
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, November 23, 1993                   TAG: 9311230135
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-4   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: RALEIGH, N.C.                                LENGTH: Short

DAY CARE OWNER SEEKS RETRIAL IN ABUSE CASE

The owner of the Little Rascals Day Care Center asked for a new trial Monday because some jurors who convicted him of child sex abuse said their deliberations weren't properly conducted.

Robert F. Kelly Jr. was convicted April 22, 1992, of 99 counts of sexually abusing 12 children at the center in Edenton. He and his wife, Elizabeth, owned and operated the center. Kelly was sentenced to 12 consecutive life prison terms.

A defense motion filed in the state Court of Appeals said a new trial should be granted because one juror told others he had been sexually molested as a child, and another juror visited Edenton against the judge's orders.

Prosecutor Bill Hart said the state would oppose the motion.

"North Carolina case law says a jury verdict can only be impeached if the material addressed deals directly with that defendant or with the case itself," Hart said.

Six others were charged with sexual abuse at the center, including Kelly's wife. Her trial is scheduled to start Feb. 28.

- Associated Press

by CNB