GEORGETOWN, Texas — The first day of a pivotal hearing has wrapped for a former Leander high school student convicted of super-aggravated sexual assault in 2014 and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Greg Kelley and his lawyers say he's innocent, and that the investigation into the crime wasn't thorough.

Wednesday's hearing provided testimonies that Kelley's supporters call shocking.

"The things we witnessed today in that court room are appalling," said Jake Brydon, a family friend.

Kelley's attorney called three witnesses — the first was the Cedar Park police officer who filed the initial report.

The second was Kelley's older brother, Aldo Berduo, who testified about Kelley's alibi for that day and said Kelley helped him move all day.

He also said Kelley had lived with his classmate, Johnathan McCarty, because their home was closer to the high school, and Kelley's mother was recovering from multiple brain surgeries.

Berduo said Kelley moved out from the McCarty's home a month before the abuse took place.

Attorneys on both sides focused on Sgt. Chris Dailey, the Cedar Park detective who led the investigation in July 2013.

Under questioning, Dailey admitted he never followed up on McCarty, who was also named by the victim during a forensic interview.

After being shown side-by-side images of Kelley and McCarty, Dailey acknowledged a resemblance between the two, but when asked if the young victim could have gotten the two confused, Dailey said no.

Dailey revealed that he didn't even visit the site where the abuse happened, which was at a day care inside the McCarty's home, nor did he identify or interview any of the other adults  at the day care.

Dailey also admitted to deleting emails from a CPS investigator even though he knew it was against Cedar Park police policy.

Kelley's attorney, Keith Hampton, told Dailey that the CPS worker on the other side of the email exchange also deleted the emails; Dailey said they did not coordinate that.

"We had to listen to 45 minutes of testimony of the most hubris individual make dumb look smart, and because of it, we have someone sitting in jail for something he didn't do," said Brydon.

Throughout the hearing, Kelley's mother kept shaking her head in disbelief.

"I know the investigation wasn't conducted right, but I never expected all this and this is just the beginning," said Rosa Kelley. "I just want to be here tomorrow early and keep hearing what else."

Dailey later admitted to filing the charges against Kelley, despite the then-prosecutor's advice.

At one point, the prosecutor asked Dailey if he believed in the "Golden Rule," to which Dailey replied 'yes.'

The prosecutor then asked Dailey if he were accused of a crime where the minimum sentence was 25 years, would he want a thorough investigation, and Dailey said he would.

When asked if he believed his own investigation into the Kelley case was thorough, the former detective maintained that he conducted a full, thorough investigation.

The hearing will resume Thursday morning at 9 a.m.

---

Join the Discussion:

Follow Spectrum News Austin on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram