For two years, Kevin Edward McGrath's future included a distinct possibility of heading to the state penitentiary.



But late Tuesday afternoon in Circuit Judge Thomas Kohl's courtroom, Washington County jurors acquitted the 22-year-old of eight Measure 11 sex crimes.



The case began two summers ago when McGrath attended a party at the Hillsboro home of some high school acquaintances.



McGrath and more than a dozen partygoers drank alcohol and played drinking games until the early morning of June 30, 2010.



The party died down around 3:30 a.m. and those who were staying the night retreated to couches and bedrooms. In interviews with police, McGrath estimated he had about 10 beers that night before vomiting.



Looking for a place to sleep, he went into a bedroom where a 19-year-old woman was resting, McGrath told police. Friends of the woman had put her to bed hours earlier after she had vomited from drinking too much.



The two had been high school classmates but weren't more than acquaintances.



McGrath sat next to her on the bed. What followed, he said, was a consensual sexual encounter. She told police McGrath's advances were unwanted and he sexually assaulted her under the threat of another unwanted sex act.



Soon after, a friend of the woman walked in and found her naked in bed with McGrath, who was wearing only a shirt.



The friend summoned other partygoers, including the 19-year-old's siblings. They filed into the bedroom, yelling and demanding to know what McGrath was doing.



McGrath pulled his clothes on and ran out.



According to police reports, the woman's friend asked repeatedly, "Did he rape you?" She nodded.



About an hour later, the partygoers took the woman to a hospital, where she was examined and made a police report. The exam did not yield forensic evidence.



A grand jury indicted McGrath in December 2010 on two counts of first-degree unlawful sexual penetration, three counts of first-degree sex abuse, one count of first-degree sodomy and two counts of first-degree rape. Under Measure 11, the charges each carry a mandatory minimum prison sentence ranging from about six to eight years.



Deputy District Attorney Bob Hull, who prosecuted the case, said many sex crime cases do not include physical evidence. He prosecuted McGrath, he said, because he believed the alleged victim.



In an interview this week, McGrath said he took the gamble of going to trial because he knew the truth and believed the jury would, too.



McGrath said he felt comfortable with his attorney, public defender Dean Smith.



"He totally puts his heart into his work," he said, "and I really appreciate what he did for me."



McGrath was arrested in January 2011. He spent 26 days in jail before a judge lowered his bail, his family posted $5,000 and he was released.



For the next 18 months, McGrath lived with his father, checked in with a release officer every Tuesday and followed a number of conditions.



His family and friends never doubted him and lent him strong support, he said. But he avoided social gatherings where he might have to explain the case to those who weren't aware of it.



His job at Home Depot was put on hold, he said, because the store wouldn't let him work with pending charges. He returned to the job Thursday.



The case cost McGrath in finances, sleep and damage to his reputation. In spite of that, he said, he's not vengeful.



"Angry is not really a word for me," he said. "I don't get angry. I don't even know the last time I've been angry. A situation like this – I was more terrified."



The possibility of going to prison hung over McGrath for months. While he was confident in his case, he said, he feared conviction.



McGrath had no prior criminal history. A prison stint would change everything: Getting a job, going to school, finding love.



"Sometime I'm going to want to get married," he said. "If I were to meet a girl I really, really liked, I'd have to explain why I went to prison."



At the end of a five-day trial, jurors left to deliberate at about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, McGrath said. They reached a unanimous decision in less than an hour.



His family and friends seated in the courtroom erupted in shouts of joy, he said.



McGrath said he's "on cloud nine" now, though the experience of the last two years has changed him forever.



"I got a new respect for life," he said, "but at the same time I have to find trust in people all over again."



-- Emily E. Smith



