Day-Care Center Owner Guilty of Sexual Abuse

FARMVILLE, N.C. â€”  The owner of a day-care center was convicted Wednesday on 99 of 100 charges that he sexually abused children left in his care. The verdict ended what was the longest and most costly criminal trial in North Carolina’s history.

Robert F. Kelly Jr., who owned the now-closed Little Rascals Day Care Center in Edenton, was acquitted on a single charge, that of taking indecent liberties with one girl.

After 14 days of deliberations, the jury found Kelly guilty of abusing 12 children. He was convicted of four counts of rape, 46 of taking indecent liberties, 36 first-degree sexual offenses and 13 crimes against nature.

“I’m innocent. I’ll go to prison and fight it from there,� Kelly said after the verdict was heard.

He faces a maximum penalty of 40 life terms and 560 additional years in prison. Judge D. Marsh McLelland set sentencing for today. Six other people also face trials in the case.

Expenses--including court-appointed defense lawyers, counseling for the children and their parents and court costs, topped $1.2 million.

In duration, cost and subject matter, the trial invited comparison to the McMartin Pre-School child-molestation case in Los Angeles, considered the longest and most expensive criminal trial in the United States. The McMartin case involved two trials that took place over seven years, at a cost estimated at $14 million. The second trial ended in a hung jury in July, 1990.

There were crucial differences, however, between the two cases. In the McMartin case, the children’s testimony consisted of videotaped interviews, which were criticized by jurors. The McMartin case resulted in no conviction.

In the Little Rascals trial, 12 children took the stand. At least one juror, Dennis Ray, said that was an important reason for conviction. “The children were convincing,� he said.

Kelly, 44, briefly closed his eyes as the verdict was read. His wife, Betsy, who also faces charges of sexually abusing children at the center, began to cry.

Prosecutor Nancy Lamb said she was “100% thrilled. This is the most rewarding feeling I think I’ve ever had.�

The mother of one child voiced relief.

“I’m glad I can go home and tell my son that his voice was heard, and that’s the most important thing of all,� Peggy Brooks said.

The defense contended that parents in Edenton, a town of about 5,800 in northeastern North Carolina, had become hysterical because of rumors of sexual abuse and had asked their children leading questions.