The first day of the fourth trial of Dane Davenport included three hours of angry testimony from one of the two boys the state trooper is accused of assaulting, including a specific incident of rape.

The witness, now 19, said his early relationship with Davenport had been good, but changed “in a very drastic way” after the abuse began. He described two instances of being fondled by Davenport, the earliest in 1999 when the boy was 9, and told of being sexually assaulted at 13 by the state trooper. He said he remembered “being pushed on (the) bed,” and then “he raped me.”

The teen said he told Davenport to stop, but “he kept on going. I tried to get up but he forced me.”

Davenport, 47, 407 Warren St., is accused of four counts of sexual battery of a child under the age of 14 and five counts of fondling a child under 16. He faces a possible life sentence if convicted of sexual battery and 15 years on the fondling charges.

He was tried twice on separate charges involving the same youth in Oktibbeha County, with a mistrial followed by a verdict of innocent. The trial that began with jury selection Monday is the second in Warren County Circuit Court, the first having ended when jurors could not reach a verdict.

Much of the teen’s testimony was sparring with defense attorney John Zelbst, who contends all of the charges arise from sour relations between Davenport and the boys’ mother.

Zelbst challenged the teen’s story, questioning how the assault could have happened in an area with a number of other people nearby who could have walked in at any moment. He repeatedly questioned why the boy did not yell out or report it to his parents, teachers, pastor or other authority figure.

Under further questioning from Stan Alexander, a member of the prosecution team, the teen said the abuse by Davenport had destroyed his trust in male authority figures. When asked by Alexander about his emotions and not reporting the abuse, the teen said he felt “anxiety, fear, shame — I can’t even explain. There’s no word for it.”

The teen’s testimony included repeated angry comments about or directed at Davenport, and was told by Judge Isadore Patrick a number of times to simply answer the question. Patrick also ruled on frequent objections by attorneys.

After one angry response by the boy, the jury was sent out of the courtroom for a break. Zelbst moved for a mistrial but Patrick denied the motion. Several times during later testimony, the judge admonished the jurors to disregard statements the boy made from the stand.

The day started with opening statements by attorneys.

“You can’t judge a book by its cover,” Alexander told the jury, saying that from all appearances Davenport is a successful MHSP officer. “The outside of the book looked good, but the evidence will show that Dane Davenport used these boys as his own personal sex toys.”

Zelbst countered that in Davenport’s career, beginning in 1987, he has never been the object of any complaint — “not anything, much less about child abuse.” No physical evidence — no DNA or medical evidence of injury to the boys — exists to support the allegations, which are a vindictive attack engineered by the boys’ mother to protect her stake in a personal financial relationship with him, Zelbst said.

The jury has six men and six women with two women alternates. Testimony continues today and they will be asked to reach verdicts on each specific incident.

Also Tuesday, Patrick signed an order directing attorneys not to make out-of-court statements about the case.

Contact Pamela Hitchins at phitchins@vicksburgpost.com