Retired officer’s rape trial begins

Published 10:39 pm Monday, April 14, 2014

Retired police officer Willie Toney returns to the Pike County Courthouse after a break in his trial. MESSENGER PHOTO | MONA MOORE

Retired police officer Willie Toney returns to the Pike County Courthouse after a break in his trial.
MESSENGER PHOTO | MONA MOORE

The jury trial of a retired Troy Police officer began Monday at the Pike County Courthouse.
The Alabama Bureau of Investigations and the Pike County Sheriff’s Office arrested Willie Toney Aug. 1, 2012. He was accused of multiple sex crimes against a victim younger than 12. Charges include first-degree rape and two counts of first-degree sodomy.
Kelly Burns Hawkins of the Alabama Attorney General’s Office is prosecuting the case. She called the victim to the stand Monday morning.
The victim recalled two incidents where Toney had raped her. She said Toney threatened to kill her and her family if she reported the rape. She eventually did report it on Easter Sunday in a letter she wrote to a parent.
When asked what made her come forward, she said, “I wanted it to stop right then and there.”
The defense questioned the victim regarding a forensic interview she had done at the Child Advocacy Center about five months after reporting the crimes.
The victim recanted some of the accusations, most notably that Toney had sodomized her.
Toney served on the city’s police force for more than 18 years – part of that time as a school resource officer. His trial will continue today.

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