Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 28, 1991 TAG: 9103280414
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B2 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER SOUTHWEST BUREAU
DATELINE: WYTHEVILLE LENGTH: Short
Deborah Lynn Cline of Austinville has pleaded innocent to the charge of raping a 12-year-old boy. Juvenile and Domestic Relations Judge William F. Thomas Jr. allowed her to remain free on bond.
The boy, now 13, testified that he was visiting Cline's home in Austinville last Sept. 22 when Cline said she wanted to talk to him and took him to her bedroom. He said it was not unusual for them to talk there, because it was one of the few places in the home where conversations could be held privately.
He said he sat on the bed, which was the only place to sit, and she sat by him. "She held my hand, she look at me and she told me she loved me," he said. "I smiled, and her and I leaned back on the bed. . . . I was tired."
The boy said the woman got on top of him when he tried to get up. "I tried and then I found out there wasn't no use. She was much stronger than I was . . . so I just let her do as she pleased," he said.
He testified that he said nothing about the incident until several weeks later, when he told a neighbor.
The Sheriff's Office contacted the boy after getting an anonymous call. Investigator Douglas Tuck said Cline denied having had sexual intercourse with the boy; but she did say she sat him on the bed, told him she loved him and kissed him on the cheek.
The boy said Cline always had treated him like a son.
Cline originally was charged with forcible rape, but the charge was amended at a hearing March 6. Testimony was not taken then because the defense asked for more time to respond to the reduced charge.
by CNB