BURLINGTON, Vt.—After less than two hours of deliberations, a jury has found a Burlington man guilty of raping an 18-year-old woman in September of 2006.
Kenneth Davis, 24, was convicted of one count of aggravated sexual assault and was ordered held without bail. He faces 10 years to life in prison.
"This was a fair verdict," said Deputy Chittenden County state's attorney Susan Hardin on Thursday. "It was a long case. The jury did a great job."
Davis and a second man, George Bradford, 28, of Winooski, are accused of assaulting the woman even though she repeatedly said no and was too drunk to have consented.
Bradford, who has pleaded not guilty, is expected to go on trial in June.
In closing arguments, prosecutor Susan Hardin said there was no excuse for what happened to the victim, even though the woman admitted she drank too much, refused a ride from police after they pulled over the car she was riding in and arrested the driver on suspicion of drunken driving, and got into a car with two men she didn't know.
Defense attorney Michael Straub said the woman's story was unbelievable because she was drunk at the time.
During the trial former Winooski Police Sgt. Loren Gove, who was fired after the traffic stop for letting the woman walk away, testified that he did not believe she was intoxicated, even though a chemist determined later that her blood alcohol content likely was around 0.16 percent, or twice the legal limit for driving.
After an internal investigation prompted by complaints from the woman and her family, Gove was fired. He filed an appeal and testimony suggested an arbitrator has advised that he be reinstated.
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Information from: The Burlington Free Press, http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com
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