Barbara Anderson was able to attend all four days of the Angela Montgomery child abuse trial in the Circuit Court in Murfreesboro, Tennessee (March 10-13, 2015). Barbara commuted each day to the court building located nearly 50 miles from her home.
According to area news reports, it took the jury nearly eight hours to come to their verdict of guilty.
This trial was different from most cases involving an accused molester who was an active Jehovah’s Witness. The Watchtower was not a defendant nor directly involved in the trial in any capacity. However, like other criminal cases involving an accused Jehovah’s Witness, it is clear that elders and other Jehovah’s Witnesses at Kingdom Halls she attended were aware of the charges and that she was facing serious penalties if convicted. Ms. Montgomery has been a recent resident of Gresham, Oregon (suburb of Portland) in recent years while waiting for her trial to be scheduled. Montgomery was extradited from Oregon to Murfreesboro where she later posted a $10,000 bond.
The following article was published the day of the verdict. Additional links are available at the foot of the article.
MOTHER CONVICTED OF RAPING SON YEARS AGO
By Sam Stockard
Post Contributor
Published: March 13, 2015
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
A Circuit Court jury found a mother of four guilty Friday on six counts of child rape dating back some 15 years.
Angela Montgomery, most recently of Portland, Ore., was convicted of forcing her son, Alan Von Webb, 25, formerly of Murfreesboro, to have sex with her multiple times during visitations from 1999 to 2003 at her former South Kings Highway home.
The jury deliberated more than eight hours before reaching a verdict in the trial, which started Tuesday before Circuit Court Judge Royce Taylor.
Montgomery, who was represented by the Public Defender’s Office, will be sentenced at a hearing set for May 6. Her bond was revoked and she was taken to Rutherford County jail.
“It’s been a very emotional, a very difficult time. It’s been 18 years for us and the children. I’m even sorry for my ex-wife. I hope she gets help,” said Paul Von Webb, the father of Alan, who divorced Montgomery nearly two decades ago. “Nobody wanted this to happen. It’s been a tragedy for all of us, a very difficult thing to get through.”
Assistant District Attorney Hugh Ammerman and Assistant DA Sarah Davis prosecuted the case.
“I am proud of the victim in this case. He remained strong for 15 years and justice delayed wasn’t justice denied in this case,” Ammerman said. “It all goes down to the strength of Alan Von Webb to get up on the stand and give his testimony.”
Von Webb said now he must move forward knowing his children and others are safe from his ex-wife.
“It’s just good to get to the end of that chapter. It’s been a long, hard chapter,” he said.
He and his ex-wife had four children together, Alan, 25, Michael Von Webb, 23, Jonathan Von Webb, 21, who has Down’s syndrome, and Anna Von Webb.
Anna initially filed the charges against her mother in 2012, and Alan joined with her, but their case was severed so the state could concentrate on charges involving one victim, according to Von Webb.
Montgomery initially was indicted on 20 counts of child rape, six counts of rape and 12 counts of incest, in addition to two counts of coercing a witness to a crime, according to reports.
Murfreesboro Police Detective Wayne Lawson filed charges against her after two of the children told him about their mother raping and sexually assaulting them when they lived in Murfreesboro in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Original article at Murfreesboro Post: LINK
Daily News Journal article about Montgomery trial: LINK
Earlier news article on WSMV.com: LINK