Suspicious pickup report part of Quinn trial testimony on Thursday

Suspicious pickup report part of Quinn trial testimony on Thursday
RRN/ Furnas County Sheriff’s Sgt. Alex Huntley testifies in William “Billy” Quinn trial on Thursday June 17, 2021.
June 17th, 2021 | Dave Schroeder

    The alleged victim in a Furnas County sex trafficking investigation continued her testimony Thursday in a jury trial being conducted on the third floor of the Furnas County Courthouse in Beaver City.  William “Billy” Quinn has been charged with multiple counts of 1st Degree Sexual Assault of a Child, Human Sex Trafficking of a Minor, Manufacturing Visual Depiction of Sexually Explicit Conduct and Enticement by an Electronic Communication Device among other charges. 

    Quinn’s defense attorney, Mallory Hughes, spent considerable time reviewing conflicting statements the girl made in formal interviews last year compared with statements she made on the witness stand this past week.  Under further questioning the girl, now 17, admitted to falsely accusing a man of raping her a couple of years ago and later recanted the report.

    The girl also went over her previous testimony on the first time she met Quinn in which he sexually assaulted her twice and threatened her with a knife if she didn’t comply with his demand.    She also discussed sexual encounters she had with specific men at Quinn’s direction.   Some involved a payment of $50, other encounters involved no payment.

      There were four other witnesses testifying for the prosecution Thursday.  The girl’s mother confirmed previous testimony by the girl about bringing her back to Beaver City after the girl had run away and lived out-of-state with a relative for a period of time.   She also spoke of accompanying the girl on medical appointments shortly after her return to Beaver City in early July 2019.

    Greg Yost, who operates a body shop in Beaver City, testified about Quinn calling him to a field outside of Beaver City in 2019.  Quinn had said his pickup wouldn’t start and wanted Yost to help jumpstart his pickup.   On the way to Quinn’s location, Yost said there was a young female walking along the roadway towards Beaver City.  They exchanged hand waves but Yost said she did not appear to be in distress and he would have stopped to assist her if she were in distress.

        Amanda Becker, a local farm wife, testified about checking the water for cattle on a farmstead her family owns east of  Beaver City on September 4, 20219.   She observed a white pickup parked on the place with the passenger side door open and two feet under the door.   Becker then saw a young female raise her head and then lay back down.   The man then walked around the truck, got in the driver’s seat and drove away.  Although not acquainted with Quinn, Becker recognized the man to be Quinn.  Becker made note of the license plate on the truck and it was later confirmed to be owned by Quinn and his former wife.

    Furnas County Sheriff’s Sgt. Alex Huntley was called to the witness stand.  He testified about taking the report from Becker and her husband about the suspicious pickup on their property.   He then explained how he was notified of a possible human trafficking case and then conducted his initial interview with the alleged victim on January 19, 2020 in the Furnas County Sheriff’s Office.  Testimony ended for the day at that point.  Sgt. Huntley is expected to return to the stand when the trial resumes Friday morning.

Share:

© 2024 Nebraska Rural Radio Association. All rights reserved. Republishing, rebroadcasting, rewriting, redistributing prohibited. Copyright Information