BAY MINETTE, Alabama -- A 16-year-old girl described in graphic detail for a jury Wednesday how she was sexually abused by relatives and a friend of her family.
"It was normal," the girl said during her nearly hour-long testimony Wednesday morning. "They (did) it all the time and a lot. I thought that it was normal."
Bay Minette is a city of about 8,000 people not far from Mobile, Alabama.
The victim testified in the trial of William "Billy" Brownlee, 50, of Eight Mile. Brownlee, a friend of the girl's family, is accused of sexually abusing her.
The girl is related to Brittney Wood, the Mobile County woman who has been missing since 2012.
Eleven people -- members of Wood's family and friends of her family members -- have been arrested in a child sex abuse investigation.
MOBILE, Alabama -- Mobile police were searching Friday, June 9, 2012, for a 19-year-old woman (single mom) whose family recently reported her missing, said Cpl. Christopher Levy, a department spokesman.
The family of Brittney Wood filed a missing person report on June 2, Levy said. Wood’s family told police that the last time they saw her was May 30.
According to reports from WKRG-TV5, Wood told family members she was headed to a house near Styx River to visit her uncle, Donnie Wood. The family told the station that Donnie Wood returned home near Fairhope on Friday and shot himself. Brittney Wood has not been seen since.
The trial started Tuesday in Baldwin County Circuit Court Judge Jody Bishop's courtroom. The prosecution called five witnesses to testify Wednesday before resting its case. The defense rested without calling any witnesses.
When the trial resumes at 9 a.m. Thursday, the prosecution and defense will make their closing arguments.
Part of Brownlee's defense is that he was forced by a relative of the girl to have sex with her. He also alleged in a video played during the trial that he was raped by members of the girl's family when he was a child.
"I think it was compelling stuff to tell you the truth," Thomas Pilcher, Brownlee's attorney, said of the video."He obviously broke down in there when he was talking about the things that happened in his childhood."
Brownlee was indicted in 2012 on second-degree sodomy and second-degree sexual abuse charges. He is accused of performing a sex act on the girl when she was 12 or 13 years old and while one of her relatives watched.
The victim described that incident to the jury. She also talked about several other occasions in which she alleged Brownlee sexually abused her.
The victim said two of her relatives and Brownlee were present during one of the incidents. She said she thinks one of her relatives taped what happened.
The girl also told the jury about a time when Brownlee walked up to her, touched her breasts and kissed her neck.
"I just kind of nudged him away," she said.
Brownlee did not testify in his own defense. The jury did hear from him in two, hour-long recordings.
One of the recordings was a July 22, 2012, interview with two Baldwin County Sheriff's Office investigators. The other was a video of an Aug. 31, 2012, interview Brownlee did with a Mobile Police Department polygrapher.
In the first interview, Brownlee was asked about allegations that he had sexually abused the victim and her sister. He denied the allegations throughout the video.
"They would have to be lying because I never touched one of those of girls," he said.
Brownlee admitted to sexual contact with the victim in the second interview, but said he was forced to do it by a relative of the girl.
He also said the relative and other relatives of the victim sexually assaulted him when he was a boy.
Brownlee's voice cracked, and he started to cry as as he described what happened to him.
"His brother raped me," Brownlee said. "He raped me. His other brother raped me. They all raped me."
Brownlee was asked in the video about having sex with the victim's underage sister at a hotel.
Brownlee admitted to having sex with the girl, but he said at the time he thought she was 21 years old.
Brownlee also described seeing video of several of members of the victim's relatives having sex with each other.
The victim's 19-year-old sister also testified Wednesday. She said a relative took her to the hotel to see Brownlee when she was an eighth-grader.
She said she thought the relative was taking her to get a hamster. She said she was forced to have sex with Brownlee in the hotel room as her relative watched.
Another woman testified Wednesday that when she was 12 years old Brownlee tried to have sex with her. She said she told him to stop after he started touching her.
The woman, who is now 23 years old, said what happened to her was reported to police. She said the last thing she heard about the case was there was not enough evidence to proceed.
Baldwin County Assistant District Attorney Teresa Heinz said she thinks things have gone well for the prosecution during the trial. She said the victim and the other women who testified were truthful about the things that happened to them.
"This was a difficult process for them," Heinz said. "It's bad enough to have had these things happen to you, but to have to stand up in front of a room full of strangers and the person who did them to you and talk about it is beyond hard." There are better ways of doing this Ms Heinz.
"It was normal," the girl said during her nearly hour-long testimony Wednesday morning. "They (did) it all the time and a lot. I thought that it was normal."
Bay Minette is a city of about 8,000 people not far from Mobile, Alabama.
The victim testified in the trial of William "Billy" Brownlee, 50, of Eight Mile. Brownlee, a friend of the girl's family, is accused of sexually abusing her.
 |
| William Brownlee |
The girl is related to Brittney Wood, the Mobile County woman who has been missing since 2012.
Eleven people -- members of Wood's family and friends of her family members -- have been arrested in a child sex abuse investigation.
MOBILE, Alabama -- Mobile police were searching Friday, June 9, 2012, for a 19-year-old woman (single mom) whose family recently reported her missing, said Cpl. Christopher Levy, a department spokesman.
The family of Brittney Wood filed a missing person report on June 2, Levy said. Wood’s family told police that the last time they saw her was May 30.
According to reports from WKRG-TV5, Wood told family members she was headed to a house near Styx River to visit her uncle, Donnie Wood. The family told the station that Donnie Wood returned home near Fairhope on Friday and shot himself. Brittney Wood has not been seen since.
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| Baldwin County Courthouse, Bay Minette, AL |
When the trial resumes at 9 a.m. Thursday, the prosecution and defense will make their closing arguments.
Part of Brownlee's defense is that he was forced by a relative of the girl to have sex with her. He also alleged in a video played during the trial that he was raped by members of the girl's family when he was a child.
"I think it was compelling stuff to tell you the truth," Thomas Pilcher, Brownlee's attorney, said of the video."He obviously broke down in there when he was talking about the things that happened in his childhood."
Brownlee was indicted in 2012 on second-degree sodomy and second-degree sexual abuse charges. He is accused of performing a sex act on the girl when she was 12 or 13 years old and while one of her relatives watched.
The victim described that incident to the jury. She also talked about several other occasions in which she alleged Brownlee sexually abused her.
The victim said two of her relatives and Brownlee were present during one of the incidents. She said she thinks one of her relatives taped what happened.
The girl also told the jury about a time when Brownlee walked up to her, touched her breasts and kissed her neck.
"I just kind of nudged him away," she said.
Brownlee did not testify in his own defense. The jury did hear from him in two, hour-long recordings.
One of the recordings was a July 22, 2012, interview with two Baldwin County Sheriff's Office investigators. The other was a video of an Aug. 31, 2012, interview Brownlee did with a Mobile Police Department polygrapher.
In the first interview, Brownlee was asked about allegations that he had sexually abused the victim and her sister. He denied the allegations throughout the video.
"They would have to be lying because I never touched one of those of girls," he said.
Brownlee admitted to sexual contact with the victim in the second interview, but said he was forced to do it by a relative of the girl.
He also said the relative and other relatives of the victim sexually assaulted him when he was a boy.
Brownlee's voice cracked, and he started to cry as as he described what happened to him.
"His brother raped me," Brownlee said. "He raped me. His other brother raped me. They all raped me."
Brownlee was asked in the video about having sex with the victim's underage sister at a hotel.
Brownlee admitted to having sex with the girl, but he said at the time he thought she was 21 years old.
Brownlee also described seeing video of several of members of the victim's relatives having sex with each other.
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| Bay Minette |
She said she thought the relative was taking her to get a hamster. She said she was forced to have sex with Brownlee in the hotel room as her relative watched.
Another woman testified Wednesday that when she was 12 years old Brownlee tried to have sex with her. She said she told him to stop after he started touching her.
The woman, who is now 23 years old, said what happened to her was reported to police. She said the last thing she heard about the case was there was not enough evidence to proceed.
Baldwin County Assistant District Attorney Teresa Heinz said she thinks things have gone well for the prosecution during the trial. She said the victim and the other women who testified were truthful about the things that happened to them.
"This was a difficult process for them," Heinz said. "It's bad enough to have had these things happen to you, but to have to stand up in front of a room full of strangers and the person who did them to you and talk about it is beyond hard." There are better ways of doing this Ms Heinz.
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