Rape trial unfolds as accuser takes the stand
NORWICH – A Smithville man charged with rape was confronted Monday by his 48-year-old accuser when she offered nearly two and a half hours of testimony in county court.
Stanley R. Whitman, 50, Smithville Flats, is charged with first degree rape, sexual abuse, criminal sexual act, and second degree assault.
Assistant District Attorney Stephen Dunshee and Assistant Public Defender Lisa Natoli painted two distinctly different stories in their opening arguments.
The prosecution said that on the night of the incident in March of 2007, the victim was involved in a fight with her boyfriend and walked to a nearby bar, Seeber’s, in Smithville, to find a ride home.
On cross examination, the woman admitted frequenting the bar “a couple of times a week” in the months prior to the incident, and said she was intoxicated at the time. Dunshee pointed out that the woman’s unstable emotional state combined with a degree of intoxication made her an ideal victim, while Natoli claimed that it made her “an alcoholic woman scared to go home to her angry boyfriend.”
In her opening statement, Natoli referred to the woman as “bitter, vindictive and drunk” and said the woman attempted to approach multiple men at the bar.
Once at the bar, the victim said she asked around for a ride, but stated, “I was not socializing or anything at the bar.”
The woman and the defendant left the bar at around 7 p.m. The woman testified that she told Whitman that she wanted to go to a residence in the Greene area, but was convinced to ride along while the defendant drove to Oxford to pick up cigarettes instead.
After buying a six pack and cigarettes at an Oxford gas station, the two then drove toward Greene, but pulled over behind an abandoned trailer near the Brisben dump on Counter-Marsh Road because the victim said she needed to go to the bathroom. This is where the crimes are alleged to have taken place.
“It’s hard to remember at this point because it was ... I didn’t know if I’d see my kids, I didn’t know if I was going to get outta there. It was awful,” she said on the stand.
After being asked by Dunshee to identify the assailant in the courtroom, it took several moments before the victim could calm herself down enough before looking over and then pointing at Whitman.
A total of 16 witness may be called in the case, 12 of them for the prosecution, as the bench trial continues with Supreme Court Judge Kevin M. Dowd hearing further testimony today.
If convicted, Whitman could spend up to 25 years in state prison and become a registered sex offender for the rest of his life.
Stanley R. Whitman, 50, Smithville Flats, is charged with first degree rape, sexual abuse, criminal sexual act, and second degree assault.
Assistant District Attorney Stephen Dunshee and Assistant Public Defender Lisa Natoli painted two distinctly different stories in their opening arguments.
The prosecution said that on the night of the incident in March of 2007, the victim was involved in a fight with her boyfriend and walked to a nearby bar, Seeber’s, in Smithville, to find a ride home.
On cross examination, the woman admitted frequenting the bar “a couple of times a week” in the months prior to the incident, and said she was intoxicated at the time. Dunshee pointed out that the woman’s unstable emotional state combined with a degree of intoxication made her an ideal victim, while Natoli claimed that it made her “an alcoholic woman scared to go home to her angry boyfriend.”
In her opening statement, Natoli referred to the woman as “bitter, vindictive and drunk” and said the woman attempted to approach multiple men at the bar.
Once at the bar, the victim said she asked around for a ride, but stated, “I was not socializing or anything at the bar.”
The woman and the defendant left the bar at around 7 p.m. The woman testified that she told Whitman that she wanted to go to a residence in the Greene area, but was convinced to ride along while the defendant drove to Oxford to pick up cigarettes instead.
After buying a six pack and cigarettes at an Oxford gas station, the two then drove toward Greene, but pulled over behind an abandoned trailer near the Brisben dump on Counter-Marsh Road because the victim said she needed to go to the bathroom. This is where the crimes are alleged to have taken place.
“It’s hard to remember at this point because it was ... I didn’t know if I’d see my kids, I didn’t know if I was going to get outta there. It was awful,” she said on the stand.
After being asked by Dunshee to identify the assailant in the courtroom, it took several moments before the victim could calm herself down enough before looking over and then pointing at Whitman.
A total of 16 witness may be called in the case, 12 of them for the prosecution, as the bench trial continues with Supreme Court Judge Kevin M. Dowd hearing further testimony today.
If convicted, Whitman could spend up to 25 years in state prison and become a registered sex offender for the rest of his life.
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