D.C. fire captain's rape trial underway

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Tony Sneed, 48, of Fort Washington was charged with second-degree rape, third-and fourth-degree sex offense and second-degree assault after a 23-year-old woman alleged that Sneed sexually assaulted her when she was passed out on a mattress at a party at Sneed's stepdaughter's home in Chesapeake Beach on Aug. 9, 2008, according to court records.

Sneed, a captain for 20 years with Washington, D.C., Fire Department Engine 4, was placed on "enforced leave," said Deputy Fire Chief Kenneth Crosswhite after Sneed was charged with rape last September.

Sneed's attorney, Joel Duboff of Silver Spring, said that both Sneed and the victim do not remember the events because they blacked out due to intoxication and the victim was "not taken advantage of" but "comes onto Mr. Sneed" during the small gathering of family and friends.

Assistant State's Attorney Kathryn Marsh's opening statements told a story of a woman who was intoxicated and in and out of consciousness who did not know what happened until she woke up the next morning wearing only a T-shirt and in pain. Because the victim was so intoxicated, she was not capable of consenting, Marsh said.

"The SAFE [Sexual Assault Forensic Exam] exam comes back and [shows] she was assaulted," Marsh told the jurors.

Numerous objections were cited by both attorneys during questioning of witnesses, with frequent trips to the bench to confer with Judge Warren Krug about his rulings on the objections or to review procedural law.

Marsh called several witnesses who testified about the timing of specific events surrounding the evening, with all in agreement that the victim was intoxicated and in need of assistance that night.

Sneed's stepdaughter, Chavonn Gilliam Knick, testified that the victim drank a lot of wine and did vodka shots and then got sick and took a shower as she, a friend and Sneed assisted her in the bathroom. She reviewed the events of the gathering for both attorneys as she answered questions about the guests at her house who ate crabs, swam in the pool, watched a Redskins game and had a lot to drink. She considered the victim "wasted" and her stepdad as "just intoxicated" with the only one not intoxicated being Sneed's friend.

Her husband, Jason Knick, also testified collaborating with other witnesses to the sequence of events. Knick testified that the victim was intoxicated and so was Sneed, and Marsh reviewed statements he gave to police last year that said, "she was definitely, definitely intoxicated" and Sneed was not as intoxicated with his legs not wobbling.

Knick also spoke about seeing the victim asleep sitting on Sneed's lap in a reclining chair "in a position of endearment."

Both Knick and another friend at the party testified that they saw the victim and Sneed sitting in the chair with their arms wrapped around each other and they demonstrated in the witness chair.

Witnesses testified that the victim went to the hospital late in the afternoon the next day to be checked out and report the alleged assault after telling two friends, who took the stand last Friday.

Tammy Hornick, the nurse who gave the victim the SAFE exam, testified to the victim's demeanor, saying she was "crying and curled up in a ball" and "very withdrawn" as Hornick asked her questions and performed the exam which showed some trauma. Hornick confirmed the victim's story, telling the court that "she had not a lot of recollection of what happened." A detective who interviewed her at the hospital also testified he observed the victim "upset and crying."

During cross examination, Hornick agreed with Duboff when he said that "no bruises or scratches" were found on the victim's body during the examination.

After the nurse's testimony, both attorneys acknowledged to the court that they were in agreement that "vaginal intercourse did occur" although opinions differed as to who the aggressor was and what happened.

The prosecution had not finished calling witnesses as of press time Tuesday.

charvat@somdnews.com