Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 21, 1995 TAG: 9507210049
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RICHARD FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BEDFORD LENGTH: Medium
After deliberating for about an hour, the nine men and three women found Jamie Byers, 24, guilty of two felony counts of aggravated sexual battery and recommended he serve eight years in prison.
Bedford County Circuit Judge William Sweeney ordered a pre-sentence report; no sentencing date was set. Byers, who works as a waiter and bartender in Alexandria, faces a maximum sentence of 40 years on both charges.
"I think we had the evidence to convict him," Commonwealth's Attorney Randy Krantz said. "As his own attorney said, in this case, it all comes down to one thing: Do you believe the boys or do you believe Mr. Byers? Obviously, the jury did not believe Mr. Byers."
Wednesday, the two boys testified that Byers, who was a paid counselor at the Royal Ambassadors camp at the Peaks of Otter, undressed in front of them and asked them to take off their clothes "to enjoy God's nature."
Byers took the two boys on an overnight camping trip to an isolated meadow, they said. One boy said Byers blindfolded him, removed the boy's clothing, and later rubbed the boy's genitals and buttocks. The other boy said Byers rubbed his buttocks, too.
Taking the witness stand Thursday, Byers was questioned by Krantz in a heated cross-examination that left Byers acknowledging some inconsistencies and lies.
In a taped statement last September, Byers told police he had given back rubs to both boys. But on the witness stand, he denied touching one of the boys at all.
He also said he had lied about the investigation to people he knew at Averett College, where he was a student and a member of student government. To protect his reputation, he told them he was being investigated for larceny and not child abuse, he said.
"I chose to have damage control by lying, and I don't regret that. Averett is a small school," Byers said in the taped statement to police.
Byers also said he gave back rubs to several boys. "I enjoy back rubs, massage, people giving me massage. It's a tension and stress reliever," he said, adding, "I don't think it was inappropriate."
His former employer, Bill Berry, the camp's director, had a different opinion. He testified that it would have been inappropriate and said he assured the mother of one of the two boys that Byers never would be at the camp again.
Because of the allegations against Byers, Berry said, the camp now does an extensive background check on counselors and teaches them how to avoid situations that could be construed as inappropriate or wrong.
Testimony revealed that Byers was court-martialed from the military and convicted of felony burglary charges in Germany, where he was stationed.
Byers was being held in the Bedford County jail Thursday. He'll be there until his sentencing date unless he posts $10,000 bond.
by CNB