WNC child rape trial: babysitters, suspect's wife testify on man's behalf

BREVARD — Defense witnesses, including babysitters, relatives and others who spent time in the home of Johnathon Jessi McKinney said they saw no inappropriate behavior between McKinney and minors who have accused him of rape and other sex crimes.

Those testifying on behalf of McKinney July 21, the fifth day of his trial in Transylvania County Superior Court, said to the contrary, the two minors who have accused him had normal and good relationships with him. The witnesses said the homes in which he and his family lived were usually packed with related and unrelated children, from newborns to teenagers, who enjoyed spending time together.

"Did you ever observe any kind of touching or feeling or anything you thought was inappropriate at any time?" asked defense attorney Jack Stewart.

"No, sir," said Cheyenne Owen, 22, who lived during some periods with the McKinneys, babysitting for them as they moved from house to house between Western North Carolina and South Carolina.

"I've never seen him act any way out of the ordinary towards any of the children in the house," Owen said.

While all the children's names were used in open court, the Citizen Times is not publishing them as a measure of protection and will refer to them as Child 1 and Child 2. There are three children named as victims among the 23 felony counts against McKinney, 38, of the Sapphire area in the west of the county. But just two minors testified at a July 18 court session.

More: WNC children testify against man accused of 23 counts related to child rape

On cross-examination at the July 21 hearing Assistant District Attorney Beth Dierauf raised questions about whether the defense witnesses had been present during key moments when the alleged crimes took place. And she asked if they knew about actions taken by social services about potential child sexual abuse by McKinney two different times before criminal charges were brought.

In questioning Brittany McKinney, the current wife of McKinney, she noted that social services workers gave her 24 hours notice before visiting the home.

"In 2017 your husband had a family meeting that involved you, didn't you? That's where you all discussed how he should not be alone with any of the children," Dierauf said. "And between 2017 and 2019, he was not to be with any child that was not his biological child."

Brittany McKinney, who has two children from a prior marriage and three with McKinney, denied there was any such meeting.

"He was never alone with any kids at any time. There were always people in our home," she said.

Among those testifying for McKinney were his mother, Debra McKinney and father, John McKinney.

John McKinney and Brittany McKinney raised questions about Child 1's testimony of going hunting multiple times with McKinney and having their pants and underwear pulled down. John McKinney and Brittany McKinney said Child 1 had only hunted one time with McKinney and John McKinney was near enough to see if there was any sexual assault.

Stewart, the defense attorney, meanwhile raised questions about the motivations of the accusers, saying they might have been mad at McKinney.

Child 1, now a teenager, has described multiple sexual assaults, including oral sex, dating back to 2013 and beginning when the child was younger than 10 years old.

Child 2, also now a teenager described more recent assaults, in 2020.

The family of one of the child victims filed a complaint with the sheriff's office in early 2021. A grand jury released indictments in April of that year. He was arrested two days later by Transylvania County sheriff's deputies.

McKinney, who has an address in Henderson County but whose wife testified July 21 that he lives with her in Sapphire, is facing multiple grand jury indictments of felony child sexual assault offenses.

He was issued a $500,000 secured bond but was able to post it, according to a county clerk.

McKinney works with his family's tree service company in Transylvania County.

At his appearance, the bond remained the same but additional conditions were added to his release, including that he is to have no contact with the victims or the victims’ families.

The defense at the hearing rested its case, something the prosecution already has done. Jessi McKinney stood at one point to declare he would not testify. That was after Judge George Bell advised him that it was his constitutional right to either testify or not testify and that he could not be compelled to do so by anyone.

Closing arguments by attorneys on both sides are expected on July 24.

According to previous Citizen Times reporting, McKinney had been arrested in 2016 in Transylvania County in a separate case and charged with felony indecent liberties with a child bur later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge.

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Court documents say in October 2017, the felony charge was dropped by then-District Attorney Greg Newman’s office, which then charged McKinney with a new, misdemeanor charge of assault on a female. McKinney pleaded guilty to that charge and was sentenced to time served – one day in jail.

McKinney was not required to register as a sex offender. However, the court ordered McKinney to have a sex offender evaluation by a psychologist within 60 days, to stay away from the children involved in the case, and not to be alone with any children under the age of 16 unless they were his biological children.

Former District Attorney Greg Newman, whose office oversaw that case, was removed as DA for Henderson, Polk and Transylvania counties during a special hearing in April 2021, in part due to his mishandling of a previous child rape case.

He was replaced in May of that year by DA Andrew Murray, who could be seen in court this week sitting in the audience and at times comforting the two child witnesses.

Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years, covering politics, government and other news. He's written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Got a tip? Contact Burgess at jburgess@citizentimes.com, 828-713-1095 or on Twitter @AVLreporter. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times. 

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: WNC child rape trial: babysitters, other defense witnesses saw nothing