Jury to decide if sex abuse case was retaliation
Apr. 26—CATLETTSBURG — A Louisa man who claims rape accusations were retaliation in a child custody dispute will place his fate in the hands of a jury next month.
Clinton D. Whitt, 45, faces multiple counts of sexual crimes in both Lawrence and Boyd counties after a child accused him of molesting her at project sites where Whitt was employed to renovate.
Whitt was initially indicted by a Boyd County grand jury in March 2022 on charges of first-degree sodomy, first-degree rape and first-degree sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12 for sexual acts alleged to have occurred between 2017 and 2020.
The following month, an indictment was issued in Lawrence County for similar offenses supposedly dating back to 2014.
The Lawrence County case, in which Whitt is charged with second-degree rape, second-degree sodomy and first-degree sexual abuse of a child under 12, is scheduled for a jury trial on May 20.
On Friday in Boyd County Circuit Court, Whitt appeared in-person alongside his court-appointed attorney, Gregory Griffith, director of Boyd County's Trial Office.
With a looming trial date in the neighboring county, Boyd Circuit Judge George Davis scheduled Whitt to reappear on June 21 following the outcome of the trial.
According to previous reports, Whitt's defense argues the allegations of sexual abuse came after a threat that he'd regret filing for 50/50 custody.
At the time of Friday's hearing in Boyd County, it appeared Whitt previously posted bond.
(606) 326-2652 — mjepling@dailyindependent.com
