On trial's second day, Henrico gym teacher charged with sexual assault takes the stand

On the second day of his sexual assault trial Wednesday, Short Pump Middle School teacher Dean Lakey took the stand and completely denied that he had assaulted a 14-year-old student at the school in 2017.

The girl, who is now 18, alleged that Lakey assaulted her in a restroom on school campus after one of her Technology Student Association meetings that March.

In his testimony on Wednesday, Lakey presented a handwritten calendar showing every March TSA meeting and every activity in which he participated during that month. His schedule was accompanied by pieces of evidence, including screenshots of texts from multiple people in March 2017, his coaching schedule, airline tickets, itemized Wegmans receipts, credit card receipts, the school division’s log of dates and times Lakey drove students on the school bus, which days the victim was absent from school, and others.

The prosecutor, Assistant Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney Kelly Cotting, argued that there was no time to verify the calendar, text messages and receipts because Lakey and his attorney didn’t provide the evidence to the state prior to Wednesday.

The state did not produce a search warrant for his phone beforehand or ask for one. Lakey said in court Wednesday that he would hand his phone over to jurors on the spot so they could see the text messages for themselves. Lakey also said that he could not have provided all of the information on the calendar to Child Protective Services prior to his arrest because he did not know what he was accused of, by whom, or when the alleged incident occurred.

Cotting objected to the introduction of the calendar, but Henrico Circuit Court Judge L.A. Harris overruled her objection.

In his testimony, Lakey also described being arrested in Currituck, North Carolina in September. He apparently cried as he told the jury how he had his 2-and-a-half-month-old dog with him when he was arrested, and the dog was taken to the pound.

Before Lakey’s testimony, the prosecution brought forward two witnesses earlier Wednesday. A woman who worked as a nurse at Short Pump Middle School from 2014 to 2018 said she saw Lakey in the P.E. hallway, where the assault allegedly occurred, several times a week, and also saw students in the hall after school.

The prosecution also called expert witness Briana Valentino, a forensic interviewer at Greater Richmond SCAN Child Advocacy Center. Valentino, who does not know the victim, explained to the jury why children often delay reporting sexual abuse.

Lakey’s attorney, Craig Cooley, moved early Wednesday to strike both of the charges against Lakey – object sexual battery and taking indecent liberties with a minor – saying that there are “so many inconsistencies” and that the victim’s testimony is “inherently unacceptable.”

The prosecution is not legally required to provide corroboration. His motion was overruled; the jury must decide the case.

Lakey was indicted in August for six felonies: one count of rape, two counts of sodomy, and three counts of indecent liberties with a minor as a custodian. Last week, the charges were amended to one count of indecent liberties and one count of object sexual battery.

The victim last year said that she was raped by Lakey on several occasions during his gym class when she would leave to use the restroom. The two remaining charges are in relation to a singular instance, which is the first time the alleged victim said she was attacked. She said Tuesday that it was her “strongest testimony.”

In her testimony Tuesday, the victim described being sexually assaulted by Lakey in a school bathroom. She didn’t tell anyone for years because she didn’t think anyone would believe her, she said.

Cooley brought in seven witnesses on Wednesday morning, five of whom are former or current P.E. teachers who taught with Lakey at SPMS.

The five teachers testified to Lakey’s character, and several said that Lakey had never left a class unattended.

The prosecution and defense finished presenting all of their evidence on Wednesday before court adjourned for the day. The trial will resume Thursday morning at 9:30 a.m., and both sides will give their closing statements before jury deliberations.