Man convicted of Durham rape alleges prosecutor misconduct
DURHAM (WTVD) -- A man sent to prison in 2000 for the rape of a 12-year-old Durham girl returned to court Tuesday asking for a new trial.
Attorneys for David Yearwood allege former Durham County District Attorney Tracey Cline withheld important evidence in the case when she was an assistant DA.
Yearwood, 46, is serving a 30 year prison term in the attack on the girl who lived near him in 1999.
Yearwood's father waited patiently in the courtroom for more than two hours after a delay in transporting his son from a correctional facility in Harnett County to the Durham County courthouse.
"It's been a hard time. Just heartbreaking," Tom Yearwood told ABC11. "There are some hard feelings about Tracey Cline."
In its investigative series "Twisted Truth", the Raleigh News and Observer reported that Yearwood's attorneys allege Cline withheld SBI reports that show Yearwood's hairs were not found at the crime scene along with the full statements police got from the victim and her mother, a statement from a hospital nurse that said she found no vaginal tearing, and notes from an investigator who interviewed a neighbor who reported seeing two suspicious teen's leaving the victim's house before the alleged attack.
Cline was removed from her position as Durham County District Attorney in 2012 after publicly feuding with a judge and accusing him of corruption in court filing.
Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson had dismissed two murder cases in which Cline was involved citing her behavior - including the alleged suppression of evidence.
The highly unusual decision to remove Cline from office came after a defense attorney filed a motion saying her ongoing dispute with Judge Hudson was bringing the county court system into disrepute.
Cline's removal was upheld by the North Carolina Court of Appeals in 2013. She has since appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The hearing focused on Yearwood's request for a new trial is expected to last up to three days as multiple witnesses testify about details in the case.
An SBI analyst testified that while no semen was found on the child's underwear, there were indicators of human saliva.
An officer who interviewed Yearwood's then-12-year-old victim at the hospital told the judge all these years later he can't forgot her story.
"Very traumatizing for the victim, traumatizing for the mother," he said. "It made an imprint on the officers including myself that were involved."
