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Ulysses man acquitted of raping girl
Published 12/13/2007 in News : Police
By RACHEL DAVIS
rdavis@gctelegram.com
ULYSSES -- A Ulysses coach and teacher accused of raping a 16-year-old girl was found not guilty Wednesday.
After the verdict was read, the accused, Rick Cue, 51, the head coach for the Ulysses High School wrestling and girls softball teams and a social studies teacher, hugged his son and cried.
A charge of aggravated indecent liberties with a child to include lewd fondling or touching against Cue had been dismissed by the presiding judge, Tom Smith, earlier Wednesday. Because the charge had been dismissed, it was not considered during deliberations.
The jury deliberated for three and a half hours before returning the verdict.
"The jurors took the time to consider all the evidence before making a decision and they made the right one," Wayne Tate, Cue's defense attorney, said.
Grant County Attorney Robin Hathaway would not comment on the outcome of the case.
The defense's case centered around a grievance between Cue and the girl's mother.
Cue testified he called the girl in July and told her he was going to take her mother to court because of the grievance between them, and he said that made the girl angry.
The next day, according to the girl's testimony, she phoned a friend in Tribune and disclosed she had been physically and sexually abused by Cue over a two-year period.
The friend testified Tuesday that the girl told him she had been raped July 15 and that Cue had threatened her.
Fearing for her safety, the friend said he told his high school counselor, who then notified Greeley County Sheriff Mark Rine.
Rine notified the Ulysses Police Department, which in turn called the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.
The girl testified Tuesday that the incidents happened on three separate occasions, the first at Cue's home in February 2006, in which Cue walked into the room and laid down on the bed beside her.
The girl testified that he then fondled her under her clothes.
During the alleged assault, the girl testified he was leaning on her and holding her down with his arm.
The girl said she didn't tell her mother about the incident and did not go back to Cue's house alone.
According to the girl's testimony, in November 2006, the two stayed at a Wichita hotel together.
The girl said the hotel was located on the west side of Wichita and she and Cue stayed in a single-bed room.
The girl testified that Cue told her she had to sleep in the same bed as him, but she refused and slept on the floor. She testified that while she was sleeping on the floor, Cue got on the floor with her and inappropriately touched her.
But Tate said Tuesday the girl's story about what happened in Wichita didn't match up with a KBI report. According to the report, the hotel was located on the east, not west side of Wichita. The report also indicated that the room was a double bed, not a single bed. He said KBI Special Agent RJ Ewy visually inspected the room and found it had two beds rather than one in the room.
The girl also claimed that Cue assaulted her on June 20 at Cue's house.
The girl said Cue's home was a rendezvous point for her and two other people who went to Dodge City for pitching lessons. She said she went in the home to inform Cue that her shoulder was sore from throwing and he pushed down on it.
She testified Tuesday she told him to stop and he called her a "baby." She said he then touched her inappropriately.
Craig Madsen, a witness for the defense, testified Wednesday that he showed up at Cue's home 15 minutes early June 20 with his daughter.
He testified that the girl's vehicle was not parked at the house and the girl pulled up next to his vehicle, stating she had just gotten off work and got in his car.
In closing arguments, Hathaway said the girl had carried the burden of abuse with her for so long that she finally had to tell someone.
"She has nothing to lose from testifying in court," Hathaway said. "But Rick Cue, he has everything to lose."
She said Cue blamed the grievance for the allegations against him, though he never filed a motion in court contesting it.
Tate countered the state in his closing statement saying: "This isn't CSI. This is the Duke Lacrosse team. In that case, the coach lost his job, the team lost its reputation and the case later was dismissed because of lack of evidence."
The Duke Lacrosse team members were accused of raping a stripper at a party. Cue also lost his coaching duties and is currently suspended with pay from the school district pending further notification.
"The state has failed to meet its burden, but we have proven beyond a reasonable doubt that it didn't happen," Tate told the jury.
Hathaway, however, said the state had met its burden of proof.
"This case is about rape. There's no question of identity -- the rapist is Rick Cue," she said.
In Tate's closing statements, he talked about KBI agent John Nachtman, who interviewed the girl four separate times. He said Nachtman failed to match the credibility of the girl's statements with the evidence.
Tate said Nachtman subpoenaed the phone records of the girl and Cue to determine who was contacting who but did not use those records to verify parts of the girl's story.
Tate also made reference to Nachtman's first interview with the girl in which she adamantly denied the allegations for 15 minutes.
"Nachtman testified he was here to get the truth," Tate said. "He testified the girl's information was inconsistent with the physical evidence but Cue's information was consistent with the evidence, yet he ignored it."
He went on to say in his closing statements that Cue had stood in the way of what the girl wanted to do and the decisions she wanted to make and for that she accused him of rape.
"This case is like Swiss cheese -- it has so many holes in it," Tate said. "It is very clear that the state has failed."
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