Published Thursday, May 15, 2008

Rape suspect guilty, gets three life sentences

By Elizabeth Richardson

The Times-Herald

Robert Wayne Duke, 51, was found guilty of three counts of rape Thursday and sentenced to three life sentences, all to run concurrently.

Jurors deliberated throughout the morning and eventually requested to re-watch the secretly recorded surveillance video of the conversation between Duke and the female victim from Oct. 25, 2007. According to Assistant District Attorney Kevin McMurry, within 10 minutes of the video’s conclusion — which was just before lunch — jurors came back with the guilty verdict.

After the verdict was read, the victim’s brother read an emotional statement to the court detailing what this sexual abuse has done to his sister. He thanked the jurors for their verdict and asked Judge Jack Kirby to give Duke the harshest punishment possible.

Following the statement, Duke, who was represented by defense attorney Macklyn A. Smith, was given the opportunity to speak and merely said, “I’m innocent.”

“Justice has long been delayed in this case,” said McMurry. “We are thankful for the victim that we were able to finally achieve a guilty verdict.”

Duke, a relative of the female victim, was convicted of three counts of rape for incidents beginning in 1992, when the relative was 13-years-old and Duke was 36, and ending in spring 1994. The victim, now 29, did not accuse Duke of rape until June 2006. Duke was arrested on Oct. 25, 2007, following the secretly recorded conversation.