I've been hesitant to share this, but I feel I must since it has been yet another burden I've been bearing. This concerns my 21 year old daughter and her abuse at the hands of her step-father. I was first made aware of this when she came to me in March 2006. LOTS of self restraint coupled with the realization that if I did something drastic to this individual, I would be completely worthless to my family, since I'd get locked up. Still, the rage was there, but I chose to support my baby and let the system work. First trial ended in a mistrial. Second trial began on 30 APR 2007. I'm including a newspaper article from the Newnan Times-Herald detailing the final outcome. Please feel free to go to their webpage at
http://times-herald.com to read the entire series of articles from both trials, should you so desire.
Folks, if I appear snippy, overly irritatable, or out of sorts, please don't take it personally. My load has been quite heavy. Finally, we have some relief, not only with Stef's improved prognosis, but also with this final outcome. Thank you for understanding. I'm probably going to shut up for awhile now. Read on.
Birkbeck guilty on all counts
Published 5/10/07 in The Times-Herald
By ALEX McRAE
After a day and a half of deliberations, a Coweta Superior Court jury found
East Point police officer and Coweta resident Benjamin Birkbeck guilty on
six criminal charges involving sexual battery and child molestation.
Superior Court Judge Jack Kirby sentenced Birkbeck to a total of 40 years in
prison plus 12 months in the Coweta County Prison work camp.
"We're satisfied with the verdict and think it is a good decision for the
victim and all the citizens of Coweta County," said Coweta Judicial Circuit
Assistant District Attorney Kevin McMurry, who tried the case. "Lots of
people worked very hard on this case, and we are very pleased with the
outcome."
This was the second trial for Birkbeck on the same charges. The first ended
in a mistrial in February.
Before pronouncing sentence, Kirby asked the young woman accusing Birkbeck
if she wished to speak. The woman - a relative - thanked court officials,
law enforcement and the district attorney's office for their hard work. She
also spoke of how much she had been hurt by the ordeal.
She said she was glad Birkbeck had been found guilty and that she hoped
putting him in prison would prevent another victim from being harmed.
"It's good to know he won't be doing this to any other girls," she said.
Birkbeck was also allowed to speak before sentencing. He continued to
maintain his innocence.
I did not do this," he said. "I don't know how someone could make up
something like this."
Birkbeck also complained about not being able to present certain evidence in
his defense. His remarks were cut short by Kirby, who presided over both
trials. Kirby said he had seen all the evidence and was convinced jury
members had the information they needed to reach the guilty verdicts.
McMurry said the state had a stronger case on the second go-round.
"We had much more good evidence and testimony," McMurry said. "We also had
the polygraph evidence, and that helped a lot."
McMurry was referring to a polygraph taken by Birkbeck and presented as
evidence during the trial. McMurry said Birkbeck "failed miserably" on the
polygraph.
After the verdicts were read, Birkbeck leaned over with his face in his
hands and said, "This is not right. It's not right."
Some members of Birkbeck's family held hands and wept as the verdict and
sentencing proceeded in the Coweta County Justice Center on Greenville
Street.
On count 1, aggravated sexual battery, the jury found Birkbeck guilty of the
lesser offense of sexual battery. He was sentenced to 12 months at the
county work camp.
On count 2, aggravated child molestation, the jury found Birkbeck guilty of
the lesser offense of child molestation. He was sentenced to 20 years in
state prison.
On count 3, aggravated child molestation, the jury found Birkbeck guilty of
the lesser offense of child molestation. He was sentenced to 20 years in
state prison to run consecutively after the 20-year sentence imposed on
count 2.
On counts 4, 5 and 6, child molestation, the jury found Birkbeck guilty. He
received 20 years on each count, to run concurrent with the first 20-year
sentence imposed.
In total, Birkbeck was sentenced to serve 40 years. It will likely be more
than 25 years before he is eligible for parole, according to court sources.
Birkbeck was indicted in September 2006 on one count of aggravated sexual
battery, two counts of aggravated child molestation, three counts of child
molestation and one count of criminal attempt to commit rape.
The young woman accusing Birkbeck claimed he had been abusing her since
January 1993, when she was only 8 years old. In the first incident, the
victim claims to have been fondled inappropriately and sodomized by an
inanimate object at the hands of Birkbeck.
Eventually, these incidents escalated into oral sex and sodomy, according to
the victim. She said during trial the alleged abuse came to a halt when
Birkbeck was in the process of becoming a police officer. At one point, the
victim said she threatened to tell Birkbeck's boss if the abuse did not
stop.
During the last incident of abuse, which allegedly occurred in the early
morning hours of Feb. 28, 2006, the victim stated that she awoke to find
Birkbeck making sexual advances. That day, the victim moved from her
mother's residence, saying her mother refused to believe that she had been
sexually molested. The victim has resided with friends ever since.
The victim said she revealed the crimes to several of her coworkers at a
local fast-food restaurant before finally going to police.
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Topic: Guilty!!!! 40 years (Read 6245 times)