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Man guilty in motel sex assaults
Jury convicts man in motel assaults, sentences to 86 yearsDate published: 4/15/2009 BY ELLEN BILTZ Derrick Randall Gosnell didn't bat an eye last night as he heard the jury's verdict: guilty in the sexual assault of two Hispanic motel housekeepers. The 26-year-old was sentenced to spend 86 years in prison by a Spotsylvania County jury just hours after they convicted him of forcible sodomy and attempted rape of one woman, and assault and attempted rape of another. Gosnell acted as his own attorney for almost the entire two-day trial, and maintained to the jury the whole time that the victims, who only spoke Spanish and testified through a translator, were lying. "I've been waiting for a long time for this day to come," he said shortly before the jury deliberated on the case. Afterward, he had little to say and expressed only sadness when his family members testified at his sentencing hearing around 7 p.m. last night. "I did not cry when y'all came back with a verdict," he said defiantly, still claiming the victims were lying. "I will not cry when you come back with a sentence." He never denied being at the motels where the assaults were reported, but instead told the jury that the charges were a set-up. "I did not say I was not there. I'm simply saying that what these women have to say is a lie," he said. One of the victims Gosnell was convicted of assaulting worked at the Super 8 on U.S. 1. The woman told the jury that Gosnell came into the room she was cleaning on Aug. 30 of last year with his penis exposed and shut the door. He then proceeded to take her into the bathroom by her shoulders and force her to perform oral sex on him, she said. Gosnell's DNA was later found to match the sperm on the victim's shirt, hands and mouth. But, Gosnell said, that did not prove she was attacked, claiming that the interaction was consensual. He told the jury that he and the victim had a sexual relationship for a couple of months before that day and that she had been his drug dealer to support his "pothead" habit. The victim though, denied ever using drugs or knowing Gosnell prior to the assault. The defendant went on to tell the jury that he also knew the second victim because of his drug habit.
Read more stories about Spotsylvania Date published: 4/15/2009
JURISPRUDENCE:
(posted by
MGWork
, Apr. 15, 2009 7:04 pm)
The system nurtured and allowed this defendant to walk the streets with no where to go. It's sort of like the Virginia Tech massacre. Lots of notice but no one was listening. It occurrs to me defendant made a conscious decision he wasn't going to make it in this world, and chose to prey on those who would assist in his incarceration for the rest of his life. He chose to defend himself and mock the system with the kind of arrogance that would serve only to assure him 3 meals and a cot.
MrZorro
(posted by
projectlemonade
, Apr. 15, 2009 1:30 pm)
Yet again, you are showing your true colors, and it sickens me. You are the reason America can't move forward, the reason the south has a bad name. It's pretty pathetic when you side with the defendant, who has 91 juvenile convictions, along with several as an adult. You are a terrible person.
MrZorro, take a moment and think
(posted by
travelin_bone
, Apr. 15, 2009 12:45 pm)
There are a lot of crime stories about certain motels because they are dumps and they attract trouble. Are you actually entertaining the thought that this pig is telling the truth? 91 juvenile convictions & you'd give HIM the benefit of the doubt?!?!? Give me a break! This guy clearly has compulsions that make him a threat to society. The immigration status means NOTHING here. If anything it would be a reason for them NOT to report the crime for fear of calling attention to themselves.
Mental Issues
(posted by
Kelly2004
, Apr. 15, 2009 11:00 am)
This guy has some serious mental issues with a record spanning so many different crimes. He should have received mental help a long time ago. It might have prevented this situation. I wonder what his score would be on an IQ test. Not too high from what I read. Now he is just another mouth I have to feed with my tax dollars.
MrZorro
(posted by
Aidia
, Apr. 15, 2009 10:36 am)
Its the mindset like yours that scares innocent hispanic victims into not reporting crimes like these. Why do you think he was preying on them? Because perhaps they were illegal, and wouldn't tell. Now you're saying those businesses should be punished because these victims came forward against an absolute creep? You are truly a hateful, racist person. I understand why you hide behind your mask zorro, if I held the hatred you do, I'd do the same.
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