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Rodney Calhoun HCSO

Editor’s note: The following story contains sensitive content.

A 39-year-old former Marshall man was sentenced to 60 years in prison, Tuesday, for the 2017 rape of a then 11-year-old child and a then 16-year-old child, both of whom he impregnated.

The defendant, Rodney Wayne Calhoun Jr., was sentenced by 71st Judicial District Judge Brad Morin after pleading guilty to the crimes. Judge Morin sentenced the defendant to 60 years — a maximum 20 for aggravated sexual assault of a child and 40 years
for sexual assault of a child. The sentencing will run consecutively, for a total of 60 years.

The defendant asked for probation in the case, claiming he was under the influence of a date rape drug he took several weeks prior and that he also has blackouts that impede his memory. His court-appointed defense attorney, Kim Ryan, argued that Calhoun
needed a chance for rehabilitation and mental health treatment as well as an opportunity to continue to financially help all 14 mothers of his total of 14 children, who range from ages 3 to 21.

Prosecutor, Madison Hood, asked the judge to assess the maximum sentence in both cases, arguing that the defendant is a sexual predator whose story about not remembering, due to a date rape drug, is unbelievable.

The judge agreed.

“You forcibly raped her,” Judge Morin told Calhoun as the judge handed down the sentences, one by one.

“You held her down and had sex with a 16-year-old; and you tell me you don’t remember that,” the judge said, visibly rattled.

“Well, I can’t get that out of my mind,” the judge said, sharing how disturbed he is by the defendant’s actions.

Judge Morin said the crimes are something neither one of the child victims, who are now 16 and 20, will forget. The judge said both victims deserve justice for the trauma.

“I hope that they’re able to get through this,” he said, getting choked up. “I’m just speechless.”

The offense dates in the case are Sept. 13, 2017, and Oct. 1, 2017. The youngest victim, who was sexually abused from the age of 11 to 12, made her outcry in March 2018.

Defendant testimony

Taking the stand Tuesday, Calhoun said he’s told several individuals that he needs mental help. He claimed he has incidents of “ins-and-outs” that causes him to black out. When asked by First Assistant District Attorney, Madison Hood, why he could
recall so vividly about the 11-year-old starting her menstrual cycle, even stating that he thought she started them early, Calhoun said he remembered those details because it was traumatizing for him.

“Everything traumatizing, I remember,” he said. “It was traumatizing to me. It was something that I wasn’t used to.”

When asked about details he remembered about the weekend of the incident with the 16-year-old, Calhoun said he remembered talking to her about sleeping in vans with fleas, about dancing, and about the status of her virginity.

When asked by Hood what he remembered about forcing her to have sex with him, Calhoun argued that he never forced anyone to do anything. He said he didn’t remember having sex with the 11-year-old either.

When asked why he could remember the details of the conversations with both girls, but couldn’t remember sexually assaulting them, Calhoun claimed it happened some weeks after being under the influence of a date rape drug, while out of town.

“I woke up in bed with a transvestite,” he said. “It was also traumatizing.”

When asked if he recalled sexually abusing the youngest victim, starting from age 11 and continuing on to age 12, he said “not a single time because I didn’t.”

When asked why he still denies the crime when he’s already pled guilty to the offense and confirms he now has a 3-year-old with then-11-year-old child, Calhoun said he pled guilty “because it was the right thing to do.”

“I just said I don’t remember,” he said, continuing to blame it on the date rape drug.

Hood pointed out that the sexual abuse of the youngest child continued on for several months after the date the defendant reportedly took a date rape drug.

“You’re telling me she was abused for seven months. You’re telling me the date rape drug you took lasted that long?” Hood asked.

Asking the defendant questions, Judge Morin also pointed out testimony from the youngest victim’s mother, stating that the child called her mother seven months later stating that she was pregnant and that Calhoun was trying to rape her again.

When asked by his court-appointed attorney why he would like probation, Calhoun said he wants a second chance.

“For one, I had no knowledge and I’ve never touched (the then 11-year-old) in that way or however many times they’ve said,” he testified, adding he considered the victim like his own daughter.

“It will be a second chance for me and my family,” he said. “I want to be there for my kids. I don’t want to be in jail.”

Responding to the prosecutor’s questions about a 2007 indecency with a child by exposure incident that Calhoun was questioned by police about, Calhoun said the case was non-prosecuted and “handled” as a family matter, like he believes his current
case should’ve been.

Defense closing arguments

Arguing for the sake of financial support, in her closing arguments, Calhoun’s court-appointed attorney Ryan asked for probation, noting the defendant is a man who works and helps support his children.

“He has lots of children; lots of moms who probably need his help,” she said, suggesting the judge could make a condition of probation as to whether or not he has contact with his children, particularly the ones conceived with the victims in the case.

Ryan said Calhoun would also have conditions required for a sex offender, which would keep him away from places children congregate.

“So, there a ways for people to be monitored to ensure that your obligation to keep the community safe is upheld,” she told Judge Morin.

“I realize that financial support may sound heavy to make in terms of an argument in this case,” she added. “But especially right now where people are having a hard time financially; and especially long term with so many children being so young, I
think it would certainly be depriving them of some opportunities that they might have had if he was to be out in the world working and contributing to them.”

She further argued that there’s no doubt that Calhoun needed help.

“He should’ve gotten help a long time ago for everything that is happening,” said Ryan, “but I don’t think it would be a benefit to society to leave all of these children with a father in prison, who can’t support them. It would just
perpetuate the cycle of poverty; it would perpetuate the cycle of violence; it would perpetuate the cycle of abuse. And I think that offering help and rehabilitating people is the only hope we have, really, to break these cycles.”

State closing arguments

In her closing arguments, prosecutor, Hood, said the facts in this case are unforgettable.

“Sometimes you hear about cases and they stick with you. Sometimes the facts are so bad they don’t seem real,” said Hood. “But you don’t see an 11-year-old child scared to go to bed at night because her stepfather is sneaking into her room at
night having sex with her. You don’t see a 16-year-old child that was held down and forcibly raped.

“If you close your mind and actually picture what they were going through at that time, it sticks with you,” said Hood.

The prosecutor asked the judge to picture a 12-year-old child realizing she’s pregnant and going through the pregnancy alone and scared while experiencing the non-support of her mom, who chose the defendant over her own daughter.

“I see a 12-year-old not really able to wrap her mind around the whole situation,” said Hood. “I picture her in the hospital giving birth to his baby on her 13{sup}th{/sup} birthday.”

Hood said she also envisions the then-16-year-old disclosing to her grandmother that she was almost seven months pregnant with the defendant’s baby.

“I picture her telling her that she was going to do the right thing but she wants the baby out of her; she wants to give it up for adoption,” said Hood. “I picture a 16-year-old and a 12-year-old that didn’t have the choice because of this
defendant.”

Hood argued that because of Calhoun, the victims won’t have those special moments that are anticipated in the life of a woman, because he took that from them.

“It’s something they can never get back,” said Hood. “When you think about their future, it’s upsetting and hurtful.”

She further argued that Calhoun doesn’t deserve probation because he’s a predator.

“He sexually abuses kids,” said Hood.

She said Marshall PD Detective Joe Chastain pointed out in his testimony that the scary thing about Calhoun is that he doesn’t have a specific profile of a sexual predator.

“We’re taught they groom kids and then others don’t. They just see opportunities and they go for it. He’s such a concern for safety in society and reoffending because he has both of those characteristics,” said Hood. “It’s very scary.”

Hood reminded of Calhoun’s testimony, stating that his family has always “handled things” for him.

“He never takes responsibility for anything,” she said, arguing that he’s even blaming the victims in the case for his actions.

“He pled guilty, but even on the stand he was going back and he couldn’t remember any of the facts of the sexual assault,” said Hood. “He remembers that day; he remembers talking to (the 16-year-old victim), but then he magically forgets the
sexual abuse. He remembers (the 11-year-old), playing basketball with her; he remembers when she started her period ... and how upset he was, but he doesn’t remember sexually assaulting her for a year-and-a-half, starting when she was 11.”

She said not only is that unbelievable, but his excuse of memory loss due to the date rape drug is also unbelievable.

“He pled guilty but he’s still not taking responsibility for it because he’s never had to,” said Hood. “Now is the time for him to be held accountable. He’s been lucky so far.”

She further noted that although Calhoun knows he has a problem, he’s never taken the initiative to seek help.

“If you’re having sex with an 11-year-old child you know you have a problem,” Hood contended. “It’s not a substance abuse problem; it’s not a mental health problem; it’s a sex offender problem.

“You need to go to sex offender treatment if you have any inkling to have sex with an 11-year-old child,” she said. “He didn’t’ do any of that. He never takes initiative to enter himself into treatment for drug abuse, for mental health, for sex
offender, none of that.”

She noted that instead of seeking help within the two-and-a-half years that the case has been pending, he picked up two new offenses — assault family violence and false drug test — while out on bond.

Hood said she agrees with the oldest victim’s grandmother, who testified that she thinks the defendant deserved the maximum punishment.

“He has affected these girls’ lives,” said Hood. “It’s not something that they’re just going to forget about. It’s always going to affect them.”

The prosecutor asked Morin to fight for the then 11-year-old, whose mother won’t; and stand with the then-16-year-old and her family.

“I’m going to ask that you ensure that another 12-year-old is not pregnant in our community,” said Hood. “Our community would in no way be safe if this man received probation.

“He gave these kids life sentences,” she added. “They’re never going to escape what he did.”

https://www.marshallnewsmessenger.com/news/man-gets-60-years-for-rape-of-11-and-16-year-old/article_4b7f20f8-f4c6-11eb-aed6-3b81552734f0.html

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