By Austin Rust-
In June 2016, Kevin Gaffin was convicted in Adams County Court of three counts of rape, three counts of sexual battery, and one count of felonious assault, and he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. In 2017, Gaffin appealed the judgment of the Adams County Court of Common Pleas, claiming that the trial court abused its discretion in handling juror misconduct, and that he had received ineffective assistance of counsel. Gaffin’s assignments of error in this case were overruled, and the judgment of the trial court was affirmed.
In January 2019, Gaffin appealed the judgment of the Adams County Court of Common Pleas yet again, claiming that the trial court had abused its discretion in dismissing his petition for post-conviction relief without an evidentiary hearing. In this case, the trial court’s decision denying Gaffin’s petition without a hearing was reversed, and the Fourth District Court of Appeals ordered an evidentiary hearing on Gaffin’s petition for post-conviction relief to be conducted Tuesday, Oct. 15 .
Gaffin returned to the Adams County Court of Common Pleas at the aforementioned date and time. William R. Gallagher and Hal R. Arenstein of Arenstein & Gallagher from Cincinnati, Ohio were his counsel. Representing the State of Ohio (Plaintiff) were Scott O’Reilly and Darren Miller, Clermont County Assistant Prosecutors. The hearing was set before Judge Rocky Coss.
The hearing began with an opening statement by Mr. Gallagher, who argued that Aaron Haslam, Kevin Gaffin’s defense attorney in 2016, had misrepresented Mr. Gaffin, denying him a fair trial.
“Mr. Aaron Haslam, unfortunately, largely misrepresented the defendant, Mr. Gaffin, to a lot of people, including this court. He said that he was prepared and ready to try the case when he was not,” began Gallagher. “You will hear from a number of witnesses today that Mr. Haslam should have talked to, that he should have interviewed, and that he should have presented to the jury in this case to give Mr. Gaffin a fair trial. After this hearing today we’re going to ask that relief be granted, so that we can have that fair trial in the near future.”
Following this statement, Mr. O’Reilly interjected with the state’s concerns on the matter.
“The state’s real fear is that if the court does grant a new trial, it would open a Pandora’s Box, because these are very limited and very specific affidavits of information,” said O’Reilly, representing the plaintiff in this case, the State of Ohio. “If this becomes the basis of overturning a conviction from a jury trial, I don’t know where that ends, with respect to the other jury trials.”
Mr. Gallagher then attempted to call his first witness, Braxton Gaffin, to which the State objected, citing the Fourth District Court of Appeals’ opinion on further testimony in 2017.
“This is not a free-for-all,” said Mr. O’Reilly. “This is not a new trial. It is not an opportunity for them (the defense) to call even the individuals that the court did properly rule on, so with respect to this particular witness, the State will object to his testimony,” he explained.
Judge Coss decided that Braxton Gaffin could testify later during a break in the hearing.
Mr. Gallagher’s second witness was Tyler Cantrell. A licensed attorney, Cantrell had represented Kevin Gaffin in the divorce from his wife, Briana Gaffin, and affirmed that he had known Gaffin since 2010 or 2011. Cantrell was also Gaffin’s original trial attorney in 2015, before Mr. Haslam.
During his testimony, Cantrell was asked about a video he had previously reviewed. Cantrell suggested that this video did not demonstrate any signs of abuse viewers might expect to see in light of the allegations against Gaffin.
In cross-examination, O’Reilly asked if a child raped by a caregiver could remain close to that caregiver, or if they may act a certain way out of fear, which Cantrell admitted was possible.
Mr. Gallagher then asked Cantrell if he had been subpoenaed by Mr. Haslam in Gaffin’s 2015 case. Cantrell confirmed that he was subpoenaed, but said that Mr. Haslam had never made any attempt to meet with him to see what he had learned before withdrawing from the case, that he was never interviewed by Mr. Haslam for testimony, and that the reason for the subpoena was never explained to him. This was a common theme in all of the witnesses called to this hearing.
Mr. Gallagher’s next witness was Jimmy Vaughn. Vaughn said that he had known Kevin Gaffin since he was a six year-old boy, and was a regular visitor to the Gaffins’ home. Notably, Vaughn visited the Gaffins’ home for Thanksgiving in November of 2012, at which time he claimed that he had shared a meal with Kevin Gaffin and his stepson and saw no fear or signs of abuse in any behavior. Vaughn stated that Mr. Gaffin’s wife Briana did not join them for dinner, but later came into the home stumbling, possibly inebriated. Briana was ultimately found passed out in the bathroom of the home. The next morning, Kevin Gaffin, his stepson, and Mr. Vaughn left the home to go hunting. Again, Vaughn said he saw no signs of fear or distrust of Mr. Gaffin.
Mr. Vaughn then confirmed to Mr. Gallagher that he had been subpoenaed in Kevin Gaffin’s 2015 trial by Mr. Aaron Haslam, but he never met Haslam, and was never called to interview.
Another witness called forth by Gallagher was Mike Decker, who lived with the Gaffins in their home for a period of two months in 2012. During this period of time, Decker claims to have witnessed Briana Decker become increasingly dependent on alcohol. Mr. Decker and Kevin Gaffin worked together at a local power plant, and his short stay at the Gaffins’ home was work-related, but he said that he had shared meals with them every night. He was invited to travel with Mr. Gaffin and his for a turkey hunting trip in Kentucky. Decker said that everyone seemed eager to go, and no one expressed any reservations about being with Gaffin.
Mr. Decker then confirmed to Mr. Gallagher that he had also been subpoenaed in Kevin Gaffin’s 2015 trial by Aaron Haslam, but he had never met Haslam, and was never called in for an interview.
Another witness called into court by Gallagher was Jason Malott, a former officer of the now-defunct Manchester Police Department, who responded to a domestic violence call at the Gaffins’ home in 2012. Malott noted that the call appeared to be a complaint of marital property, instead, with Kevin and Briana Gaffin arguing over a TV set, so he did not inquire or investigate for potential violence or abuse in the home. Malott does remember Briana Gaffin standing in the kitchen of the home upon his entry, consuming (what appeared to him) a high volume of wine in a short amount of time. During the incident, Malott claimed Briana said she would do whatever it took to get Mr. Gaffin arrested.
Mr. Malott then confirmed to Mr. Gallagher that he had been subpoenaed in Kevin Gaffin’s 2015 trial by Aaron Haslam, but he had never met Haslam, and was never called for an interview.
Mr. Gallagher’s next witness was a former investigator with Adams County Children’s Services who had investigated concerns of domestic abuse and potential substance abuse at the Gaffins’ home in 2008. The investigator said that he had first met the alleged victim at his school in 2008, where he did not ask directly about the allegations against Mr. Gaffin, but did make sure that he knew about “good touches and bad touches”. The alleged victim told the investigator that no one had touched him inappropriately.
This witness confirmed that he had testified in 2008 and 2015 on his report of the incident he had investigated. He further confirmed to Mr. Gallagher that he had been subpoenaed by Mr. Haslam, and did give testimony, but thought that Haslam should have questioned his home visit in 2008.
During a break in the hearing, with the judge not present, Mr. Gallagher interviewed Braxton Gaffin, Kevin Gaffin’s son, who confirmed that he had provided the video of Mr. Gaffin and and the alleged victim staying in a tree stand together while hunting, as well as photographic evidence, before Gaffin’s trial in 2015. Braxton Gaffin was subpoenaed, but never questioned or allowed into court. He said he was not aware of any character witnesses present for his father’s 2016 trial. Braxton also confirmed that he had observed a number of other subpoenaed witnesses wait in court for varying lengths of time without being called in for an interview by Mr. Haslam.
In concluding, Judge Rocky Coss ordered written closing arguments to be submitted two weeks after transcripts of the hearing Oct. 15 are made available. The defense counsel will submit their closing arguments first, and the State (plaintiff) will submit theirs afterward.
Kevin Gaffin was ordered to be returned to the Correctional Reception Center, where he is currently held.
