Sex Offender Appeals Murfreesboro Case - Courts AGAIN Say NO

Oct 25, 2016 at 08:28 am by bryan


A case that got underway in 2010 involving a suspect by the name of Matthew Whitehair in Murfreesboro was closed with a guilty verdict by jurors in 2013. However, the case was not totally closed in the eyes of Whitehair as he later filed an appeal.

On Monday, October 24, 2016 - the Tennessee Supreme Courts officially closed the case denying an appeal from Whitehair and affirming the conviction filed in the courtroom of Judge David Bragg.

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Looking back to what sparked the case going to the courts in 2010, Whitehair was indicted by a Grand Jury on three counts of rape of a child, two counts of rape, eight counts of incest, three counts of statutory rape by an authority figure, and one count of sexual battery by an authority figure. The investigation started with a call from the Department of Children Services in 2009 suggesting that Whitehair had an inappropriate relationship with a minor. Detective Tommy Roberts and Detective Wayne Lawson investigated the case. In 2010, the Murfreesboro Post reported that the victims ranged in age from 11 to 15-years old.

Whitehair was later found guilty on two counts of aggravated sexual battery, two counts of sexual battery, statutory rape by an authority figure, incest, five counts of attempted incest and sexual battery by an authority figure. He was sentenced to spend 8 years in prison and 7 years under supervised probation once released.

In 2015, the convicted sex offender appealed the courts decision suggesting that evidence was insufficient to support his convictions and that the courts improperly allowed a nurse practitioner to testify as an expert.

Despite Whitehair's attempt to have the charges reduced or heard again, the courts sided with Judge David Bragg who oversaw the court case.

Whitehair will be released from prison in year 2020, just a few months before his 47th birthday. He is currently being held at the Morgan County Correctional Complex. After he is released, he will be on supervised probation for 7 years. He is currently on the Tennessee Sex Offender Registry. He is classified as a violent sex offender.

Past Source:

Appeals list for October 24, 2016

Rutherford County Court Docket for Circuit Court

Original MPD Case #09-19204 and #10-1866

In 2012 the courts suppressed a videotaped statement made by Whitehair. You can read about that issue here: Court Document involving Whitehair from 2012

2010 Story in Murfreesboro Post

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