By Wally Kennedy
wkennedy@joplinglobe.com
AURORA, Mo. — Ted White Jr., who was imprisoned for five years before he was acquitted of molesting his adoptive daughter, has been awarded $16 million by a federal jury in a suit against his former wife and a Lee’s Summit police officer.
Eight jurors who heard the case in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri awarded White $14 million in compensatory damages and $2 million in punitive damages on Aug. 30.
“What has happened is an example of convicting someone with no evidence,’’ White said, in a telephone interview.
“It’s been 10 years since this whole thing started. Going back through the system that wrongly convicted you is a tough thing to do. But, it’s a great day today,’’ he said.
“I am very thankful to have been able to tell my story — to get the truth out. Eight jurors found in our favor. It’s a great day to be vindicated for something you didn’t do.’’
An agreement reached before the trial stipulates that the city of Lee’s Summit would pay any damages from the lawsuit after White collects damages from the city’s insurance companies. Former Joplin City Manager Steve Lewis was the city administrator of Lee’s Summit until 2007 when he took a job at Norman, Okla. The city of Lee’s Summit has a general fund budget of approximately $55 million. The city can appeal.
The lawsuit alleged that Richard McKinley, the lead detective on the molestation allegations, and White’s ex-wife, Tina, who married the detective, had made up the molestation charges, had destroyed or suppressed evidence, and had lied about their relationship. He alleged they conspired and deprived him of his constitutional right to a fair trial.
Richard McKinley was represented by James Ensz, an attorney with Ensz and Jester. Ensz could not be reached for comment, but has indicated that the McKinleys plan to appeal. McKinley continues to work as a police officer in Lee’s Summit.
White’s case against the McKinleys was supported by new evidence that emerged 10 years after he was initially charged with the sexual abuse. Two of his ex-wife’s former co-workers, employees of UPS, testified before the jury that Tina McKinley had told them she and her new boyfriend, a police officer, were going to make up false sexual allegations against White.
The new evidence involved a dairy kept by the girl in which she wrote favorable things about White and negative things about her mother. The dairy contained no record of abuse, according to Brian McCallister, a lawyer who represented White. The dairy disappeared during the discovery phase of his initial prosecution.
White said he believes the appeal from the McKinleys and the city could take another year and a half to resolve.
White’s case began in 1999 when he was convicted in Jackson County Circuit Court on the molestation charge. Claire McCaskill, who is now a U.S. senator from Missouri, was in charge of the prosecutor’s office at the time. After the jury convicted him, he fled to Costa Rica, but was arrested there after “America’s Most Wanted’’ featured a story on him.
He won an appeal in federal court, but the case was remanded to circuit court because of new evidence about the nature of the relationship between White’s ex-wife and the detective before the trial. The evidence suggested the prosecutor’s office might have known the full extent of the affair before and during the trial.
But a second jury in circuit court failed to acquit White in 11-1 verdict. Members of the jury were so emotionally torn over White’s apparent innocence that they held town-hall meetings to raise money for his defense and a third trial. In February 2005, White was acquitted of all charges by a jury.
A month later, he filed suit in U.S. District Court of Western Missouri against the McKinleys, the city of Lee’s Summit and the city’s former police chief. The suit against the city and the police chief was dropped after an agreement was reached that the city would pay any damages resulting from the suit.
