A Morgantown man was found not guilty of child molestation after nearly two hours of jury deliberations Wednesday.
Douglas E. Loveday, 42, was found not guilty of child molestation, a Level 4 felony, in Johnson County Superior Court 2 last week. The not guilty verdict means the jury could not find that Loveday was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The jury deliberated for one hour and 56 minutes before returning with the verdict, according to court records.
Jeremy Fisk and Carrie Miles, Loveday’s attorneys, said that Loveday told them he was innocent when he first hired their firm, Franklin-based The Criminal Defense Team, three years ago. The accusation branded him, but he never considered a plea agreement, they said in a joint statement to the Daily Journal.
“A trial in cases with accusations like these is risky. Doug trusted us and we trusted the jury to do the just and right thing,” Fisk and Miles said. “It’s a great feeling to know Doug’s innocence was affirmed Wednesday night.”
Johnson County Prosecutor Joe Villanueva said in a statement that the prosecutor’s office was disappointed by the decision, and cases like this are some of the most difficult to successfully prosecute.
“We were obviously disappointed by the decision. … Nonetheless, we are proud of the courage displayed by our victim here, and will continue to fight for victims of sex crimes in the future,” he said.
Loveday was charged in November 2019 after deputies with the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office received a child abuse report from the Department of Child Services in September of that year. A 13-year-old said they were touched inappropriately by Loveday, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The child told police they were asleep in their bedroom when Loveday had come and touched them inappropriately. After Loveday had left the room and gone outside, the child went to another room in the home to text a friend about what had happened, the affidavit says. Loveday reentered the home and saw the child was on the phone. A few minutes later, he said he knew the child had told someone and the child then confronted him about what had happened, the affidavit says.
At the time, the child’s parent told police they had confronted Loveday and he allegedly admitted to touching the victim and said he regretted it, according to the affidavit.
Detectives scheduled an interview with Loveday following the incident, but he did not show up. A few days later, an attorney for Loveday reached out and said that they were in the process of speaking to Loveday and said they would let detectives know if Loveday would allow it. He ultimately did not agree to the interview but did want to provide a written statement.
