Forensic lab reports have failed to connect a 50-year-old man to the alleged rape of a William & Mary student last December, according to a defense attorney.
While prosecutors have ordered further testing ahead of the man’s jury trial, defense attorney Patricia Nagel said forensic scientists have not yet found any DNA on the victim’s body that matches her alleged attacker, Jerome White.
The details of the testing were revealed during White’s arraignment in the Williamsburg-James City County Circuit Court Tuesday morning. White pleaded not guilty to one count of rape, stemming from a Dec. 3 incident on Scotland Street.
“There is no physical scientific evidence to support anything the alleged victim says,” Nagel said, adding the victim’s prior testimony in court contradicted itself. “Recent evidence from the lab tends to exonerate him.”
Judge Michael McGinty also denied bond for White after considering the nature of the alleged crime, his criminal history and a previous probation violation. White has been convicted of eight felonies, court documents show.
“This letter from probation on August 16 … says he is a ‘risk to his community,'” McGinty said.
White is scheduled for a two-day jury trial Sept. 27 and 28 at 8:30 a.m. in the Williamsburg-James City County Circuit Court.
Police believe White, a Williamsburg resident, raped a female college student outside an apartment building on Scotland Street around 2 a.m. December 3. She was walking back to King & Queen Apartments after having some drinks at the College Delly, she testified during a preliminary hearing in March.
She left when the bars were closing around 2 a.m., and left to walk back home to her apartment around the corner at King & Queen Apartments, she said.
She said she came across White and started speaking to him. A few minutes into the conversation, she found herself on the ground with White on top of her, she alleged.
Prosecutor Katey Fennig has ordered a second follow-up test to see if White can be forensically connected to the crime. Samples were taken from the victim’s internal and external genital areas, neck, cheek and underpants.
The neck sample had a “DNA mixture profile suitable for comparison and different from [the victim] was developed,” although the scientists could not confirm White was a “contributor.”
On the night of the alleged rape, a Williamsburg Police officer saw White with the victim in front of the First Baptist Church on Scotland Street. He had his arm around her, and she was carrying her right shoe in one hand, the officer testified in March.
During the arraignment, the prosecution and defense entered into an agreement regarding a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner test conducted on the victim Dec. 5 at Riverside Regional Medical Center in Newport News.
The agreement includes a protective order that allows Nagel to look at the report, but prevents her from disseminating any personal information about the victim.
Several members of White’s family attended the arraignment. After White was denied bond, he waved and blew a kiss to family members as he exited the courtroom.
“At this point, eight months later, there is no evidence at all to support the charge,” Nagel said.
Fearing may be reached at [email protected].
