Sex offender convicted in Portsmouth assault of teen

PORTSMOUTH

He was 17 the day he ignored his instincts and took a ride from a stranger.

The teen was on Portsmouth Boulevard, walking to his grandmother's house. He said no at first, but the man told him it was cold and acted as if he knew his grandmother.

But instead of taking him there, the man drove the boy to a nearby cemetery where he sexually assaulted the teen.

On Monday, the victim told jurors he was afraid he'd die that day.

Finally, the man let him go, dropping him at an apartment complex where a friend lived.

The teen's mother had been at a Christmas luncheon on Dec. 15, 2010, when her son called, she told jurors. He wanted to take a shower, but she told him not to wash at all. She got him to Maryview Medical Center without waiting for police.

There, a forensic exam turned up DNA that was matched to James Warren Key Jr., a Portsmouth man with a history of sexual offenses.

After deliberating for just over 20 minutes, jurors found him guilty of two more - abduction with intent to defile and forcible sodomy, second or subsequent offense.

The latter carries a mandatory life sentence.

The Virginian-Pilot does not identify the victims of sex crimes.

Key's attorney had pointed out the victim's description of a man who was shorter and heavier than his client.

Key, 54, took the stand and said he had never seen the teenager in his life.

The 17-year-old was the second minor who had gone before a jury this month to testify against Key.

In an unrelated case, jurors found Key, a registered sex offender, guilty of aggravated sexual battery, second or subsequent offense, and indecent liberties for crimes in April against an 11-year-old girl whose family he knew.

In both trials, jurors were told that Key had been convicted of sex crimes in San Diego in 1984, including forcible kidnapping and rape.

In this week's trial, the jury recommended 20 years on the abduction charge, but the judge continued his ruling to Feb. 14 so he can review a transcript of testimony.

Key faces a third trial on Feb. 23, charged with the June rape, abduction and malicious wounding of a woman he previously dated.

Janie Bryant, 757-446-2453, janie.bryant@pilotonline.com