Joe Lavigne, Jr.

CLARIFICATION APPENDED

Greg Ayers, Mr. Lavigne's newest public defender, also admits that he doesn't believe the sex offender ignored by police looks enough like Mr. Lavigne for his daughter to have confused the two of them. Though, like Mr. Lavigne and Ms. Allen before him, he points to other problems with the police investigation.

Jamie Lavigne, Mr. Lavigne’s wife, testified that she pleaded with police to have the area were here daughter said she was raped—a church parking lot—sealed, but that no one listened. She said all she could do was watch helplessly as churchgoers arrived that morning, trampling through the entire area.

The parking lot remained unsecured until the next day, though Mr. Smith testified that he asked the pastor of the church to warn his parishioners to be careful as they came and went. The Lavigne's house, were police say the girl was taken from while she slept early that morning, was never secured.

Police also failed to fingerprint the front and back doors of the Lavigne home, despite multiple requests to do so from Mr. Lavigne and his wife. One of the doors, which the Lavignes said in court they never used, was found propped open by a brick the morning Katie Lavigne was raped. The other door was freshly painted the day before the rape.

Mr. Smith told the jury he didn’t think it was necessary to fingerprint the doors and that he didn’t feel any usable prints could be taken from one of the door handles, because it was porous, grooved and ridged. Ms. Allen, however, had the door handle removed and brought to court.

Showing it to him, she asked “Now that’s as smooth as can be, isn’t it?�

“If that’s the exact one,� Mr. Smith answered.

“I’m representing to you there will be a follow-up that this is it. This was taken right from the door. My question is, this place where you would put the thumb to pull open that door, that’s as smooth as can be. Correct?�

“Yes, that’s fairly smooth," he said.

Other witnesses reported seeing a red truck in the parking lot by the church early the morning of the rape. Mr. Smith looked into the truck, which he admitted had no reason to be in the parking lot at that time—but stopped short of finding out who it belonged to.

Mr. Smith told the jury “the truck was seen at three-thirty (3:30) a.m. and it was also seen at four-thirty (4:30), and then when the daughter went to bed at five-thirty (5:30) she thought the truck was still there.�

“So at five-thirty (5:30) a.m. on February 11th, 1996, this unidentified red truck was still sitting here in the parking lot?� Ms. Allen asked.

Under questioning from Ms. Allen, Mr. Smith said he ruled out any legitimate reason the truck would’ve been in the parking lot.

“And, in fact, you just don't know whose red truck that was, do you?� Ms. Allen asked.

“No. I don't,� Mr. Smith answered.

At trial, though, Mr. Smith pointed out the things he did that showed he was intent on discovering who raped Mr. Lavigne's daughter, like extensive searches for the victim's clothing (they've never been found) and a BOLO alert (be on the look out) to nearby police agencies. He also denied that he was ever asked to seal the crime scene.

(CLARIFICATION 12/19/2007 at 1:30 p.m. | after reading this article, Mr. Ayers contacted Where Doubt Remains to reiterate that while he firmly believes the victim mistook her attacker for her father, he, at the time, didn't feel that the sex offender known to have lived near the Lavignes looked much like Mr. Lavigne. His judgment was based on pictures and since his interview with Where Doubt Remains, he has seen other photos from different time periods and now feels that Mr. Lavigne and the man do have many physical similarities).