BY DAN HORN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Thomas Keenan's attorney told a judge she could not defend her client against rape charges Tuesday because she was too "emotionally attached" to provide good legal advice.
The unusual move came moments after Mr. Keenan, a former Harrison police chief, entered the courtroom for his second trial this year on charges of rape and gross sexual imposition.
The first trial ended in a mistrial four months ago when jurors were unable to decide whether he was guilty of groping and fondling a female clerk.
His attorney, Nancy Dameron, met briefly with Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Steven Martin to explain her concerns about continuing to represent Mr. Keenan.
She said she asked the judge to remove her from the case because she had developed a strong attachment to Mr. Keenan's mother and could no longer be objective.
"I believe so strongly in my client's innocence that I take things personally that I probably shouldn't," Ms. Dameron said. "I was emotionally wrought over the case. And emotions shouldn't come into it."
Judge Martin denied Ms. Dameron's request, noting that she already had tried the case once and seemed prepared to do so again. After the first few hours of testimony Tuesday, Ms. Dameron said she felt better about the situation but still had concerns about her personal connection to the case.
"I told the judge I wanted to be removed because I've become personally too close to Tom's mom," she said. "I felt my objectivity was skewed. . . . Now I feel confident I can finish the case."
Mr. Keenan, who was fired last year, is accused of rape and gross sexual imposition involving a clerk who worked in his police office. In opening arguments Tuesday, prosecutors said Mr. Keenan threatened the woman, sexually harassed her and ordered her to write him explicit love letters.
Ms. Dameron told jurors the clerk filed the charges at the urging of Mr. Keenan's political enemies. She said the woman is obsessed with Mr. Keenan and wrote the letters without any encouragement from the former chief.
Ms. Dameron said the woman was upset with Mr. Keenan because he spurned her advances and decided to marry another woman.
