Man convicted of sexual abuse

PALMER -- A Superior Court jury returned guilty verdicts Wednesday on all 10 felony counts against a Palmer man accused of sexually abusing two minor girls and possessing child pornography.

The jury deliberated three hours before reaching the verdicts against Kelly Ryan Carr, 38.

He was convicted of two counts of first-degree sexual abuse of a minor, an unclassified felony; two counts of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor, a class B felony; exploitation of a minor for video taping a sex act, a class B felony; and five counts of possessing child pornography, a class C felony. Judge Eric Smith set sentencing for June 4.

Carr was taken into custody immediately after the verdicts were read at 4:15 p.m. Wednesday. Remand without opportunity for bail is required for conviction of an unclassified felony, the judge said. Carr also must register as a sexual offender for the rest of his life.

Assistant District Attorney Rachel Gernat said the victims were 4 and 12 when the incidents occurred. One of them testified that Carr "was taking pictures" while touching her inappropriately.

The mother of one victim also testified that Carr admitted to her he had performed a sex act on the girl. The mother cried and struggled to compose herself on the witness stand.

"I'm just so mad …" she said.

On Nov. 21, 2001, during a conversation recorded without Carr's knowledge, Carr admitted that he videotaped himself engaging in a sex act with the 4-year-old, charging documents said.

Gernat said during closing arguments that "220-plus images of child pornography" were found on Carr's laptop computer. "These are pre-pubescent children," Gernat said.

She also told the jury that the youngest victim's account of what happened fit with the detailed testimony from the girl's mother.

However, defense attorney George Davenport of the Palmer Public Defender's Office said his client lied about performing the sex act "because it was the only way he knew to get out of an abusive relationship" with the victim's mother. Carr's ex-wife sought to discredit him, Davenport said, in order to receive custody of the child as well as the couple's house.

Davenport said accounts given by one of the victims changed over time, alleging the girl was "schooled" by prosecutors in preparation for the trial.

"The state doesn't have any hard evidence," Davenport said. "They have the shifting sands of a child's memory."

He added that the state failed to prove Carr "knowingly possessed" child pornography on his computer, saying, "It's all circumstantial."

In response to Davenport's contention that prosecutors had no evidence, Gernat said during her final closing argument that Carr's own admission of making a videotape -- a remark captured on a tape recording authorized by a warrant -- does constitute evidence. She also challenged the defense's charge that one of the victims changed her story to be inaccurate.

"The only thing that's changed about [her] statements is now she has better cognitive skills," Gernat said. The child remembered the events, she said, "because whether she knows it or not that was a traumatic event. This is something that happened. She spoke out for help."

The trial lasted a week and a half. After the verdicts were read, one of the jurors leaving the courthouse described their deliberations as extremely taxing.

"Everybody went through a lot of emotions," he said. "It's something everybody took home every night."

The man, who asked to be identified only by his first name, Mark, said he is a father, too.

"The images were disgusting," he said. "It was hard. But the prosecution did a good job."

Contact Steve Kadel at steve.kadel@frontiersman.com.