LOCKPORT — A Buffalo woman was found not guilty Friday of raping a 14-year-old boy last year in Niagara Falls.
A jury of four women and eight men rendered the verdict after 4 1/2 hours of deliberations in State Supreme Court.
Cheryl Mayes, 33, was accused of giving the teen beer and having sex with him in her former Niagara Falls home last Oct. 1.
If she had been convicted, she could have faced up to seven years in prison on charges of second-degree rape and giving alcohol to a minor.
She told the jury that she passed out after drinking too much beer and then the teen climbed on top of her. She testified she never kissed the boy, had sex with him or gave him beer.
Mayes, who was shaking before the verdict was read, broke down in tears afterward and silently mouthed the words “thank you” to jurors.
Her attorney, Robert Viola, said he feared the result of the trial but praised the jury for taking the case seriously and considering all the evidence.
“I just think the fact that she was consistent from the get go and was totally cooperative [with police], agreeing to a DNA swab and a computer stress analysis, [was helpful],” Viola said.
He said putting a client on the stand can be a pitfall in some cases.
“She insisted and gets credit for that, no doubt about it. She never waivered from what she said took place that evening,” Viola said.
Assistant District Attorney Robert Zucco said jurors considered the charges, “but they ignored the clear evidence.”
In closing arguments, both lawyers built on what they thought was the most believable story from their key witness.
Zucco told the jury in court that his witness, who is now 15, may have had some inconsistencies, but was backed by the forensic evidence, including DNA and saliva.
“He first denied they had consensual sex, saying she jumped him. He denied he had alcohol. But how likely is a kid going to try and minimize what happened?” Zucco asked the jury. “[The teen’s] story is backed by scientific evidence, which supports that they had consensual sex.”
The jury disagreed. “It was difficult. We thought that the way it
was prosecuted and the evidence brought up left a lot of gray areas,” said jury foreman Rich Kudela, of Niagara Falls.
Fellow juror Bill O’Connor, of Lewiston, said jurors questioned the teen’s credibility.
“He was questioned when he went to the hospital if he was ever raped and he said no. That played a big part,” O’Connor said. “And he was their star witness.”
“He backpedaled and changed a lot of things,” agreed Kudela.
Both men also noted that the boy was never tested for alcohol.
“Why was nothing tested [for alcohol] at the hospital?” O’Connor said.
Viola told the jury that Mayes told police nothing happened when she was first accused of rape because as a parolee and a woman with a boyfriend who just went to jail, she didn’t want to involve police or anger her boyfriend.
“This is not a sanitized ‘Leave it to Beaver’ setting,” Viola told the jury. “It’s not your job to clean up this mess. If you leave saying you are not sure what happened, you are obligated to reach a verdict of ‘not guilty.’ The law compels you.”
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