During a two-day trial beginning Wednesday, December 5, a former Greenbrier County man was found not guilty of an alleged sexual relationship with a 12-year-old
In June 2018, a Greenbrier County Grand Jury indicted Jeffrey Wallace, now 53, then 51, on three counts of sexual assault in the third degree for alleged sexual acts with someone under the age of 16.
The prosecution, led by Greenbrier County Prosecutor Patrick Via, called two witnesses, the now-14-year-old accuser and Corporal John Gilkerson of the West Virginia State Police, Rainelle detachment.
According to the accuser’s testimony, their family moved into an apartment building in 2017 next door to Wallace. Having previously lived in an apartment a few doors down, the accuser had known Wallace.
They testified to telling Wallace they had a crush on him and that he reciprocated. The relationship allegedly continued throughout the summer, until the accuser and their family moved out of the apartment in the fall. The accuser explained that, at the time, the relationship was “consensual.”
“[They] acknowledged [their] role in participating in these acts,” Via argued. “At some point [they] got out of [their] element. … This is not a child that came in here and said someone made me do this. [They] stepped forward and said I participated in it. [They] was 12. … [They] got caught up in a situation as a 12-year-old child that Jeffrey Wallace should have never put [them] in.”
During cross examination, the accuser was questioned about a number of people [they] knew in the neighborhood, how they were reacquainted through Wallace’s son, and details about several specific incidents.
They explained that physical interactions occurred throughout the summer, several of which they could not point to specific days but between May and August 2017. The accuser told their mother about the events in March 2018, eventually leading to the case.
The defense called four witnesses in total – Brandon Thomas, Clara Delinger, an underage witness, and Wallace himself.
Thomas, Delinger, and the underage witness were questioned about what they saw throughout the summer of 2017 and the timeline of several events. Notably, during Thomas’s cross examination, Via questioned him about speaking to the accuser at school the day before the trial began. According to the questioning, Thomas recalls speaking about the trial, that what he said “probably” upset the accuser, but could not recall specifically what was said.
Wallace himself took the stand last, testifying that this relationship did not occur. He described his role as a “father figure” for neighbor children, of which his son is a member. Throughout the course of the summer, Wallace said he hosted neighborhood group of children at his home and escorted them on several trips and events.
Wallace explained that throughout summer 2017, he was recently reacquainted with his high school sweetheart, who lived in North Carolina. They commuted back and forth between the states in order to see one another and married in 2018. Wallace and his son now live in North Carolina.
His physical condition also varied throughout the summer; in June 2017, Wallace underwent a spinal fusion surgery on his back, resulting in bed rest and several side effects. By July 28, he was able to take the area kids and his girlfriend, later wife, on a trip to Snowshoe. He testified that the only time he had been alone with the accuser in his home was a night where the accuser’s mother would help him after the surgery but was unable to make it, and he spent the night resting.
Wallace outright denied the accusations and stated he was not aware of a crush the accuser might have had at the time. During the testimony, he stated that he did not know the origins of the accusations, not knowing any reason for the accuser to be angry with him.
“Mr. Wallace didn’t hide from anything,” said John Faerber, Wallace’s defense counsel. “He told [the jury] he had been in that home alone with [the accuser]. Not a single party alleges anything occurred there. … What we got from Jeff’s testimony was a man that, in this same window, reunited with his high school sweetheart, childhood sweetheart and they had fallen in love with each other again. … Unsurprisingly, he flat out denies the allegations because they’re untrue. … You can judge credibility and it becomes clear that this entire allegation is nothing but fantasy.”
After a lengthy deliberation on Thursday, December 5, the jury came back with a verdict of not guilty, releasing Wallace from all charges.
Read more in the Monday, December 9, 2019, edition of The West Virginia Daily News.
