Third convicted in teen’s rape

A jury found a Tonganoxie man guilty on Tuesday of raping an intoxicated 13-year-old girl.

The Douglas County District Court jury deliberated for about an hour before finding Brian K. Ussery, 19, guilty of one count of rape.

Ussery is the third man convicted in connection with the June 14 incident in the 1300 block of Tennessee Street. A fourth suspect, a 27-year-old Lawrence man, has been sent to Larned State Security Hospital for a competency evaluation.

The rape happened at a one-bedroom apartment where 18-year-old Dana S. Jackson — who pled guilty earlier in juvenile court to attempted rape — lived with his mother. The victim testified that she went out on Massachusetts Street the night before, then went to the apartment and got drunk on hard liquor.

Defense attorney Michael Clarke argued Tuesday that witnesses’ statements were inconsistent, and he questioned why an interview Ussery gave to police wasn’t recorded.

But in order to have found Ussery not guilty, prosecutor Shelley Diehl said, jurors would have had to ignore testimony from the victim, Jackson and a police detective who testified that Ussery confessed.

The third man convicted in the case, 19-year-old William N. Haney of Lawrence, is scheduled to appear today for sentencing.