Jury finds defendant guilty in statutory rape case
NORWICH – Defense attorney Kevin Dayton told a Chenango County jury Tuesday that his client, Gary J. Button Jr., tends to crack under pressure. He said he did so in a written confession given to the authorities, and again Tuesday on the witness stand. In the end, the jury believed Button, not the man hired to defend him.
A panel of 10 women and two men took little time to decide the fate of the statutory rape defendant. Over the two-day trial, the jury heard how the 41-year-old first admitted to a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old girl, then testified Tuesday that the acknowledgment was an effort to get himself “off the hook.” The jury took less than 30 minutes to find Button, formerly of 190 state Route 320 in Norwich, guilty of rape in the second degree, endangering the welfare of a child and sexual abuse in the second degree.
The verdict came shortly after cross examination of Button by District Attorney Joseph A. McBride. The DA scrutinized the defendant’s allegation that his December, 2005 admission to the crime was coerced by Detective Raymond Ogborn of the Chenango County Sheriff’s Office. Button said that he was under the impression that he had unknowingly signed-away his right to an attorney.
“I was confused and he (Ogborn) asked me to sign it,” Button said. “I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. I just did what he asked to cooperate. I didn’t have any lawyer there to counsel me.” McBride attacked the defendant’s statement from several angles.
“He never told you to lie, did he?” the DA asked. McBride showed Button a document that listed all the rights he was entitled to during the interview in question. He asked him to admit that the initials along the document column and signature at the end were his.
The district attorney then asked Button if he gave the authorities a watered-down version of the truth in an effort to mask his own responsibility. “You told them what you perceived would get yourself off the hook,” McBride said.
“I guess,” Button answered.
Dayton addressed his client’s admission in his closing statement. “When he is under pressure he goes along with things. I saw that in the statement and I saw that on the stand today,” Dayton told the jury. Calling the statement taking process flawed, the defense attorney told the jury that an audio or video tape should have been used.
Throughout the day, six witnesses took the stand. The now 14-year-old victim, her mother, and the defendant’s girlfriend gave detail to the July, 2005 circumstances under which the girl came to stay with the Norwich man. The defense witnesses, including Button’s girlfriend and brother were asked several questions by Dayton that had to do with the girl’s alleged outward affection toward Button. The case was made by each that Button, not the teen, was the target of unwanted attention.
Button was remanded until sentencing.
A panel of 10 women and two men took little time to decide the fate of the statutory rape defendant. Over the two-day trial, the jury heard how the 41-year-old first admitted to a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old girl, then testified Tuesday that the acknowledgment was an effort to get himself “off the hook.” The jury took less than 30 minutes to find Button, formerly of 190 state Route 320 in Norwich, guilty of rape in the second degree, endangering the welfare of a child and sexual abuse in the second degree.
The verdict came shortly after cross examination of Button by District Attorney Joseph A. McBride. The DA scrutinized the defendant’s allegation that his December, 2005 admission to the crime was coerced by Detective Raymond Ogborn of the Chenango County Sheriff’s Office. Button said that he was under the impression that he had unknowingly signed-away his right to an attorney.
“I was confused and he (Ogborn) asked me to sign it,” Button said. “I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. I just did what he asked to cooperate. I didn’t have any lawyer there to counsel me.” McBride attacked the defendant’s statement from several angles.
“He never told you to lie, did he?” the DA asked. McBride showed Button a document that listed all the rights he was entitled to during the interview in question. He asked him to admit that the initials along the document column and signature at the end were his.
The district attorney then asked Button if he gave the authorities a watered-down version of the truth in an effort to mask his own responsibility. “You told them what you perceived would get yourself off the hook,” McBride said.
“I guess,” Button answered.
Dayton addressed his client’s admission in his closing statement. “When he is under pressure he goes along with things. I saw that in the statement and I saw that on the stand today,” Dayton told the jury. Calling the statement taking process flawed, the defense attorney told the jury that an audio or video tape should have been used.
Throughout the day, six witnesses took the stand. The now 14-year-old victim, her mother, and the defendant’s girlfriend gave detail to the July, 2005 circumstances under which the girl came to stay with the Norwich man. The defense witnesses, including Button’s girlfriend and brother were asked several questions by Dayton that had to do with the girl’s alleged outward affection toward Button. The case was made by each that Button, not the teen, was the target of unwanted attention.
Button was remanded until sentencing.
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