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1. Casey Anthony is a Florida woman who was charged with murdering her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, after her remains were found near the Anthony home in December 2008. On July 5, 2011, after a six-week trial that transfixed much of the media, [|Ms. Anthony was found not guilty of her daughter's death]. Prosecutors had charged Ms. Anthony of killing her daughter by dosing her with chloroform, suffocating her with duct tape and dumping her body in a wooded area. The verdict came after only 11 hours of deliberation. Jurors did, however, find her guilty of lesser charges of providing false information to law enforcement officers, for which she was sentenced to four years in jail. The precise amount of time she will spend in jail is likely to be significantly less than one year and could be as short as a few weeks, given the nearly three years she has already served. Ms. Anthony had been portrayed by prosecutors and many media commentators, most notably Nancy Grace of the HLN network, as a callous party girl. Prosecutors argued that Ms. Anthony killed her child so she could carouse with her boyfriend, go clubbing and live the “bella vita” — beautiful life — as her tattoo, done after Caylee’s disappearance, proclaimed. They used jailhouse recordings of Ms. Anthony and photographs of her reveling with friends to show she was clearly not grieving. Ms. Anthony failed to report Caylee missing for 31 days and created a tangle of lies, including that a baby sitter kidnapped Caylee, to cover up the absence. The defense conceded Ms. Anthony’s lies, but said they happened for one reason: she had been sexually abused by her father and had been coached to lie her whole life. The defense had argued from the start that Caylee drowned accidentally in the family swimming pool and that the death was concealed in a panic by Ms. Anthony and her father, George Anthony. It was unclear if that version of Caylee’s death swayed jurors. But the circumstantial nature of the prosecution’s case seemed to be insurmountable. There was no direct evidence tying Ms. Anthony to the death of her daughter. Forensic evidence was tenuous, and no witnesses ever connected her to Caylee’s death. Investigators found no traces of Ms. Anthony’s DNA or irrefutable signs of chloroform or decomposition inside the trunk of Ms. Anthony’s car, where prosecutors said she stashed Caylee before disposing of her body. The prosecution was also hurt by the fact that nobody knows exactly when or how Caylee died; her body was too badly decomposed to pinpoint cause of death. And it permitted Ms. Anthony’s lawyer to create a reasonable doubt in jurors’ minds — despite the prosecution’s relentless portrayal of her as a callous liar who sought to kill Caylee so she could lead a carefree life of boyfriends and bars.
 * __Molestation Charges__**



[|Jeffersonville man found guilty of child molestation]

Jury to decide on habitual offender charge next week
By TARA SCHMELZ CORYDON — The jury took less than 15 minutes Saturday to decide the fate of a Jeffersonville man, whose trial on an accusation that he had oral sex with a 12-year-old girl started Wednesday with opening arguments in Harrison County. The jury found George Anderson Reese Jr., 55, guilty of child molestation, a class A felony, punishable up to 50 years in jail. His sentencing is expected to happen in 30 to 45 days, according to Prosecutor Otto Schalk. This week, the jury will decide whether that sentence should be enhanced, with 30 additional years, due to being a habitual offender, since he has previously been convicted of child molesting, a class D felony, and burglary, a class B felony, according to court records. Schalk said he is confident the evidence will show Reese’s two prior convictions, allowing the jury to find him guilty on the additional count.“George Reese is a bad man. The world is a better place knowing this man will die in prison,” Schalk said. Reese was accused of being one of three men who were molesting children in a home in Palmyra in 2008. Five children lived in the home, along with multiple adults. Two other men who lived at that home have been sentenced for child molestation, involving the children in that home. Robert J. James Sr., 37, of New Albany, has pleaded guilty in two cases and is serving 80 years. Michael W. Priddy Jr., 23, of New Albany, was found guilty during trial and was sentenced to 75 years. Reese— who had previously been talked to about his loud commentary, gestures and staring into the jury box— sat emotionless Saturday, looking down at the desk where he was sitting, as Deputy Prosecutor Nicholas Haverstock gave his closing argument in the case. Haverstock told the jury there have been 20 witnesses, 50 objections and days of testimony. He admitted that much of the testimony had inaccuracies. Witnesses varied on where the incident occurred and on other details about Reese’s stay. Haverstock said the sad reality was that the children in the home had been so abused, it is hard for them to remember every detail of one event. He said it is also hard for them to talk about that one event in court, while having to remember not to talk about any other incidents. Haverstock pointed to expert testimony from multiple witnesses that have said children tend to lie about being molested when they have something to gain. He said the victim in this case and witnesses, including James, have nothing to gain for testifying and Reese going to prison. He also reminded the jury about the polygraph exam Reese voluntarily took, where he showed deception when asked if he had oral sex with the then 12-year-old.“Trust your gut. You’ll be able to tell if a witness isn’t telling you the whole story or is trying to mislead you,” he said. Reese’s attorney, Susan Schultz, told the jury this was one of her most difficult cases, due to the inconsistencies among witnesses. Reese rubbed his eyes and watched the jury as she spoke.“I do not dispute that they have been abused and neglected…,” she said. “Your job is to decide whether George Reese was one of those people.”She said the victim in this case initially said it happened 200 times, and later said it happened just once. Haverstock had previously said that was because the girl had been thinking about all the times she was forced to perform oral sex on men, not just the time involving Reese. Schultz said if you can’t believe what that victim says, then you can’t believe all the people she had told about it. Schultz reminded the jury that polygraphs are 92 percent accurate, leaving room for error in this case.“[Reese] can be disagreeable and argumentative, but that doesn’t make him a child molester,” Schultz told the jury. Reese stood for the reading of the verdict, shaking his head in disagreement as he heard the word “guilty” read out loud. The jury was then polled to verify the verdict. Each loudly repeated their personal vote of guilty for the court. Schultz denied to comment on the verdict.

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