"Unconsciously Touching" 5yo In Public Caught On Tape; Thomas McConnell Arrested

[Dakota Valkyrie]

The head of Hamilton County schools' Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program faces charges of aggravated sexual battery after he was accused of groping a 5-year-old girl in a restaurant Sunday.

Thomas C. McConnell, 65, of Hixson, a retired Army colonel, runs the school district's junior ROTC program, which has about 25 instructors at about 10 local high schools.
[...]

McConnell also is a deacon at St. Jude Catholic Church in Chattanooga. Since his arrest, the Diocese of Knoxville issued a statement that McConnell will be suspended from the ministry pending the outcome of the investigation.

The incident took place while McConnell was eating at a restaurant and was holding the child. A couple told police they noticed him inappropriately touching the girl.

The woman, who had an iPhone, recorded video of the incident that shows the girl shoving McConnell's hand away several times as he continued to touch her, according to the arrest report.

A waitress also noticed McConnell's actions and told her manager about the incident, according to the arrest report.

The child was taken to the Child Advocacy Center where a forensic interview was conducted. The girl said she was embarrassed by McConnell's actions and did not want to talk about it. When police interviewed McConnell, he said he was "unconsciously touching" the child and "was not aware what he was fully doing," according to the arrest report.

He also told police, "in no way does he believe he did anything wrong."

McConnell's case is rare.

It's seldom that child sex abuse cases are caught on video, witnessed in public or brought to light the same day, said Chattanooga police Sgt. Jerome Halbert, who oversees five detectives who work family investigations.

"When you get video with the statement to corroborate, it's a lot easier," he said.

Witnesses may be challenged in court, but video captures the event.

"You can question all you want about me, but what can you say about this video?" Halbert said.
[...]

In McConnell's arrest, he described it as a "solid case."

"It's very rare that we get footage," he said. "You had people who witnessed it first hand who also recorded it. It made it sort of cut and dry."

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2...ged-sex-abuse/

[TheMeaningOfItAll]

Ahh, I just love that cell phones have such great video recorders nowadays. This guy is totally fucked. How are you unaware that you are touching a little girls private parts? Sounds like the typical pedo. Has the kid sitting on his lap and takes total advantage.

[sugarfree irony]

So he is a pedophile and an exhibitionist . When I saw the thread title I thought maybe they were sleeping and he fondled her while he was asleep , or faking sleep . Even with the video I think this is going to be a hard case to win . I think the defense is going to go with if he was trying to sexually abuse the child why would he do it in public . You rarely see sexual abuse in public .

[Dakota Valkyrie]

If hands do whatever his did "unconsciously", I really wonder what the hands have been doing "consciously" with them when no one was looking.

[melissa222]

I think he looks like a nasty bastard, poor child, if this is going on in public and has her so embarassed not to want to talk about it, i don't even want to imagine what goes on behind closed doors...

[Dakota Valkyrie]

A Catholic deacon charged with sexual battery against a child made his first court appearance today.

During the preliminary hearing, prosecutors played a video showing Tom McConnell touching the 5-year-old girl in a restaurant.

After watching the video three times and hearing from witnesses, Hamilton County Sessions Court Judge Ronald Durby decided there is enough probable cause to send the case to the grand jury.

Back on March 4 at a North Shore restaurant, Tammye Cagle and her husband Ed Cagle were sitting one table away from McConnell and his group. She used her smart phone to shoot the video. Cagle believes it shows inappropriate contact on display for everyone in the restaurant to see.

But McConnell told police she misunderstood and that he was just expressing his love and affection for a child he knows well.

In his first interview with police, McConnell said, "This couple came forward making these horrible accusations and said they had video to prove it."
[...]

Then, the testimony started. Tammye Cagle told the court, "As he was rubbing up and down her leg, then he would rub her bottom, place his hand in the front between her legs and just continued to rub and touch her."

Cagle said that's what she saw and that's what she recorded on her smart phone. In this morning's hearing, she stuck to her account. "I do not know to what degree how wrong it is but I do know that he was touching her inappropriately."

The video shows McConnell repeatedly rubbing the girl's leg on the side and also placing his hand under the back of her dress. This is shown in the second clip of video, his hand stays under her dress for 35 seconds before the little girl pushes his hand away. At that point, Ed Cagle confronted McConnell in the restaurant.

He also saw a police officer in Rennaissance Park and went and reported what he and his wife had seen and captured on video.

After the video clip had been shown three times, the prosecution played McConnell's interview with police. He told officers, "I petted her, I tickled her back, I stroked her, I tried to tuck her shirttail in one time and I hugged her."

His attorney, Lee Davis, argued the video comes down to interpretation. In the hearing, he asked Cagle, "Now, what I see is a fingertip straightening out a child's clothing at the end of that video. Is there something different? Is there something I'm missing that's on this video?"

She responded, "What I see on the video is him pulling his hand out of her tights after he was rubbing her bottom."

As the interview with police grew longer, McConnell was emphatic in his denial. "But I can tell you this I did nothing wrong today and I have never done anything wrong with (identity of girl omitted) ever."

On that Sunday afternoon, Ed Cagle saw police in Renaissance Park and contacted them. He said he and his wife felt they saw wrong behavior and did the right thing.

http://www.newschannel9.com/news/cou...ce-deacon.html

Cagle says, "Between her front thighs, which I thought that was inappropriate for a grown man to have his hand resting there, and she takes his hand and throws it down away from her front part."

She testified she never actually saw McConnell touch the girl in the front.
[...]

McConnell says they are just an affectionate family.

He says he was shocked when Cagle approached him at the restaurant.

McConnell says, "Are you kidding me? This is my granddaughter. I love her. I'm not groping her. If I've offended you, but something you've perceived I'm sorry, but I don't grope my granddaughter."

When questioned about why his granddaughter would say she was embarrassed McConnell said he didn't know why, but that the girl might be embarrassed and scared by her grandfather being taken away by police.

McConnell also questioned how the girl was interviewed.

He says, "And I'll tell you I know my granddaughter, a lot better than either of you two. If my granddaughter was uncomfortable she would have gotten off my lap and gone to get in her mother's lap. If she was uncomfortable with anything, she's headstrong enough that that's it. I'm gone."

http://www.wdef.com/news/story/Deaco...4kG-Vzjag.cspx

An attorney said he will seek a quick trial for JROTC Commander Tom McConnell for fondling charges, saying a videotape does not show anything inappropriate.

Attorney Lee Davis said the main witnesses against Col. McConnell have criminal records.

Tuesday morning, General Sessions Court Judge Ron Durby ordered the case the against 65-year-old McConnell to be bound over to the grand jury, which will determine whether to indict him for the alleged crimes.

http://www.chattanoogan.com/2012/3/2...ape-Shows.aspx