Lisa Marchesoni
Posted: Tuesday, May 12, 2009 3:04 pm

EDITOR’S NOTE: Contents of this story may be disturbing to some readers.

A Smyrna mother and her 2 1/2-year-old daughter huddled and sang “Jesus Loves Me” while three men armed with handguns robbed the family and during the three-hour ordeal raped the mother outside her daughter’s sight.

The mother testified as the first witness against defendant Elgene Porter, 37, of Bradyville Pike, who is being tried on two counts of aggravated rape, two counts of aggravated robbery, two counts of kidnapping, conspiracy and cruelty to animals.

Porter pleaded not guilty before Circuit Court Judge Don Ash and a jury. His twin brother, Eugene, faces trial for the identical crime. A third suspect has not been charged.

Assistant District Attorney Paul Newman asked the Smyrna mother in her mid-20s to describe what happened the night of Nov. 22, 2006 at her home.

She described how three men armed with handguns entered her home, bound her with duct tape, raped her out of sight of her daughter, robbed her of her phone and change and beat her 12-pound terrier named Scamper.

She was sleeping with her daughter about 1:30 a.m. when Scamper awoke her barking. She turned on the TV to the Disney Channel and opened the bedroom door to let her dog out because she thought her husband returned home.

“There were three men standing at the door with guns pointed at me,” the mother said, describing them as wearing dark hoodies and ski masks. They pushed her to the floor and told her to shut up. The dog jumped on the bed next to her daughter.

The men taped her hands first. She tried to fight but decided it would do no good. One man taped her mouth, neck and feet with duct tape. One man beat her dog when it kept barking.

Her daughter awoke while they beat the dog with the pistol and cried “Mama” but the mother said she couldn’t answer because of the duct tape around her mouth. After the dog went limp, they carried it out by its neck.

They kept demanding money while making her lie face down on the floor. They threw pillows on the bed around her daughter. When they turned on the light, the man guarding her realized she wore only a nightgown.

He raped her with his gloved finger, the mother said. Later, he sat her up, pulled down his gray sweat pants and made her perform a sexual act on him.

Newman asked if her daughter could see the sexual act.

“I don’t think so,” the mother said, explaining, “I didn’t want to agitate her so I did what I was asked.”

The same man guarding her put her on her knees and raped her while her daughter was in bed nearby, the mother said.

When her daughter cried, she didn’t try to get the duct tape off because she feared if the men saw their emotional bond they would use it against her. The man guarding her asked what it would take to “shut her up.”

The mother, whose arms and legs were numbed by the duct tape, asked the man guarding her to allow her to get on the bed with her daughter. He helped her get on the bed. Her daughter saw the duct tape.

Her daughter leaned over and said, “Let’s sing ‘Jesus Loves Me,’” the mother remembered, adding they whispered the words and she calmed her daughter back to sleep.

The man guarding her wanted to know where the sexual toys were and ordered her to use one.

They searched her house, asking where the money was hidden, she said. She directed them to her husband’s hiding place, offered Christmas presents with receipts and her wedding rings.

“I didn’t know where the money was,” she said.

They took her cell phone and a jar with about $50 change. She wasn’t sure if they left. The TV program “Brandy and Mr. Whiskers” was on so she waited until the 30-minute program was over until she got up to see if they were gone.

When Newman showed her the television program schedule of “Brandy and Mr. Whiskers” being on about 3:30 a.m., the mother sobbed.

“Just seeing that now, I know how long” the ordeal lasted, she said.

She worked the tape off her feet and had her daughter wrap her arms around her. She instructed her daughter how to use the scissors to cut the tape. The dog lying on the floor limped toward her.

Once free, she got dressed, grabbed her daughter and dog and drove two minutes to Smyrna Police Department for help. She was treated at StoneCrest Medical Center where a rape kit was performed.

Newman asked if she knew the men or their names. She replied she did not.

When Newman asked if the dog was still alive, she replied, “to the best of my knowledge.” She doesn’t have the dog anymore. When asked why, she sobbed. Newman withdrew the question.

Smyrna Detective Jeff Peach, who investigated, said she couldn’t keep the dog because it reminded her too much of what happened.

Assistant Public Defender Rusty Perkins, who represents Porter, asked her to describe the suspects. She said two of the men were black males, one wearing gray pants and the second one wearing black pants.

Perkins asked her if she could tell the jury Porter was the one who “did this to you.”

“No,” she replied softly.

Smyrna Police Officer James Ridley said he met the mother and daughter at the police department at 4:50 a.m. and directed her to go to StoneCrest.

District Attorney William Whitesell asked Smyrna Police Detective Dustin Fait about his role in the case.

Fait received the page at 5:12 a.m. to go to StoneCrest where the mother still had the duct tape around her neck. He had to cut her hair to remove the tape.

He collected evidence such as the duct tape, the hoodies and ski masks dropped on the road next to her home and fingerprints. Evidence was sent to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Crime Laboratory for analysis. No fingerprints matched Porter’s.

The trial is expected to resume Wednesday morning when a doctor is supposed to testify.