Gadsden Man Convicted of Rape and Sex Abuse

CBS 42
April 6, 2012

http://www.cbs42.com/content/localnews/story/Gadsden-man-convicted-of-rape-and-sex-abuse/jn_q3b2Pt0uU03SODGkS-Q.cspx

Gadsden, AL (WIAT) Etowah County District Attorney Jimmie Harp announced the conviction of Thomas Russell Reilly today. Reilly was accused of first degree rape and four counts of sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12. Reilly faces from 20 to 99 years in prison. Sentencing for Mr. Reilly is May 30. Read the full press release below.

Thomas Russell Reilly, 59, of Henderson Street, Gadsden, was convicted by an Etowah County jury today on charges of Rape in the First Degree, and four counts of Sexual Abuse of a Child under 12 years of age. The jury returned the verdicts after less than two hours of deliberation. Judge Allen Millican scheduled a sentencing hearing in the cases for May 30, 2012.

The charges against Reilly stemmed from incidents where he allowed numerous female children to spend the night with him in his home, on the premise that if they stayed the night, he could take them with him to church the next morning at the Tabernacle, on South 11th Street, here in Gadsden. Reilly, who lived alone, also picked the children up from school on Wednesdays to attend church with him that evening. Reilly told law enforcement that he worked as an usher and security guard for the church, as well as driving children to church in a van. He stated that he did not get paid for the services, and that he did not charge the parents of the girls for babysitting.

The victims in the cases were four minor females, who ranged from 5 to 10 years of age at the time of the incidents. Each of the girls testified in court about the incidents of rape and sexual abuse. The children also testified about incidents in the home where Reilly exposed himself to them and their friends on several occasions. “This was a man who showed two different faces to society: in public, he was a person who was just trying to help his fellow man, but in private, Thomas Reilly had an ulterior motive for allowing those young girls to come into his home. When they were there alone, he was free to pick and choose his victims,” said Deputy District Attorney Carol Griffith, who prosecuted the cases.

District Attorney Jimmie Harp stated that cases involving the physical and/or sexual abuse of a child are always difficult, but they are particularly challenging where, as here, there are numerous victims, all of whom are still under 12 years of age, and who have to take the witness stand to testify about a horrible crime. Harp said, “We were fortunate in this matter to have 4 little girls who understood that what had happened to them was wrong, and that they had to stand up for themselves in order to make sure that this Defendant did not have the opportunity to commit this type of crime, or victimize another child, again.”

The cases were investigated by Sgt. Mike Hooks, from the Gadsden Police Department, working along with the Department of Human Resources and the James M. Barrie Center for Children.

Reilly faces sentences of not less than twenty years, up to 99 years or life imprisonment in the State penitentiary.

April is National Child Abuse Awareness Month. Earlier this week, Mayor Sherman Guyton proclaimed that it was “Barrie Center Week” in the City of Gadsden. Griffith stated that it was especially important during this month that the public be made aware of the continuing problems faced by our society due to the abuse of children, and of the tremendous work done in our community by the child advocates who work at the Barrie Center, as well as in law enforcement and DHR. “These folks do a lot of work to help make my job of prosecuting those who commit crimes against children easier. Without their continuing assistance and dedication, the convictions today would not have been possible.” Griffith also thanked the victims and their families, as well as the jurors who served in the cases.

The Barrie Center has a pinwheel ceremony scheduled for Tuesday, April 10, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. on the lawn in front of the Etowah County Judicial Building, which the public is invited to attend. The pinwheels placed on the lawn represent the children who were victims of physical or sexual abuse over the past years.