HANOVER COUNTY, Va. -- The trial for a family physician accused of improperly touching a woman at a party began Monday and concluded Tuesday.
A jury, who deliberated just 80 minutes, found Dr. Brent Logie not guilty of the two sex crime charges he faced. He was charged with two counts of object sexual penetration by force and faced five to years to life.
A former patient accused Dr. Logie of putting his hands down the front of the 23-year-old woman’s pants during a Christmas party at his home in 2013.
No DNA evidence, that the prosecutor said they originally had, was presented during the trial.
In court Tuesday, Dr. Brent Logie took the stand and explained in detail what he remembered about the accuser last December, when she showed up to his holiday party.
The prosecutor played for the jury a recorded phone call the alleged victim and a detective made to Dr. Logie where she confronted him.
Logie told the jury when he realized he was speaking to a patient with a history of anxiety, depression, emotional problems--even hallucinations -- and that he knew he had to handle the conversation in a sensitive way. He testified he gave the accuser neutral answers and did not admit to the assault or flat out tell her she was wrong.
In the recording the jury heard the doctor saying “I don’t recall doing that but if it did happen the way you say I totally apologize. Where was everybody else? I’m mortified. Whether I had too much alcohol it’s inexcusable.”
The defense contended her story was untrue and grilled her about why she didn’t scream, push the doctor, or make a scene at the party. The alleged victim was also questioned about whether she might have had more than the three to four glasses of wine she testified about having.
He says she drank close to eight glasses of wine the night she accused him of putting his hands down her pants twice and touching her private area.
The defense team called a nurse to the stand to testify, who explained that a forensic exam did not find the accuser’s private area had an indication of an assault.
Logie, speaking exclusively with CBS 6 Tuesday night, said hopes to rebuild his character and continue his practice, and learn to trust.
"When your character and honor are totally destroyed like that and people in the community hear you are accused of something horrible, there’s still going to be people out there thinking bad about me," he said. "I’m still going to see my patients."
"Frankly I’m scared to go—this is something that supposedly happened in a room with lots of people in it and I’m supposed to now go into patient rooms and interact with my patients one on one where anybody would say anything," Logie added. "We saw that with this case."
"I’m just going to try to trust in people again and get back with my life,” he said.
