The prosecution rested on Thurs.
Frederick, Md (KM). The jury in the trial of Thomas Duane Jones, 36, could get the case on Friday afternoon. The Houston, Texas man has been on trial all this week for human trafficking. He and co-defendant Marvin Armstrong, 47, of High Point, North Carolina, were arrested last year in Frederick for bringing a 17-year-old girl from Texas into Maryland for sexual purposes.
Armstrong pleaded guilty in May to 2nd-degree assault and 1st-degree sex offense. He’s scheduled to be sentenced on Friday.
In Circuit on Thursday, State’s Attorney Charlie Smith says the prosecution continued to make its case to the jury on Thursday. “We did play for the jury some jail calls where he admitted to having sex with this young lady. He actually said some derogatory stuff like ‘hopes what she’ll do best and that is run away again and not come and testify.’ So obviously that’s stuff that we thought was relevant for the jury to hear,” he says.
Smith also says a sexual assault forensics expert testified. “She also took swabs at the sexual assault exam of the young lady’s vaginal area. After which the DNA expert confirmed in fact that the DNA found on the young lady was that of Mr. Jones,” he says. Jones has denied having sex with the victim.
A State Police expert on human trafficking also took the stand. “He testified about the dynamic of how men meet these girls on line, and how they groom them and how they ultimately give them no other options to have sex and to do their bidding, which occurred in this particular case,” says Smith.
Also testifying for the defense was a representative from the Department of Social Services who reached out to the victim’s family in Texas. “Absolutely none of them returned her calls which was very sad because that’s happens with these young girls. They have no other choice but to run away and they have nobody to turn to. It was just really sad that they reached out to Texas where she’s from and no one responded for this young lady,” says Smith.
He says the State rested its case Thursday afternoon, and the defense called its witnesses to the stand on Thursday, and continued on Friday. Jones did not testify.
By Kevin McManus