A Furnas County District Court jury of 12 men and two women began Wednesday morning with opening statements by attorneys involved in the trial of 57-year-old William “Billy” Quinn. The Oxford man faces 14 felony counts in a child sex trafficking investigation that has resulted in about a dozen other men being charged as well. District Judge David Urbom is presiding over the trial. At the end of the trial, 12 of the jurors will be deciding the case.
In his opening statement for the State, Furnas County Attorney Morgan Farquhar outlined a series of events in early 2019 where Quinn, then 54-years-old, groomed the alleged victim in the case through social media, texts and calls while she lived out of state. He lured her to Furnas County on the premise of a job for her at his Oxford cafe. Within days of her arrival in Furnas County in July 2019, Farquhar said Quinn committed his first sexual assault on the girl at age 15. He said Quinn was married to his then-wife at the time. The assaults continued until January 2020 when the girl was 16.
Shortly before the girl reached age 16, Quinn moved her into a house he recently purchased in Oxford . Farquhar says “that’s when Quinn began paying for her cell phone, providing her food and shelter. And most importantly, selling her for sex and using her for sex.”
In her opening remarks, Defense Attorney Mallory Hughes said the girl came from a “highly dysfunctional family” and bounced around in older siblings’ homes for years. Hughes said that the girl falsely accused an older man in Furnas County of sexual assault in 2017 and then later testified under oath that it was a false allegation. She suggested the girl later targeted such men as Quinn who had money, property and jobs. Hughes also suggested the girl initially lied to Quinn about her age and that she benefited from a “biased investigation” by law enforcement.
Later in the day, the girl was called to testify in the case. Special Prosecutor Sandra Allen walked the girl through testimony of sexual encounters with Quinn and numerous other men. Many times, Quinn would allegedly have sex with her after encounters with other men, she testified.