NORWICH – The trial of Kyle J. Hackett began Tuesday, June 21, with an opening statement from First Assistant District Attorney Michael D. Ferrarese, who is the head prosecutor in the case.
“June 26, 2014, is a day that will forever be burned in the memory of the victim,” said Ferrarese. “On this day, she was forced into the bathroom of her own home.”
The prosecution contends that as the victim – then 17 years old – was babysitting her two sisters and another young girl at her home, the defendant unexpectedly arrived at the residence on Hopkins Crandall Road, in the Town of Plymouth, at approximately 2:45 p.m. He allegedly asked if the victim’s step-father was home. When the defendant was informed that he was not, “instead of what any normal 29-year-old would do, he takes off his shoes and begins play fighting with the victim,” in the living room. Ferrarese continued to describe how the victim became uncomfortable, and moved to another couch on the other side of the room, where the defendant proceeded to follow her. The defendant then allegedly picked the victim up by forcing her hands behind her back and carried her to a small bathroom about 10 feet away from the living room.
“That's when the unimaginable occurs,” said Ferrarese.
The defendant shut and locked the bathroom door and started unzipping his pants – according to the prosecution – and while the victim begged for the defendant to stop, she was able to gain a little distance away from him in the bathroom. According to Ferrarese, the defendant then grabbed the victim’s shorts and digitized her. Hackett allegedly told the victim 'stop pretending that you don't like it'.
The prosecution’s opening statement continued by saying, as the victim tried to change the subject and ask how the defendant's girlfriend – who was pregnant with a child – was doing, he said 'they're good' as he continued unzipping his pants. The defendant then allegedly grabbed the victim and hoisted her onto the sink. As the victim’s younger sister tried to open the bathroom door, Hackett put his foot against it. He then [committed sexual acts]. “How do we know that? Because of the DNA,” said Ferrarese.
Once the defendant moved away from the door and it opened, the victim’s younger sister saw the victim’s shorts were down around her knees, and said that the victim immediately started crying. The sisters grabbed the other two girls and ran into their mother’s bedroom and locked the door, before hiding in the bathroom of that same bedroom, and locking that door as well.
“You think the defendant would leave then? No, No, No,” said Ferrarese.
Hackett allegedly picked the locks to both the bedroom and the bathroom where the girls were hiding, where he began to spray them with a spray bottle, acting as if nothing had happened. According to Ferrarese, this was just the defendant trying to minimize his “disgusting behavior.”
According to prosecution, approximately 10 minutes elapsed before the defendant eventually left. The victim immediately ran and allegedly texted her boyfriend, saying 'I was raped.' Ferrarese depicted how the victim’s mother immediately left work and returned home upon finding out the news, and that she couldn't even console the victim. Her mother took the victim to the Emergency Room, where she was examined by a SANE (sexual assault nurse examiner) nurse. This nurse collected vaginal swabs, which led to the defendant’s sperm being found in the victim’s cervical area. The nurse also observed vaginal injuries consistent with forced sexual intercourse. Ferrarese illustrated that the victim was too afraid to even go home, or go and talk to the police immediately. “She just wanted to bury the rape,” he said. He told of how the victim reconsidered, and filed a complained with the Chenango County Sheriff's Office two weeks later.
Ferrarese concluded his opening statement by saying, “Members of the jury, when you hear all the testimony in this case, you will have no choice, there will only be one verdict that makes sense. I ask that when I close this case, you return a verdict of guilty.”
