Texas rape trial of Eric McGowen resumes despite suspect's escape/Found GUILTY and sentenced to 99 years even though still missing/Eric McGowen located and arrested

LIBERTY, Texas – Testimony has resumed without the defendant present in the first trial over the alleged sexual assault of a Texas middle school girl by 20 men and boys over several months two years ago.OMG!
Judge Mark Morefield said Thursday that 20-year-old Eric McGowen's trial will continue even though he hasn't been seen since disappearing during a break in testimony Wednesday, the trial's first day.
McGowen is the first of 14 adults to face trial in the case of repeated sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl during three months in 2010.
Six juveniles also are charged in the attacks in Cleveland, a small town about 45 miles northeast of Houston.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys huddled briefly with Judge Mark Morefield after McGowen failed to return to the courtroom in nearby Liberty following an afternoon break Wednesday.
Morefield said a bench warrant had been issued and that the trial would go on without McGowen. Bail was increased from $35,000 to $250,000.
Defense attorney Matthew Poston and prosecutors did not comment on McGowen's disappearance because of a gag order. The Liberty County Sheriff's Office had no update early Thursday on whether the suspect had been found.
McGowen is charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child and faces up to life in prison if convicted.
The girl, testifying using a pseudonym, told jurors about two incidents, one in October 2010 and one the following month, in which she said McGowen and several other men and boys took turns sexually assaulting her while recording the encounters on video.
The girl briefly broke down in tears as jurors were shown a few minutes of video of an alleged October 2010 sexual assault in a house in Cleveland where she and the defendants lived.
The girl, who was 11 at the time, said she was brought into what she described as the "baby room," and that McGowen and others took turns sexually assaulting her. She said the video, which several jurors turned away from, was of her being assaulted by another man charged in the case.
"Did the guys just take turns with you?" prosecutor Joe Warren asked.
"Yes, sir," the girl said.
The girl seemed calm for most of the roughly 1 1/2 hours she testified. She mostly gave short answers, often pausing to stare at the floor or ceiling of the courtroom before responding.
She described another alleged sexual assault that November that started in a different Cleveland home and continued at a nearby abandoned trailer.
Asked by Warren if more than 20 males might have assaulted her that day, the girl responded, "Probably."
She also told jurors that McGowen assaulted her with a beer bottle during that incident.
Jurors were shown police photos of used condoms and condom wrappers found inside and outside the house after the alleged November incident.
Poston questioned the girl for about six minutes, asking whether she twice had told police early in the investigation that McGowen had never sexually assaulted her. The girl said she didn't remember saying that.
Prosecutors say the girl was assaulted on at least five occasions from mid-September through early December of 2010.
Eight of the 20 defendants accused in the case have pleaded guilty, including all six juveniles.
Authorities began investigating that December, after one of the girl's friends told a teacher he had seen a cellphone video of her being attacked in an abandoned trailer.
Three people who have pleaded guilty -- two adults and a juvenile who has since turned 18 -- also testified Wednesday.
Isaiah Ross, 22, told jurors he saw McGowen sexually assault the girl with a beer bottle. The other adult, Marcus Porchia, 28, and the teen testified they saw others assault the girl but not McGowen.
Ross and Porchia each received 15-year prison terms. The six juveniles who pleaded guilty each received suspended seven-year prison terms.Suspended!! Unbelievable!!
The case sparked outrage in the roughly 9,000-strong community of Cleveland. Early in the investigation, some residents suggested the girl was partly responsible because they say she wore makeup, looked older than her age and wasn't properly supervised by her parents, drawing widespread condemnation.
The case also has been complicated by a belief among many in the predominantly black neighborhood where several of the suspects live that the arrests were racially motivated. All of the suspects are black, while the girl is Hispanic.
Warren later showed jurors a video and read a written confession in which McGowen admitted to receiving oral sex from the girl.
"What took place to this girl was nothing better than a pack of animals attacking," Warren said.
On Tuesday, Poston tried but failed to get the confessions thrown out, arguing that police had improperly questioned McGowen.
During his opening statement, Poston told jurors that the video evidence in the case doesn't show McGowen sexually assaulting the girl.
"The truth in this case is not always what it seems," he said.
Most of the adult defendants in the case face charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child, while four face a charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child.

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I could have sworn we had a link on this. Horrific!!!!!!

snipped from above article On Tuesday, Poston tried but failed to get the confessions thrown out, arguing that police had improperly questioned McGowen.
During his opening statement, Poston told jurors that the video evidence in the case doesn't show McGowen sexually assaulting the girl.
"The truth in this case is not always what it seems," he said

Why would anyone human being be stupid enough to make a statement like this about a case like this???

I don't have the time unfortunately right now to read through this but could this be the same?
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Wrapitup wrote:I don't have the time unfortunately right now to read through this but could this be the same?
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I read it and it sounds like the same thing but the above link says she was raped thru' December. Other than that I'd bet it's the same thing but I don't know if I should merge or not. ?

Not sure as I just searched "gang rape" and unfortunately, there are Many so let's leave it as is. Thanks, Raine!

No problem Wrap!

GUILTY! Jury convicts man who gang raped 11-year-old for months after just 20 minutes.... but he's still missing after vanishing from court
Eric McGowen, 20, sentenced to 99 years' prison after being convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child
Girl was gang-raped repeatedly two years ago in Cleveland, Texas
McGowen admitted raping her with eight others, sometimes two at a time
Escaped during afternoon break on Wednesday and not been seen since
Man 'should be considered armed and dangerous,' police said
Girl broke down during video showing her having anal sex with attackers, jurors turned away
Said in one attack she was 'probably' assaulted by all 20 males over 10 hours

Eric McGowen has been sentenced to 99 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of aggravated sexual assault of a child in the first trial stemming from the horrific gang-rape of a Texas 11-year-old -- but the 20-year-old is still missing after brazenly escaping from court yesterday.
McGowen hasn't been seen since he vanished during a break in proceedings on Wednesday afternoon and the Liberty County Sheriff's Office had no update on his whereabouts today.
But Judge Mark Morefield chose to push ahead with the trial without the defendant, calling the remaining witnesses. Jurors deliberated for just 20 minutes before finding the missing man guilty and after another 30 minutes they had decided his sentence.

On trial: Eric McGowen, 20, pictured, is among 14 adults accused of raping the girl in the shocking series of attacks that took place in the small Texas community of Cleveland
McGowen was convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child and faces up to life in prison for his part in the shocking attacks, which saw the girl, now 13, gang-raped by 20 men and boys on multiple occasions in an abandoned trailer.
His lawyer didn’t present any evidence or call witnesses.
McGowen is one of 14 adults accused of having sex with the girl. Six boys also are charged in the case.
One of the last witnesses to be called was forensic nurse examiner, Ashley Huyah, who interviewed and examined the girl after she suffered a gut-wrenching gang-rape in November 2010.
Huynh testified that the girl said she had sex with at least four males, including McGowen. The nurse said knee abrasions were only physical evidence she found when examining the girl.
Jennifer Pollock, a DNA expert with Texas Department of Public Safety crime lab in Houston, was the final witness for the prosecution.
Pollock said she examined evidence at a scene where the girl was allegedly attacked and could only conclude that McGowen can’t be excluded as a contributor to the DNA that was analysed.
Liberty County sheriff's Capt. Steve Greene said courthouse security wasn't required to follow McGowen when he fled the courtroom yesterday because he was out on bail.
Greene said the sheriff's office was notified by the court bailiff when the defendant didn't return after the afternoon coffee break. He warned that McGowen should be considered armed and dangerous.
Judge Morefield yesterday issued a warrant for McGowen's arrest and hiked the man's bail from $35,000 to $250,000.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys huddled briefly with the judge in front of his bench when the defendant, who was wearing a white shirt, jeans and tennis shoes, vanished after sitting through the bulk of the day's proceedings, including his victim's testimony.
McGowen's attorney Matthew Poston and prosecutors did not comment on McGowen's disappearance because of a gag order, though Poston said he thought his client was in the bathroom when he didn't return to his seat.
The judge then told jurors the trial would go on without him.
Before McGowen's brazen escape, the victim broke down in court as she watched a video of one of the painful attacks.
The girl, who authorities haven't named, testified against McGowen in the first trial stemming from the series of horrendous attacks that took place in the small Texas community of Cleveland, 45 miles from Houston.
In court yesterday, the middle school student, dressed in a plaid shirt and blue jeans and wearing a gold cross around her neck, described how McGowen took her to a house in October 2010 where she had sex with multiple males.
The girl said she was brought into what she described as the 'baby room' in the house, and that McGowen and others took turns having sex with her.
Testifying under the pseudonym Regina, the girl smiled nervously and answered questions quietly.
But she broke down on the witness stand when prosecutors began playing a graphic video tape of her having anal sex during one of the alleged attacks.
She said the video, which several jurors turned away from, was of her being assaulted by another man charged in the case.
Dirty: The attacks occurred inside an abandoned mobile home, pictured, police said
She identified McGowen in the film laughing in the background, telling the attacker to 'beat that ho.'
'Did the guys just take turns with you?' prosecutor Joe Warren asked.
'Yes sir,' the girl said.
The girl seemed calm for most of the roughly one and a half hours she testified.
She mostly gave short answers to questions, often pausing to stare at the floor or ceiling of the Liberty courtroom before responding.
However, she had difficulty remembering names and exactly how all the assaults occurred, according to the Houston Chronicle.
She described another alleged rape in November 2010 that started in a different Cleveland home the defendants called the 'boom boom' room, according to prosecutors, and that continued later at a nearby abandoned trailer.
Asked by Warren if more than 20 males might have assaulted her that day, the girl responded, 'probably.'
Jurors were later shown police photos of used condoms and condom wrappers found inside and outside the house in the November incident.
Three people who have pleaded guilty — two adults and a juvenile who has since turned 18 — also testified yesterday.
Isaiah Ross, 22, told jurors he saw McGowen sexually assault the girl with a beer bottle.
The other adult, Marcus Porchia, 28, and the teen testified they saw others assault the girl but not McGowen.
McGowen’s attorney, Matthew Poston, questioned the girl for about six minutes, during which time he asked whether she twice told police early in the investigation that she never had sex with McGowen.

The girl said she didn’t remember saying that.
During opening statements on Wednesday, Warren told jurors he would present them with videotaped and written confessions in which McGowen admitted to raping the girl.
'What took place to this girl was nothing better than a pack of animals attacking,' Warren said.
The prosecutor added that while the girl may be seen smiling and even laughing at some times on the videos, these individuals had 'duped, tricked and talked her into doing things against her best interests,' according to the Chronicle.
Authorities say the then 11-year-old was assaulted at least five times between mid-September and early December 2010 by a group of 20 males ranging in age from a middle school student to a 28-year-old.
The attackers filmed the girl being raped and took cellphone photos.
On Tuesday, a videotaped police interview in which McGowen admitted he and eight other men took turns having sex with the girl, sometimes two at a time, was shown in court, although jurors were not present.
In the video, which McGowen's lawyers argued should not be allowed as evidence, the 20-year-old initially denied ever touching the girl, but he later broke down and told investigators he engaged in oral sex with her, according to the Houston Chronicle.
He also said one of the others penetrated the girl with a beer bottle.
On Tuesday, Poston tried but failed to get the confessions thrown out, arguing that police improperly questioned McGowen.
During his opening statement, Poston told jurors that the video evidence in the case doesn’t show McGowen having sex with the girl.
'The truth in this case is not always what it seems,' he said.
He also said to jurors, regarding the video 'what you'll see will not be pleasant but the most unsettling parts do not contain McGowen having intercourse with this girl.'
Yesterday, Poston questioned how the girl learned McGowen's name since she was only aware of his street nickname 'Clyde.'
She told him she believed the first time she heard that name was from school police who were questioning her about the rapes, the Chronicle reported.
Two men and all six juveniles have pleaded guilty in the horrific case.
A gag order has prevented prosecutors and defense attorneys from commenting about the case.
McGowen's trial, which is being held in the nearby county of Liberty, is expected to yield further details about the attacks in coming days.
The investigation into the shocking gang-rapes began in 2010 after one of the girl's friends told a teacher he had seen a cellphone video that showed the 11-year-old being raped in an abandoned trailer.
Those charged included two top athletes at the local high school and adults with criminal records.
The case brought unflattering attention to Cleveland, a town of 9,000 people, after some residents suggested the girl was in part responsible for what happened, saying she wore makeup, looked older and wasn't properly supervised by her parents.
Other community residents, as well as groups from outside of town, sharply criticised those suggestions.
It has been complicated by a belief among many in the predominantly black neighborhood where several of the suspects live that the arrests were racially motivated. All of the suspects are black, while the girl is Hispanic.
Two other adults have previously pleaded guilty, with one receiving a 15-year prison term and the other awaiting sentencing.
Six juveniles who were charged also have previously pleaded guilty. They received 7-year prison terms, but their sentences were suspended and they were put on probation for that amount of time.
Most of the adult defendants in the case face charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child, while four face a charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child.

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Others accused in the gang rape:


Kelvin Rashad King accused in rape


Devo Shaun Greene also accused in rape


Xavier King


Marcus Anthony Porchia-sentenced to 15 years in June


Jared Glenn MacPherson

CLEVELAND, Texas — As police search for a man convicted of taking part in the repeated group sexual assaults of an 11-year-old girl, divisions over the crime seem to still be lingering in the Southeast Texas community.
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A MUST read!!!!!!!! Talk about blaming the victim and she's only 11?!!!!!? And racially motivated? What year is this?!!!!??????

That girl was so brave to go thru' all that testimony. I so feel for her and when I read things like the above it just makes my blood boil!

U.S. Marshals Service spokesman Alfredo Perez says Eric McGowen was arrested Tuesday after he was found in an apartment in northeast Houston.
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