)?” She quoted McDaniel as replying, “No, I did not, Granny.”
Boston asked the grandmother about being put in the position of “having to pick one grandchild or the other.” The grandmother responded, she never allowed such conduct in her home, did not see anything happen and was “taught by my momma to always tell the truth, and that is what I did.”
Boston suggested in closing arguments there was absent from the evidence of penetration, a key element of the charge of rape. He noted that all the witnesses testified as to what they were told by woman identified as the victim.
He urged the jury to use their own life experiences when judging the case against McDaniel, whose freedom “hangs in the balance” of what a 14-year-old person said.
“It just doesn’t add up,” Boston concluded.
Null outlined each element of the law required to be met to justify a finding of guilt. Null said the rape was without consent, intentionally and knowingly and that all elements had been met by prosecutors.
“For six and one-half years, (the victim) has been consistent. He raped me,” Null concluded.
Hatch in his closing, made it simple. “If there is no consent, it is rape … There are two stories. Who do you believe?”
The jury had the options of finding McDaniel innocent, guilty of rape or guilty of a lesser-included charge which includes criminal attempted rape, sexual battery by an authority figure (because of age differences), criminal attempted sexual battery, sexual battery or criminal attempted sexual battery.
A sentencing report will be prepared for Judge Fry to consider on Sept. 17, along with mitigating and enhancement factors as prescribed by state law. Sentence range is 8-12 years at 100% with that being reduced by the Tennessee Department of Corrections if incentives written into the law are met.