TEXARKANA, Arkansas - An 8-year-old boy testified Thursday in a Miller County courtroom about the night around Christmas 2019 when he allegedly was molested.
Everett James Miller, 59, is facing charges of rape and sexual assault. As the young boy answered questions from Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Connie Mitchell, his head and shoulders were all that could be seen from the confines of the wooden witness box.
The boy testified that he was 6 when he and a 3-year-old cousin spent the night at Miller's home the night of Dec. 23, 2019. He told the jury that he, the younger child, and Miller, who he knows as "G-daddy," were watching video on Miller's phone.
The video allegedly depicted unclothed adults. The boy said Miller pulled down his jeans and underwear and described sexual contact. The boy said Miller told him not to tell anyone.
Miller's wife was allegedly at work.
The boy's father testified that "it took me off guard" when he picked his son up the morning of Dec. 24, 2019, and Miller was dressed only in a sleeveless undershirt and a pair of white men's briefs as he stood in the kitchen and the children sat nearby.
The father said the boy became emotional immediately after getting into his father's truck and told him he'd done something "bad." The father said he was still in Miller's driveway when the boy told him he and Miller and the 3-year-old had been watching "naked people" on Miller's phone.
The father said his son told him the video viewing began on the living room couch and that Miller then moved the children to his bedroom where they continued watching. The father said the boy told him Miller asked if he "wanted to know what it felt like" before pulling down his underwear and pants.
The boy's father testified that he waited to act until speaking with his wife when she returned home after getting off work at 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve 2019. The mother testified that her son gave her the same account as he gave his father.
The parents testified that the alleged victim is their only child.
The mother and father testified they contacted the mother of the 3-year-old and went to her home. The mother of the 3-year-old testified that her child made statements corroborating the alleged victim's account when asked about the night before at Miller's home in rural Texarkana, Arkansas.
After speaking with the mother of the 3-year-old, the family contacted Texarkana, Texas, police because they lived in that jurisdiction at the time. At a local hospital where the boy was examined, Texarkana, Texas, police contacted Miller County Sheriff's Office as the alleged sexual abuse occurred in their jurisdiction.
On cross-examination by Texarkana lawyer Josh Potter, the father denied that his son told him Miller "yelled at him for watching naked girls on his phone." Potter asked the boy's mother if she "learned that Everett had caught them (the 6-year-old and 3-year-old) looking at naked girls on a cell phone."
The mother replied, "No."
At the hospital, the boy underwent a physical exam and his pants and underwear, which had not been changed since he left Miller's mid-morning, were collected as evidence, Miller County Deputy Jeremy Cornett testified through deposition. Because Cornett was unavailable to testify, his testimony was previously taken under questioning by Mitchell and Potter.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney David Cotton read the state's questions and Mitchell read Cornett's responses. Potter read his own questions.
Once the clothing was placed in a paper bag, a nurse gave the bag to the boy's father who testified he gave the bag directly to Cornett.
Under questioning by Mitchell, Arkansas State Crime Lab DNA analyst Emma Thorpe testified that Miller's DNA was found on the inner side of samples cut from the boy's underwear.
Miller County Detective John Beasley testified that he scheduled an interview for the boy at the Texarkana Children's Advocacy Center.
Circuit Judge Brent Haltom placed the jury in an evening recess after the state rested. Potter is expected to begin calling witnesses for the defense Friday morning.
Miller faces 10 to 40 years or life in prison if convicted of rape. If found guilty of sexual assault, he faces five to 20 years and a fine up to $15,000.
Miller is currently free on bonds totaling $125,000.