Adam Michael Kincaid (right) stands next to his attorney Christopher Taylor as Judge D.J. Davis reads four consecutive not guilty verdicts.
HANCOCK COUNTY — The expression, a stoic look on Adam Michael Kincaid’s face, never changed as Judge D.J. Davis read not guilty verdict after not guilty verdict on all four counts in Kincaid’s rape and sexual battery trial in Hancock County Superior Court 1 around 8:10 p.m. Monday night.
The jury took a little over two hours to deliberate and find Kincaid not guilty of the charges that were filed back in 2021.
Kincaid, 24, Indianapolis, is the former New Palestine man who was accused of one count of rape, one count of attempted rape and two counts of sexual battery against two different women, who were his former childhood friends, stemming from an incident in June of 2018.
The jury was handed the case to deliberate late Monday after three and a half days of testimony. The case was slightly abnormal in that the trial which started Monday, Aug. 7 with jury selection had to skip a day last week (Friday, Aug. 11) due to a conflict in the judge’s calendar.
Former Dekalb County Prosecutor Claramary Winebrenner worked with Abigail Jessup, Hancock County Deputy Prosecutor, representing the state in the case. Kincaid was defended by Michael Boring and Christopher Taylor, New Palestine attorneys.
According to a probable cause affidavit and officials who investigated the case, Kincaid raped, attempted rape and sexually abused victim 1 while also sexually abusing victim 2 in the back seat of his car following a night of drinking and smoking marijuana at a local house party.
During closing arguments late Monday afternoon, Winebrenner told the jury that the two alleged victims may have had a sexual relationship with Kincaid in the past, but neither of them wanted to have a three-way sexual relationship with Kincaid, which is what he allegedly wanted in the backseat of his car that night.
“He got in the back seat of the car because he had plans,” Winebrenner said. “He forced himself on both women.”
She then explained how the state had proved their case on each of the four counts against Kincaid. She then reminded the jury of the testimony from the woman who hosted the house party that night and what Kincaid said to her when the group returned from a ride in the car where the incident happened.
“He came up to her and said, ‘I don’t know what happened, but I didn’t do anything,’” Winebrenner said.
As for the lone witness for the defense, a former New Palestine High School classmate and football teammate of Kincaid who testified on his behalf, he said that he didn’t see anything happen when he was driving the car the night of the incident.
During his closing argument, Taylor told the jury that Kincaid’s case was an example of the “me too” movement having gone too far. It was a statement he made during opening comments and circled back to. He also noted the #BelieveWomen movement had also gone too far and contributed to charges being filed.
“There is no physical evidence whatsoever,” Taylor said.”We now have to believe women even if their stories are wrong and change… Their stories are full of holes.”
Taylor also attacked the credibility of the state’s medical expert, who noted both victims acted in ways many victims of sexual assault do.
“You don’t need an expert to tell you what happened in this case,” Taylor said and then referred to the medical expert discussing what he called, “junk science.”
Taylor then called the medical expert, “a snake oil salesman.”
While his Hancock County trial is over and Kincaid was found not guilty, his legal troubles are not over. Kincaid will face another rape trial in Indianapolis from an alleged different incident officials there say happened in March of 2021. Like the local case, officials say the victim was also a childhood friend of Kincaid’s. That case is scheduled to go to trial in mid-September in Marion Superior Court 31. According to court records, Kincaid is facing a Level 3 felony rape charge and a Level 5 felony criminal confinement with bodily injury charge.
