Man charged with rape of child previously released with zero bond on similar charge

Aug. 14—A man who was arrested Aug. 4 for allegedly committing an incestuous and forcible rape of a child in Franklin County that day had been released less than three months before from the Morgan County Jail with zero bond on a charge of forcible sexual abuse of a child.

The Morgan County district attorney and the circuit judge who authorized the defendant's release from jail disagree on who, if anyone, was to blame.

Raymond Matthew McKinney, 35, was arrested Dec. 5 after being indicted by a Morgan County grand jury for sexual contact with a child under the age of 12 and for sexual contact by forcible compulsion of the same victim. Circuit Judge Jennifer Howell released McKinney from jail on his own recognizance on May 20.

On Aug. 4, McKinney was arrested in Franklin County and charged with first-degree rape and incest involving a 16-year-old female. Franklin County Sheriff Shannon Oliver told reporters the victim claimed to have been raped multiple times and McKinney confessed when questioned by investigators. McKinney and the victim lived in the same Phil Campbell home, he said.

"The bottom line is that this gentleman should have never been released on his own recognizance — period," Morgan County District Attorney Scott Anderson said last week.

Howell, however, said Anderson knew a motion to reduce bond was pending and had a month to object to it before she released McKinney on May 20.

Anderson on Aug. 5, the day after the Franklin County arrest, filed a stinging motion to revoke McKinney's bond, which Howell granted 13 minutes later. The motion complained that Howell gave no notice to prosecutors before releasing McKinney and that she released him "without ordering supervision of the Community Corrections Pretrial Release program."

McKinney is now in the Franklin County Jail with bond set at $90,000. If he posts bond, he would be transferred to the Morgan County Jail and held without bond.

McKinney was initially held on $10,000 bond on the Morgan County sexual abuse charge, and Howell lowered it to $7,500 on Feb. 2. She said last week she was required to make this reduction because McKinney didn't appear in court within 72 hours of his arrest, a delay she said resulted from her not being notified of the arrest within 72 hours.

Motion to reduce bond

McKinney was still in jail on April 20 when his lawyer, Tina Ogle, filed a motion to reduce his bond.

"Defendant is indigent and unable to post any bail amount; Defendant's father receives only a disability check and has informed the undersigned that he may be able to post a $5,000 surety bond on behalf of Defendant," Ogle wrote.

Ogle said the recommended bail range for McKinney's charge was $5,000 to $30,000.

"The DA did not file any sort of objection to that," Howell said last week. "... I reviewed his bond, reviewed the motion to reduce his bond, and there not being any objections I went ahead and released him on his own recognizance with additional bond conditions."

The additional conditions were that he reside with his parents and that he have no direct or indirect contact with the Morgan County victim. The address of his parents' home, according to the judge's order, was 65 Crimson Tide Drive in Phil Campbell, the same address listed as his place of residence upon his arrest in Franklin County.

Howell did not notify the District Attorney's Office before dropping the bond to zero and did not hold a hearing on the bond reduction.

"I didn't set a separate hearing," Howell said. "Rather than set it for a hearing I just considered the fact that the bond was unreasonably high given that he had not been able to post bond. Generally I hold a hearing on the motion, but that's not necessarily the case every time. The statute requires me to set and review his bond, and I did that."

'Alarm bells'

Anderson said he's never before known a judge to release a person facing felony sexual abuse of a minor charges on their own recognizance.

"When somebody is charged with a sex abuse case that involves a child, then there should be all kinds of alarm bells that go off (for a judge) that say, 'I need to be fully informed about the circumstances in this case.' I think the alarm bells should also say that 'I need to hear from law enforcement, from the DA's office. I need to know what's going on so I can make an informed decision.' Had I been present or one of my assistants been present, we would have strenuously objected had we been given the opportunity to do so," Anderson said.

Howell's failure to get input from the DA's office before releasing McKinney had "very tragic consequences. Very tragic for the young lady in Franklin County," Anderson said.

It is the second recent clash Anderson and Howell have had. In March, Anderson complained that his office and the Morgan County Sheriff's Office had to extradite Christopher Mark Sherwood, charged with first-degree theft, from other states three times, yet on three occasions Howell had released the defendant from jail on his own recognizance.

In that case as with McKinney, Anderson said, the DA's office received no notice before Howell released the defendant.

Anderson said he has had no similar problems in dealing with other Morgan County judges, and he worries about whether Howell will take similar actions on future cases.

"All I can say at this point is I hope I don't have to deal with this situation again. I will add that hope is not a strategy, but hope is all I'm left with," Anderson said.

Howell said Anderson had plenty of time to file a written objection to a reduction in McKinney's bond, or to seek an increase in that bond. Anderson said that's unrealistic.

"Understand there are literally hundreds of those (motions to reduce bond) filed every month. Typically what happens is the judges will place them on the docket. That's when we get to say, 'Judge we don't oppose,' or 'Judge we oppose and here's why.' To sit down and write an opposition to each one, I'd need to hire a new employee just to do that."

Howell said she met with Anderson after the previous conflict involving the extraditions of Sherwood.

"The last time he was critical he and I met and talked about it," she said. "I explained to him that he's got a job to do and I've got a job to do. And I'm going to do it to the best of my ability.

"It's not my job to take sides. It's my job to take the case and evaluate it and make the decision based on what I think the law calls for at the time. It is a balancing act between a person's right to be innocent until proven guilty. If he files a motion I'm going to consider that in the same way that I'm going to consider a motion filed by the defense. That's my job."

Other charges

McKinney's legal problems did not begin with the sexual abuse charge in Morgan County.

—In 2008, McKinney was charged with attempted murder and child abuse after police said he shook his 4-month-old son violently enough to cause a brain injury. He ultimately pleaded guilty to child abuse and second-degree assault.

—In 2017, McKinney pleaded guilty to third-degree burglary and Howell sentenced him to two years, a sentence she suspended under the condition that he successfully serve the two years under the supervision of Morgan County Community Corrections. He completed that sentence and the payment of restitution in October.

—In September 2020, a Falkville woman who said she was in a dating relationship with McKinney filed a petition for protection from abuse against him after he allegedly head-butted her, punched her in the head and threatened to kill her. The petition was granted, and a week later he was charged with violating the court order by showing up at the woman's house. That charge was dropped when the victim failed to come to a court hearing. The woman who filed the petition has been named by the DA's office as a witness in the 2022 sexual abuse of a minor charge.

—A Lawrence County grand jury last year indicted McKinney on a charge of possession of methamphetamine and marijuana. He was out on bond for those charges when Howell in May authorized his release on the Morgan County forcible sexual abuse charge.

—In October, McKinney was charged in Cullman County with receiving stolen property and remained free on bond until March, when a bench warrant was issued on the charge due to his failure to appear in court. When Howell authorized McKinney's release on May 20, the arrest warrant was outstanding in Cullman County.

All of these would have been relevant to McKinney's bond in the sexual abuse case, Howell said, "if I'd known it. It wasn't something I was privy to. ... . Yes, those things are very relevant to bond determination — but they have to be brought to my attention and were not."

She said that obligation rests with the District Attorney's Office.

"It would certainly be the responsibility of the (prosecution) to inform the court of the defendant's past history ... if they had that information," Howell said. "The court is not permitted to do its own research in that regard."

Anderson said a judge simply needs to look at the statewide database on court proceedings involving a defendant before allowing his release from jail.

"They have access to that via AlaCourt. Absolutely (a judge should review the criminal history), especially if they are making a decision without input from anyone else," he said.

Howell said bond decisions are difficult.

"People generally think that a person can be held without bond or with huge bonds, when that is not the case. Very often, I have citizens ask me why a person can't be held without bond on a case involving child abuse or even (non-capital) murder. The law simply doesn't allow it. A defendant is innocent until proven guilty, and the only way that happens is to get indicted and have a trial. Pending trial, a defendant has a right to a reasonable bond," she said.

"I'm tasked with making the best decision I can given the facts I have at the time and I do my very best to do that."

The legal system was set up with a built-in risk that defendants may commit an offense while free on bond, Howell said.

"Unfortunately, none of us are fortune tellers and know what a person is going to do in the future," Howell said.

— eric@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2435. Twitter @DD_Fleischauer.