Disputed testimony highlights Lima rape trial
Jul. 20—LIMA — Testimony in the rape trial of Lima resident Matthew Brown ended in contradictory fashion Wednesday, when Brown's girlfriend refuted statements made earlier under oath by the alleged victim's grandmother.
The grandmother of a 14-year-old boy — who told jurors he had been sexually abused by Brown on numerous occasions — testified that when her grandson admitted to his mother on Feb. 1 that the unwanted sexual advances of Brown had indeed taken place, she wound up on the phone with Brown.
"I talked to Matt (about the allegations)," the woman said. "He said, 'I'm sorry. I couldn't help it. I'm sick, but I'm going to take care of this ... with a bullet,'" she testified. She also recalled telling police officers about her phone conversation with Brown and what she viewed as his "confession."
On the other end of the line during that call was Amanda Clymer. Testifying as the defense's lone witness Wednesday afternoon, Clymer described herself as Brown's girlfriend.
The woman said she listened to the conversation between Brown and the grandmother of the alleged victim after Brown put his phone on speaker.
"Did (Brown) apologize?" asked defense attorney Carroll Creighton.
"No," Clymer said.
"Did he threaten to kill himself?" Creighton asked.
"No," Clymer said.
Jurors heard testimony directly from the alleged victim Wednesday. The soft-spoken boy, who gave mostly one-word answers to questions posed to him by attorneys, said Brown fondled his "privates" on numerous occasions and also had oral sex with the young boy, both giving and receiving fellatio. Many of the incidents were said to have taken place when the boy was 11 and 12 years old.
Brown also allegedly attempted to have anal sex with the minor on more than one occasion "but I told him to stop," the boy testified. He said he did not tell his mother about Brown's unwanted advances until earlier this year "because I was scared of what he would do."
Other testimony on Wednesday came from Elida Police Department Sgt. Lawrence Nelson-Wallace, Allen County Sheriff's Deputies Clayton Eichman and Derrick Barginere and Shelby Lutterbein, a forensic interviewer with Allen County Children Services.
Nelson-Wallace and Eichman were the first to respond to the home in Elida when family members of the alleged victim reported the sexual assaults had occurred. Both were present when the boy wrote out a statement telling his version of what had happened.
Creighton's questioning to both men suggested that the boy had been "coached" on what to tell police. Lutterbein, who had conducted a one-on-one interview with the boy after the alleged incidents came to light, said that when talking with children "it is not hard to tell if they're telling the truth or have been coached."
She said the boy showed no signs to indicate he had been told what to say during their session.
Sgt. Corey Hanjora of the Allen County Sheriff's Office testified about the events surrounding Brown's arrest May 15. He had been a fugitive for several months after cutting off his GPS ankle monitoring device but was discovered by a bounty hunter in Lima at the home of his girlfriend. Hanjora said officers set up a "soft perimeter" around Clymer's home and arrested Brown when the bounty hunter brought him outside.
Brown, 33, is charged with nine counts of rape, seven counts of sexual battery, two counts of gross sexual imposition and one count of attempted rape, all involving the young boy. The charges stem from alleged sexual conduct with the juvenile that occurred between May 2019 and Nov. 21, 2020.
Jurors will begin their deliberations Thursday morning following closing arguments from attorneys.
