Willie BradleyA 55-year-old man charged with rape for the fifth time will get a new attorney after a public defender realized a few minutes into a preliminary hearing his office had already represented the alleged victim in a previous case.
Surrounded by attorneys, family members and a judge, the alleged victim described Wednesday in Hamilton County General Sessions Court how a stranger crept up behind her, jammed a knife against her back, led her into a home on Gillespie Street, and held her hostage for nine hours, raping her numerous times.
She said the attacks took place on the evening of Aug. 3 and lasted into the morning.
The woman, who will not be identified by the Times Free Press, tried to call her family. But the stranger, she said, wouldn't let her. After holding her overnight, she tried to go home, but he said he wasn't through.
He warned her: If she told the police, he would kill her.
After making her escape, the woman said, her nephew recognized the man days later in a nearby shop. A call to police resulted in Willie James Bradley's arrest, his fifth on a rape charge in a lengthy record that dates back about 20 years.
"And had this happened a few days before you called police?" asked prosecutor Jason Demastus.
"Yes," the victim said.
"Did they have you do a picture lineup?" he replied.
"Yes, they showed me about six pictures. I picked him out of those six," the victim said.
Blake Murchison, a public defender who is representing Bradley, then approached the victim for cross-examination. But instead of scrutinizing her story, or trying to gain more details about the investigation, Murchison said he was a little confused.
"You stated your name is [omitted]," he said.
"Yes," the woman replied.
"The affidavit of complaint lists [a different name]," Murchison said.
The woman replied she was schizophrenic, scared of Bradley and on medication.
"So you gave the wrong name to police?" he asked.
Yes, she nodded.
After checking his files, Murchison said the public defender's office had represented the woman in other legal matters. Consequently, he told Judge Christie Sell, he couldn't cross-examine the woman and he couldn't represent Bradley anymore.
"Because [the woman] disclosed the incorrect name out of fear in the affidavit, the public defender has a conflict," Sell announced. "So we're going to have to appoint Mr. Bradley a new attorney."
She reset the hearing for Sept. 28 and relayed the update to Bradley.
After asking for attorney Chris Dixon, Bradley jumped into the air on his way back to the holding cell, repeating to a courtroom officer, "All these lies, man. All these lies "
Contact staff writer Zack Peterson at zpeterson@timesfree press.com or 423-757-6347. Follow on Twitter @zackpeterson918.