Lowndes County jurors Wednesday heard a full day of often disturbing testimony in the case of a Columbus man, Doris “D.R.” McElhenney, who was indicted in 2009 of one count of felonious fondling of his then 11-year-old granddaughter.
Assistant District Attorney Katie Moulds painted a grim picture for the jurors of a grandfather who allegedly fondled his granddaughter with a back massager. Moulds called on testimony from Lt. Greg Wright of the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department, who handled the investigation into the case.
Wright testified he received a written statement from the accuser’s father, Adam Boterf, stating his daughter had been “massaged in her private areas” by McElhenney, after a July 19, 2009, Sunday luncheon at McElhenney’s home. After the lunch, which was attended by the Boterf family, McElhenney and his granddaughter were picking figs, when he allegedly lured her into a nearby shed and fondled her with a three-pronged, small back massager. Wright discussed the evidence he had accumulated, including a large bag of several packs of individually wrapped candy bars, $5 and a back massager. The sack of candy and money allegedly was given to the victim after the events in the shed.
“(McElhenney) had a small office off of his carport where he kept his candy,” Wright said, during a cross examination by attorney Rod Ray, who represents McElhenney. “He said he liked to give it to his grandchildren. That Sunday, July 19, McElhenney said he went outside to pick some figs and he went to the shed to find a larger bucket and that (his granddaughter) was following him. Once they went into the shed, he said (the accuser) wanted him to massage her back with the massager. He gave her a bag of candy from out of his truck and he said the $5 was the change leftover in the bag.”
Wright contended the accuser had no visible bruises or marks on her body. After the allegations were made, he arranged to have her questioned by Ellen Steele, a forensic interviewer with Family Resource Center of Northeast Mississippi in Tupelo.
Steele testified she interviewed McElhenney’s granddaughter on July 27, 2009 and she had no reason to believe the child had been “coached,” during her interview.
“(His granddaughter) was very pleasant and very quiet, but she ended up talking to me and being very open,” Steele said. “She was not emotional, but that’s not abnormal. Every child is different.”
The jurors watched a recording of the interview, during which the alleged victim said her grandfather liked to massage her after they picked figs, but she denied any prior sexual abuse.
“We went to Papaw’s house on a Sunday,” the accuser recalled, during the recorded interview. “He kept saying to let him massage me. He tried to massage me in my privates. I told him I didn’t want him to. He told me to meet him in the shop. I was scared. He gave me a bag of candy and $5. He didn’t want anyone to know. He always tells me not to tell anyone.”
She said McElhenney did not remove her clothes and his clothes remained intact.
“Doris Ray (McElhenney) was nice,” she said of her grandfather. “He was a deacon at Fairview (Baptist Church). He was always giving us candy, but he usually only gave us one piece.”
The defense
During the defense’s presentation of witnesses, Ray portrayed McElhenney in a much different light, pleading with jurors to see McElhenney as a kind, loving grandfather who was the victim of years of bad blood between himself and Adam Boterf.
“This was an estranged family,” said Ray. “This is about a father who did not get along with his son-in-law.”
Mike McElhenney, D.R.’s oldest son, was Ray’s first witness to take the stand.
Mike McElhenney said he was close with his sister, Wendy, until she dropped out of the University of Southern Mississippi to marry Adam Boterf.
“They were married by Richard Vaden at his church and cabinet shop in West Point,” Mike McElhenney said. “They were members of Vaden’s church, and this created problems among our family.”
Vaden was convicted in Noxubee County Circuit Court in 2006 of two counts of fondling his daughters. He appealed his case and the conviction was upheld. Ray was also Vaden’s attorney.
Mike McElhenney said he recalled nothing out of the ordinary about the day in question.
“We came home from church and had dinner like we did every Sunday,” he said. “Dad was in charge of the cooking. He was getting ready to take a nap, but he went out to pick Wendy some figs. All of the children were out there. He came back in, a few minutes later, with a bowl of figs. He said he needed a larger bowl. To my knowledge, he never went back outside. I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary.”
Mike McElhenney testified during Mould’s cross examination he “could not see in the shed.”
Lori Babin, daughter of D.R. McElhenney, was Ray’s next witness. She, too, said Adam Boterf had caused some friction between family members.
“I was really close with my sister, Wendy, but I didn’t get to see her much after she married Adam,” Babin said, during an emotional testimony.
Babin testified she was not at her father’s home on July 19, but contended his innocence.
“Prior to this case, I always thought someone who abused a child should be locked under the jail,” she said, as tears flowed down her cheeks. “I wouldn’t stand here and testify, if I thought my dad had even remotely done this.”
Ray’s final witness of the day was Margaret McElhenney, D.R.’s wife. She described the relationship between her husband and Adam Boterf as “tumultuous.”
“I was cleaning the kitchen on July 19,” she said. “I remember seeing D.R. picking figs. He had asked the boys to help him. I really can’t recall seeing (the alleged victim) outside with him.”
In a bit of conflicting testimony, Margaret McElhenney said her husband did not return outside after picking one bowl of figs. She said he had gone to the shed to look for a bucket in which to feed the dogs.
“He said (his granddaughter) had gone to the shed with him,” she said.
The trial will resume today with Moulds’ cross-examination of Margaret McElhenney.
Jeff Clark was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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