[EDITOR: Why are we arresting people and ruining their lives, when we don't have enough evidicen to even CHARGE them with a crime? Permanent archive. Copyrights belong to originator]
Authorities drop Dennis Dunn case
Evangel coach returns to job after facing allegations of sex with a
minor
Posted on May 9, 2002
Dennis Dunn expects to be on the football practice field at Shreveport's Evangel Christian
Academy today, about 24 hours after Caddo District Attorney Paul Carmouche announced that
his office will not prosecute the Eagles coach.
Likewise, Harrison County, Texas, District Attorney Rick Berry, also at the announcement,
spoke of his office's decision to drop all charges against the coach.
Marshall, Texas, police arrested Dunn almost a year ago on a charge of sexual assault of a
child after a former Evangel Christian student alleged that Dunn had a yearlong sexual
relationship with her. Her allegations also led to investigations by the Caddo and Bossier
sheriff's offices, the Shreveport Police Department and the Caddo and Harrison County,
district attorneys' offices.
"The family has never desired that Mr. Dunn go to jail," Randy Keene, the
attorney for the girl's family, said in a prepared statement. "They believe, however,
that he needs to admit his conduct and be accountable. There will be accountability in one
venue or another."
The girl has not been named because she is a minor.
"We have failed to uncover evidence we can use to corroborate her story,"
Carmouche said. He later added that he thinks "there are probably only two people who
know the absolute truth in this case, and that's her and Dennis Dunn."
Marshall police acted properly in arresting Dunn based on the girl's initial complaint
Berry said. That's the standard process in Texas, where a grand jury considers whether to
charge someone formally after an initial arrest.
But Berry and Carmouche said there isn't enough credible evidence to corroborate the
girl's accusations.
"I don't think it's in the best interests of justice to even present this to a grand
jury," Berry said. "It would be a waste of time, effort and money."
Carmouche said a forensic investigation of Dunn's pickup, impounded the same day he was
arrested, uncovered "no physical evidence, no trace evidence, no DNA evidence"
to support the girl's allegations.
Caddo investigators "spent 80 hours in interviews with dozens of witnesses,"
Carmouche said. "No stone was left unturned. We found there was simply insufficient
credible evidence to even present the case to a grand jury."
Bossier Parish District Attorney Jim Bullers came to the same conclusion, Carmouche said.
Carmouche said the girl at first denied having sex with Dunn, then admitted to a single
incident in Marshall, then recanted. Three months after an initial investigation, the
girl, her family and their attorney contacted authorities so the girl could provide more
detailed allegations.
In January, the girl's mother filed a civil lawsuit which includes allegations of 50 to
100 or more incidents of sexual contact between the two.
Keene, in his prepared statement, said that "the underage teen-age girl and her
mother tried to protect Mr. Dunn."
While giving a time line of the events leading up to and beyond Dunn's arrest, Carmouche
said that in a Feb. 13, 2001, interview with Shreveport police, the family said it did not
wish to pursue any charges.
It was three months later, on May 15, that the girl, her mother and attorneys went to the
Bossier sheriff's office and alleged that Dunn and the girl had had a sexual encounter in
Bossier Parish in December 2000. There also was a mention at that meeting about sex in
Caddo. Two days later, the girl and her family went back to authorities in Marshall and
again changed her story to allege that there had been sex in the Marshall area.
Keene said he wasn't surprised by the announcement Wednesday. Neither he nor the girl's
family attended the press conference. Keene said the girl's mother would not comment.
Earlier this year, the alleged victim's mother expressed frustration with the pace of the
investigation. She is not identified because the allegations involve a minor.
"It's like everybody's scared to do anything," she said during an October
interview with The Times.
For much more on this case (provided they don't delete it): http://www.shreveporttimes.com/html/B42B9D1A-7B80-4E6E-8F41-FF120A51427D.shtml
And here: http://www.texasfootball.com/01front_0525.html