Dustin Clapsaddle Guilty on All Four Charges

Tensions were high in Hardin County Common Pleas Court this morning as the Clapsaddle trial continued.   

The defense wrapped its case last night by calling the defendant himself to testify in his own defense.

The State called the victim back to the stand this morning as a rebuttal witness.  She was asked about her past mental health and if she had ever been depressed or suicidal or spoke to Dustin Clapsaddle about any of those issues.  She stated she had not.  She did mention that her mental health got progressively worse after the alleged incident.

The defense argued that she had sent a text to her mom on September 15, 2018, prior to the incident, stating that she needed to go to counseling. 

The victim recalled that she had talked to Clapsaddle about her dad and that was when he gave the victim his number.

She was also asked if she had been bullied before this alleged incident and the victim said no.  The defense argued that in November of 2018 she sent her mom a text about being bullied.  The victim replied that it was regarding a family friend and not anyone from school at that time.

Closing arguments were then presented by assistant prosecutor Siobhonne Ward with the state presenting first.  She painted a picture for the jury on the many reasons people may choose to lie.  She stated that some people lie to protect themselves or others.  She stated that Clappsaddle lied on the stand and to officers to protect himself. 

She believes the discrepancies from the victim were caused by the fact the victim believed she would be the one to get in trouble and that she did not have a lot of support at home or at school.  She also thought she needed to protect herself and Clapsaddle.  Ward stated that Mr. Clapsaddle was the one person the victim thought she could trust and he violated that trust.

Ward also stated that Mr. Clapsaddle convinced the victim that he loved her.  She also told the jury that the victim lost weight, pushed friends away, changed the way she dressed and her grades went downhill after the incident.

The state ended their closing arguments by telling the jury that he should be found guilty on all four charges.

The defense began their closing arguments with attorney Rocky Ratfliff telling the jury that outside of military service, this is the biggest civic service they can do.

Mr. Ratliff from the defense team stated that the victim had lied about many things.  That she had lied and said she wasn’t bullied before the incident but brought up the earlier text she had sent her mother. 

He told the jury that there was not one text, Snapchat message, Facebook message or anything  of that nature from Clapsaddle.  He stated that there were only records of phone calls, with 83% of those calls coming from the victim to Mr. Clappsaddle.

Mr. Ratliff then told the jury that this started with the victim calling Clapsaddle.  He also stated that the victim told Officer Mendez, who took the original report, that she had been in a sexual relationship with the defendant and did not mention rape or kidnapping. 

The defense went on to tell the jury that her testimony did not match the original report.  He emphasized the fact that she is a delayed reporter.  He also said that the date of January 18^th, which the indictment lists as the alleged incident date, was a prosecutorial fictional date. 

Mr. Ratliff also noted that it couldn’t be proven when the Snapchat pictures of the note found on her car, allegedly from Clapsaddle, were taken.

He stated that Detective Kemmere was one of the most honest cops he has had on the stand and said he admitted there were holes in the investigation.  He told the jurors that you can’t make a leap from phone calls to rape and he should be acquitted on all charges. 

The state returned for rebuttal of closing arguments and stated Clapsaddle never mentioned to the Detective that he was trying to help the victim, which he previously mentioned as a reason for their communications.  Ward ended by saying that the victim came forward because she wanted to take her power back, hold him accountable and protect others.

After receiving jury instructions from Judge Christopher, the jury went back to deliberate around 12:45pm this afternoon.

After deliberation ended around 5:00pm, the jury found Dustin Clapsaddle guilty of one count each of rape, kidnapping, sexual battery and sexual imposition. Judge Christopher revoked Clapsaddle’s bond and he was taken into custody until sentencing. Sentencing is set for early August.