July 11, 2009

NC- Wife Of Accused Sex Offender Defends Husband

7-11-2009 North Carolina:

The wife of a Dunn man on trial for allegedly molesting his step granddaughters said she believes her husband is innocent of the charges.

Larry Dale Monds, 60, of Brinkley Road is charged with 19 sex offenses including multiple counts of first-degree statutory rape, first-degree statutory sex offenses against a female child under the age of 13 and indecent liberties with a child.

The crimes allegedly occurred between August 2002 and December 2006 while the three girls ages 12 and 14 were living with him and his wife Deloris Monds at their home on Brinkley Road near U.S. 301 north of Dunn.

Mr. Monds' defense attorney Penny Bell said the charges against her client are false, a result of a dispute that arose after he requested child support from the children's mother, Mrs. Monds' estranged daughter.

During an afternoon break in yesterday's session, Mrs. Monds said she believes the girls were molested, just not by her husband.

Mrs. Monds' comments came after three days of a trial in which the girls said they had also been molested by a pair of underage brothers who lived in the house, a cousin, and a boyfriend of their mother's, a man they called their stepfather.

"I admit I do believe they were messed with, but I believe it happened before they came to live with us," Mrs. Monds said. "I don't believe he (Mr. Monds) did it any way, shape or form,"

"I mean, c'mon, they was little babies when they came here. I just don't see it, not him," she said.

Mrs. Monds said before and after living with her and Mr. Monds, the girls only occasionally stayed with their mother and instead stayed mostly with various family members. She said the house was always busy with children including friends of the girls.

During their testimony, the girls said the alleged abuse often occurred in Mr. and Mrs. Monds' bedroom while others were in the house, though they said their grandmother rarely slept in the room.

One of the twins said she and her older sister had at one point tried to tell Mrs. Monds of the alleged abuse, but that she didn't believe them.

"They never told me anything like that," Mrs. Monds said. "Anybody who knows me knows that if they told me something like that, I'd be on them like a wet chicken protecting her egg."

Mrs. Monds said she had been directed not to talk about what kind of a man her husband was, but said she intended to stand by him.

"All I know is he's been good to me and I love him," she said.

During yesterday's session, the oldest of the girls took the stand where she gave similar accounts to that of her sisters. A social worker who had interviewed the girls also testified, but the most revealing testimony came from Harnett County Sheriff's Detective Jamie Wicker.

Detective Wicker said based on the girls' responses in her interviews, she obtained warrants for items that were "relevant to the case."

Among the items were work shirts that Mr. Monds allegedly used to wipe himself off after having sex with the girls, a pornographic DVD, VHS and magazine, and later a video camera. None of the pornographic items were alleged to have contained child pornography.

Reading from notes taken during an interview with the oldest girl, Detective Wicker said she asked the girl why she didn't tell anyone about the alleged abused, to which the girl said she thought her grandmother would "ignore us like she did last time."

The girl also said she didn't bother to tell her brothers because they "see papa as a good man. He gives them $20 a lot."

When the same question was posed to one of the twins, Detective Wicker noted the girl said she was scared, not necessarily of what he would do to her, but to others.

""I was scared that he would get real mad and hurt my grandma, or my sisters, or my brothers,'" Detective Wicker said, reading the girl's response.

The trial continues today with the defense expected to start sometime next week.

Judge Frank Lanier is presiding and Assistant District Attorney Caron Stewart is prosecuting. ..Source.. by REECE MURPHY

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