Lisa Marchesoni
Posted: Friday, November 20, 2009 3:43 pm

A 15-year-old girl estimated a caretaker raped her 50 times the past four years when she testified against him for two hours Friday in General Sessions Court.

The girl testified Matthew C. Whitehair, 36, of St. Andrews Drive, had sexual intercourse with her when she was 11 years old. She accused him of raping her vaginally, anally and orally.

She was the only witness in the hearing. After her testimony, General Sessions Court Judge Ben McFarlin transferred Whitehair’s three charges of rape to the grand jury in January for a possible indictment.

Assistant District Attorney Laural Hemenway asked the girl to describe what happened the last time Whitehair allegedly raped her Oct. 12.

“He raped me,” the girl said.

“How did you feel?” Hemenway asked.

“I was numb,” the girl said.

She said the sexual intercourse started when she was 11 years old. If she asked to see her boyfriend, she had to have sex with Whitehair, the girl testified.

Kirk Catron, Whitehair’s attorney, asked about her boyfriends.

The girl said she had three boyfriends. When she wanted to visit them, she said Whitehair told her, “You know what you have to do.”

She accused him of raping her each time.

Catron asked her if he raped her every time she asked to see her boyfriend.

“Kind of,” Catron answered.

Her mother was out-of-town on mission trips many of the times she enlisted Whitehair to care for her daughter and son. The girl didn’t tell her mother because she didn’t want to hurt her.

She didn’t tell anyone until fall break in October when her boyfriend feared Whitehair would be mad because his mother was late picking him up. The girl told her boyfriend Whitehair would not be mad at her long.

Her boyfriend figured out what happened and confided in his mother who urged him to call Murfreesboro Police.

“I wasn’t very happy,” the girl said, later adding, “I didn’t really mean to tell him.”

Detectives Tommy Roberts and Wayne Lawson began the investigation and charged Whitehair.

Catron asked if Whitehair walked in on she and her boyfriend lying together on the couch or if he asked her boyfriend to leave her home.

The girl replied “no” to both questions.

Catron asked her to estimate how many times Whitehair raped her during the past four to five years.

“Fifty times,” she replied.

Whitehair remains free on bond while awaiting the grand jury action.