Williamson County DA re-opens Greg Kelley case

Greg Kelley is 22-years-old now. He's serving out a 25-year-sentence in Huntsville.  In 2014, then 19-year-old Kelley was convicted of two super aggravated sex assault charges.

A Williamson County jury convicted him of performing a lewd act on a boy who Kelley's attorney says was 3-years-old at the time despite Kelley's continued claim of innocence.

In 2014, FOX 7 spoke with Kelley by phone from the Williamson County Jail.
   
He told us the urges to committ that crime just weren't there.

"No sir, I've been with my wonderful girlfriend, she's an angel.  I've been with her for 4 years since I was a freshman in high school.  You know, we've had troubles in the past like every relationship had, but she's everything I need in my life as a partner," Kelley said.

Now, Kelley's attorney Keith Hampton has evidence that could prove Kelley's innocence.  After examining Kelley's phone records, he says it's not possible Greg was at home during the time the child could have been molested.

And he claims the child mistook Kelley for another young man who lived in the daycare -- a young man that Hampton believes looks remarkably similar to Greg Kelley.

Hampton claims this young man was found to have a photo of at least one naked child on his phone -- and more on his home computer. 

And witnesses claim the other young man admitted to the crime at a party after Kelley's conviction.

WilCo DA Shawn Dick says the evidence was compelling enough to open their own investigation.

"That's really why we're investigating this is to make sure we got the right person and hopefully the wrong person isn't out there potentially committing other violations," Dick said.

Dick says the Texas Rangers are investigating and a team of his senior attorneys.

"If we got it right I want the public to understand what we did and how we got it right and if we got it wrong then we need to make sure we fix it," Dick said.

We spoke with Kelley's longtime girlfriend Gaebri Anderson by FaceTime on Thursday.

"We always knew the truth was...the truth always comes out and we believe justice is going to be served.  Everything is going to be set straight it's just going to take time and patience," Anderson said, "I obviously hope that justice is served and the truth is 100 percent out there and Greg is set free and able to live his life."

The WilCo DA says there will be a public hearing in August.

"In that hearing if the judge were to decide to recommend relief for Mr. Kelley than that still has to go to the Court of Criminal Appeals for them to approve and if they ultimately approve of the relief for Mr. Kelley then that's the point he would be released," Dick said.

Dick says there are many possible outcomes here.  Kelley could be exhonerated or they might have to re-try him -- or nothing will happen and Kelley's case will end.
              
Doug Douglas, spokesperson for Kelley's family issued this statement:

"In July of 2014, Gregory Raymond Kelley was sentenced to 25 years in state prison on the charge of Super Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child. Mr. Kelley has remained adamant that he was wrongfully convicted for the past 1100+ days while he was confined in a maximum security prison in Huntsville, Texas. However, the clock will soon stop when he is fully exonerated of this crime.

Today, District Attorney, Shawn Dick, finally took the action that thousands of us have been calling for, praying for, even begging for and reopened the case. A suspect has been identified that we believe to be the actual guilty party in this crime. We have sought nothing but for justice to prevail in this case, and we are now hopeful that this will occur sooner rather than later.

Since the time Mr. Kelley was accused of this crime, he, his family, his friends, and hundreds of people who had no ties to Mr. Kelley whatsoever, have called for his case to be re-examined and for a fair and full investigation to be conducted. We were declined and ridiculed by those who had the means and authority to conduct this investigation. Mr. Kelley was never interviewed or interrogated by the Cedar Park Police Department. The Investigator who was assigned to this case admitted under oath to asking leading questions of the young accuser to get the answers he wanted to hear, as well as deleting correspondence between himself and Child Protective Services. This Investigator shortcutted his way through this case and never truly examined or investigated the accusation. Instead, he had a police chief who supported him, defended him, mocked everyone who had concerns regarding the case, and then promoted this Investigator shortly after Mr. Kelley's conviction.

The City Manager, the Mayor, the now former District Attorney, and even the Governor, were asked to intervene and assure that justice was done in this case as thousands of concerned citizens felt like it needed to be re-examined. All turned a blind eye and deaf ear to these concerns. So, Mr. Kelley entered a maximum security prison as the youngest inmate in the population, with a charge that often leads to harm or even death to inmates who carry such a charge.

It should be noted that those within the Williamson Country Jail, as well as the Texas Prison system, treated Mr. Kelley fairly and respectfully. Many of these men and women commented to Mr. Kelley that they believed he was innocent. The prisoners and inmates that spent time around Mr. Kelley often commented that he was unlike everyone else in prison, that he "wasn't one of them." In fact, everyone who actually spent some time around Mr. Kelley were amazed at his maturity, the level of grace that he bestowed on all those around him, and his commitment to allow forgiveness to permeate from him.

Gregory Kelley is a man of God. He has surrendered his heart and his soul to Jesus Christ as his Savior. His faith is NOT just the most important PART of his life....his faith IS his life. Countless lives have been changed and transformed through their encounters with Greg. Grown men look up to him, admire him, and call him their hero. Greg has directly, and indirectly, led many into their own personal relationships with God.

Mr. Kelley's attorney, Keith Hampton, has been steadfast in this efforts to do what should have been done from the beginning by our law enforcement officials...search out the evidence that leads to the truth. He, and his team, have poured in countless hours of research, untold resources, tracking leads, interviewing witnesses, using technologies to their full extent...and these efforts led them to the truth. That truth has now been revealed to District Attorney Shawn Dick, as well as the Texas Rangers, and both have agreed that a potential injustice has occurred, that a man's life has been impacted greatly in a truly dangerous and unfortunate way. Today, more than 1,100 days too late, someone finally decided to do the right thing.

We look forward to his court date on August 3 and 4. May justice truly prevail."