Jonathan A. Powell

BAY CITY, MI -- It took a jury only about 20 minutes to acquit a Bay County dad accused of assaulting his daughter by bashing her over the head with frozen bacon.

Jurors in the trial of 46-year-old Jonathan A. Powell began deliberating at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 12. Just 20 minutes later, they reentered Bay County Circuit Judge Joseph K. Sheeran's courtroom and delivered their verdict -- not guilty of third-degree child abuse.

The charge was the only one Powell faced. Had he been convicted, he could have faced two years in prison.

"It doesn't get much quicker than that," said defense attorney Matthew L. Reyes. "This is a case that I sensed from the very beginning should have never been charged, let alone gone to trial. It's disappointing a family has been essentially destroyed because it takes 10 months for this thing to churn itself through the system and (Powell) hasn't had any relationship with his children in that time. It's a shame."

Reyes' sentiment was echoed by at least one juror.

"We felt bad for what the little girl went through, but we just felt the prosecution didn't prove anything," said Leslie LaFave-Middleton, a juror. "We didn't feel the prosecution had a case."

Bay County Assistant Prosecutor Bernard J. Coppolino declined to comment on the jury's findings.

During the trial, testimony established Powell's two daughters, ages 11 and 8, stayed at his house from Jan. 8-10. The older daughter testified that on the morning of Sunday, Jan. 10, she entered the kitchen as her dad was making breakfast and that he slammed her over the head with frozen bacon, knocking her over an open dishwasher door. She fell and hit the right side of her head on a wooden chair leg, she testified.

Thereafter, Powell beat her with his hands, elbows, and forearms, she testified.

The girl's younger sister testified that she saw some of the incident.

The girls' mother testified Powell dropped their daughters off at her house about 6 p.m. that day. Her elder daughter bore a mark on her right cheek and told her Powell had beaten her, the mom testified.

The mom called 911 and Hampton Township Police Officer John S. May Jr. went to her home to take a report. He testified there was no mention in his report of the girl claiming Powell beat her with his hands, elbows, and forearms, adding that he would have included that information in his report had she made the allegation.

Powell, who also took the stand Wednesday, testified he never assaulted his daughter. He claimed she entered the kitchen and he backed her up with bacon in his hand. She accidentally fell over the dishwasher door and struck the right side of her head on a chair, he testified.

During the trial, Reyes alleged the assault never took place and that the allegations came from a custody battle between Powell and the girls' mother.

"They've always had a contentious relationship," Reyes said. "They've had a custody order in place for years, but it's never been smooth. It's been fraught with denying parenting time or changing parenting time. It's just a rocky relationship with kids in the middle."