NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — A 25-year-old woman claims her former babysitter, Kristi Cline, and former Newport News Police Officer Robert Jones would sexually assault her more than a decade ago.
Thursday:
A jury acquitted Kristi Cline and Robert Jones on some of the sexual assault charges the pair faced on Thursday afternoon.
The jury found Jones not guilty on two counts of rape, one count of sodomy, and four counts of indecent exposure. For Cline, she was found not guilty on two counts of aggravated sexual battery.
The jury told the judge they couldn't come to an agreement on six of the indictments for Cline.
“I think the jury worked hard,” said Jones’ defense attorney Timothy Clancy. “It is very clear in terms of Robert Jones, they were absolutely right. In terms of the charges for which they found Mrs. Cline not guilty, they were absolutely right. It was clear there was some inexplicable problem reaching a verdict on the remaining counts involving her. I would be surprised if we ever saw those charges come back."
Prosecutor Stephanie Pass did not want to comment on the verdict.
The allegations in this case dated back to 2008. A woman, who is now 25, said Cline and Jones sexually assaulted her when she was 12 years old. But the jury did not believe that.
The jury deliberated for nearly eight hours before reaching its verdict.
Wednesday:
After three days of testimony, the verdict is now in the hands of 12 jurors. During closing arguments, both the prosecution and defense asked jurors to use their common sense when looking at all sides of this case.
During closing arguments, the prosecutor asked jurors why the victim would subject herself to this trial, several years after the alleged sex crimes took place.
The defense brought up the victim’s mental health history.
Attorneys said she went to a mental health facility in 2017, and her records from her stay report she is bipolar. They told jurors this happened around the time the victim contacted Jones and Cline about her sexual allegations against them.
The Defense attorneys said the victim's allegations became, "wilder and wilder." They said she accused several men of sexual abuse.
They also argued Jones’ strict work schedule did not give him time to visit Cline after school and interact with the victim.
The prosecutor questioned that strict schedule because she said police logs kept by the department didn’t keep track of where an officer went minute-by-minute.
She said the victim is adamant the crimes happened.
Tuesday:
On Tuesday jurors watched an hour-long video of Newport News detectives interviewing Kristi Cline after the woman reported the allegations to police in 2019. Cline said she knew Robert Jones because their sons played football together.
Cline said Jones would often stop by her house for bathroom breaks while on patrol, and said that is how he knew the victim.
When the prosecution rested, Jones took the stand for the defense. He said the victim and her mother sometimes hung out with the Clines and his family at social gatherings.
Jones said the victim moved to another state and he didn’t hear from her until 2016.
He told jurors that in 2016, the victim called Kristi and accused her, Jones, and several other people of having unwanted sex with her. Jones said he immediately reported the allegations to his chain of command within the Newport News Police Department.
In court, Jones’ attorney pulled out three binders full of unit logs from the 2008 to 2010 timeline when the woman said the abuse happened. He said the logs show what Jones did on patrol.
He told jurors with the strict schedule Jones had to follow, he didn’t have time to sexually assault the victim.
Monday
On Monday, jurors began hearing testimony in the trial of a daycare worker and former Newport News police officer accused of sexually abusing a girl, a decade ago.
A 25-year-old woman claims her former babysitter Kristi Cline and former Newport News Police Officer Robert Jones would sexually assault her.
She took the stand on Monday and testified the alleged abuse happened after school at Cline’s home between 2008 to 2010. The victim said she was 12 when the abuse began.
Both Cline and Jones face several sexual assault charges. Both pled not guilty to each charge on Monday.
On the stand, the victim said Cline took naked photos of her and texted them to Jones. She told jurors Cline forced her to do sexual acts with her. She said Jones would come to Cline’s home and sexually assault her.
The victim also testified Cline and Jones told her if she ever told anyone about the abuse they would kill her.
The victim got emotional on the stand when talking about why she came forward. She said when her daughter turned 6 months old she reported the abuse, because she couldn’t imagine it happening to her daughter.
Attorneys for Cline and Jones said the victim is diagnosed with bipolar disorder and she made claims other people sexually abused her too. They pointed jurors to several binders full of evidence that they say will prove Cline and Jones are innocent.
The attorneys said during the trial jurors will hear from retired and active Newport news police officers, and even Jones’ direct supervisors.
They said the timeframe for Jones' work schedule with the police department between 2008-2010 did not line up with the victim's after-school schedule.
They told jurors not to fall for the victim's testimony.
Court officials said this trial is expected to last through Thursday.