Greg Kelley to remain in jail for at least two weeks as hearing concludes

Greg Kelley will remain in the Williamson County Jail for at least the next two weeks. The three day hearing in which Kelley's attorney hoped to prove he is innocent of sex crimes against children concluded Friday.

For three days Judge Donna King listened to testimony regarding what Williamson County District Attorney Shawn Dick described as a failure of the system. Failures including investigators who did not follow basic procedure of going to the scene and doing a line up to a defense attorney not pursuing leads that another person may have done the crime.

As the hearing concluded Dick issued an apology to the victim's family.

"I'm sorry that we failed you in our investigation and the prosecution of this case," said Dick.

Dick said the police investigation was deficient and those handling the case had tunnel vision.

Kelley's attorney, Keith Hampton, showed slide after slide suggesting it was the day care owner's son Johnathan McCarty who forced a child to perform lewd acts and not Kelley who was convicted of the crime in 2014.

One piece of evidence was a photo of Johnathan's room. The victim said a baby was sleeping nearby when the incident happened. The picture showed a pack-n-play. Hampton pointed out that while Kelley was briefly living in the home his bedroom was too small for a pack-n-play.

Johnathan McCarty's lawyer Kellie Bailey told FOX 7, "My client is innocent. He's absolutely innocent of this case. He's innocent of all these charges. He is innocent. He's been a convenient scapegoat all along."

Kelley's supporters who showed up by the dozens left feeling full of hope.

"Today was a great day for the family and we saw that the truth has finally come out," said Aldo Berduo.

"We've been waiting for a long time. What else to wait a little longer. But everything is pointing to the right direction and for all of these things I give the glory to the Lord," said Rosa Kelley.

A Texas Ranger who re-opened the investigation says Kelley remains a possible suspect along with Johnathan and a third unidentified person.

As for Johnathan, his lawyer Bailey says, "He's devastated. His family is devastated. He's receiving threats. He's in solitary confinement that's how threatened his life is. 23 hours today he is restricted to a jail cell. His parents have been threatened. They received emails. People have egged their house. I’m even receiving emails, because I represent him, threatening my life and telling me what a horrible person I am. This is a person who's innocent.” 

Still Dick says he would've handled things differently had he been in office at the time.

"I do personally believe that he (Kelley) should not have been tried for this offense. If I knew these facts at that time he would not have been tried for the offense," said Dick.

Judge King is giving the prosecution and Kelley's attorneys until August 18th to deliver findings of fact to her. She will then decide whether to let Kelley out on bond.

The Court of Criminal Appeals will have to determine innocence. That decision will take four months.