Clay Conaway lawyer seeks sentencing delay in rape case; what happens next in string of trials
The attorney who represents Clay Conaway, a Sussex County man convicted of rape last month, will ask the courts to postpone Conaway's sentencing because it might taint other cases he faces.
Conaway, a former University of Delaware baseball player, is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 22, about one week before the second of potentially six total rape trials is set to begin.
The rape accusations against Conaway, now 23, are reported to have occurred in 2013, 2017 and 2018, when the Georgetown resident was a student at Sussex Central High School and the University of Delaware.
After his first, two-week trial garnered multiple daily reports from newspapers, radio and television stations, Conaway's attorney Joe Hurley said he expects the sentencing hearing to be another point of public attention.
CLAY CONAWAY: Full coverage, from rape accusations to trial for former UD pitcher
He wants the sentencing to take place after the second trial to avoid influencing the opinions of potential jurors. Sentencing him after the second trial would allow publicity "to die down," Hurley argued.
It is unclear if the courts or prosecutors will approve the request.
Conaway could be sentenced to as many as 15 years and as little as the time he is currently serving at Sussex Correctional Institution.
Hurley said Conaway's lack of criminal convictions and other "mitigating factors" should see him sentenced closer to the minimum.
Similar allegations
Most of the allegations against Conaway have a common thread: the victim met voluntarily with him before accusing Conaway of refusing their attempts to end or avoid sexual contact.
In some cases, the accusers engaged in consensual kissing and other touching before saying Conaway violated their consent with sex.
The accuser at the second trial is expected to tell a similar story, detailed in court documents. The News Journal does not publish names or specific identifying details of potential sex crime victims without their consent.
The accuser was staying at a friend's house in Dewey Beach over Memorial Day weekend in 2018. They had been out together and returned to the home around 1 a.m.
BACKGROUND: Why former UD pitcher Clay Conaway, charged with 6 rapes, could face six trials
The accuser and a friend were on a bed together when Conaway jumped between them, knocking the friend from the bed. She left, Conaway locked the door, turned off the light, took off his shirt and began kissing her, something court documents say she consented to.
He then took off her pants and she told him she was not interested in sex because Conaway had dated a friend. He told her they didn't have to tell anyone. She again indicated she didn't want sex, according to court documents.
He first penetrated her with his finger, documents said. She told him to stop and unsuccessfully tried to push him away. He told her it didn't matter, that it was already happening and had sex with her as she continued to tell him no, according to court documents.
A couple of days later, court documents say she again told him she had not wanted sex and he asked her not to tell anyone and said he wanted to keep it between the two of them.
Hurley said the case is different than the first trial because it involves "delayed reporting," alcohol, no physical evidence and no injuries.
In the first trial, prosecutors sought first-degree rape charges because the victim said he raped her with his penis and in the process caused injury.
Ultimately, the jury opted for the fourth-degree rape charge, believing beyond reasonable doubt Conaway raped her using his fingers.
In the next trial, he will only face second-degree rape charges, meaning prosecutors will be seeking to show sex occurred and there was no consent.
The next trial is scheduled to begin on Dec. 2, according to the court docket.
Criticisms from the first trial
The victim in the first case was a Sussex County woman in her early 20s. She filed a sexual assault report on June 20, 2018, after meeting Conaway for the first time at his home in Georgetown.
The woman had met him about three weeks earlier on a dating app called Bumble. She was excited that she had matched with him, and shared that excitement and her attraction to him during private conversations with her closest friends, according to testimony.
The woman told her friends, police and the jury that she had made it clear she did not want to have sex that day.
She said she established that boundary with Conaway in advance, and that he was fine with it. He said the same during an interview with a state police detective the night of his August 2018 arrest.
THE FIRST WEEK: Clay Conaway trial, what we learned during Week 1 of testimony
She met him in his private apartment detached from the main house on his parents' property off Parker Road. As kissing and cuddling between the two escalated, the woman said she became increasingly uncomfortable.
That night, she was examined at a local hospital and evidence was collected for a sexual assault kit. She complained of pain in her wrist and vagina during the exam. Around midnight, she gave her first interview to police.
Two days later, she returned to the hospital with pain in her hips and was diagnosed with muscle strain, according to court testimony and evidence.
Conaway, who did not testify, told police that he had penetrated her with his fingers, not his penis. His victim testified to a different story.
Ultimately, the jury decided there was enough evidence to find him guilty on fourth-degree rape, which is sexual penetration with an object, in this case his fingers.
Following the trial, Hurley criticized the victim for not reacting to Conaway's advances by storming out of the room.
Chrysanthi Leon, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Delaware who researches sex crimes and punishments, said research shows that people respond to fear and domination in a variety of ways. It's not always the fight response that people commonly expect, she said.
"Women in our society are socialized to be nice and pleasant to calm things down and make things OK," she said. "It is quite normal to respond in a variety of different ways."
In a written statement, the Delaware Department of Justice praised the victim's strength.
"At a time when so many of our neighbors are survivors who live with trauma in silence," the statement said, "we are hopeful that this verdict will help empower other rape survivors who wish to seek justice."
Contact Xerxes Wilson at (302) 324-2787 or xwilson@delawareonline.com. Follow @Ber_Xerxes on Twitter. Contact Maddy Lauria at (302) 345-0608, mlauria@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @MaddyinMilford.