The jury trial of a retired
Troy Police officer began Monday at the Pike County Courthouse.
The Alabama Bureau of
Investigations and the Pike County Sheriff’s Office arrested Willie Toney Aug.
1, 2012. He was accused of multiple sex crimes against a victim younger than
12. Charges include first-degree rape and two counts of first-degree sodomy.
Kelly Burns Hawkins of the
Alabama Attorney General’s Office is prosecuting the case. She called the
victim to the stand Monday morning.
The victim recalled two
incidents where Toney had raped her. She said Toney threatened to kill her and
her family if she reported the rape. She eventually did report it on Easter
Sunday in a letter she wrote to a parent.
When asked what made her come
forward, she said, “I wanted it to stop right then and there.”
The defense questioned the
victim regarding a forensic interview she had done at the Child Advocacy Center
about five months after reporting the crimes.
The victim recanted some of the
accusations, most notably that Toney had sodomized her.
Toney served on the city’s
police force for more than 18 years – part of that time as a school resource
officer. His trial will continue today.