Mobile, Ala. – The only witness called by the defense in the ongoing rape trial of Morris Linson Jr. spent the entire day on the stand, reiterating his claim that the sexual encounter with an 18‑year‑old woman was consensual.
Background of the case
Prosecutors allege that Linson, 39, abducted the teenager from the parking lot of Troubadours Country Saloon in September 2021, sexually assaulted her, and later dumped her in a University of South Alabama parking lot. They argue the victim was too intoxicated to give consent.
Defendant’s testimony
Linson, who now resides in Huntsville but was a pharmaceutical sales representative living in Pensacola at the time, testified that he frequently traveled to Mobile for client meetings at local hospitals. He said he went to Troubadours that night to meet friends, but left when they failed to appear.
He asserted that the woman was coherent, sitting up in the vehicle after a friend placed her outside the bar. According to Linson, she asked for a ride home, and he placed her in the driver’s seat before she moved to the passenger side. He could not explain why he picked her up, calling it “a great question” with “no explanation.”
Linson claimed the woman asked to be driven to the University of South Alabama campus, that she fondled him during the drive, and that they engaged in sexual contact in the car – but he insisted no intercourse occurred. He said he later watched her walk away from his car, out of view of campus surveillance cameras.
Prosecution’s cross‑examination
Mobile County Assistant District Attorney Jessica Catlin questioned Linson for hours, highlighting discrepancies between his testimony and earlier statements to investigators. She pressed him on how his DNA was found inside the victim’s panties, to which Linson suggested the woman may have touched herself – a detail he had never mentioned to investigators before.
Catlin noted that Linson’s account of the victim’s condition conflicted with the prosecution’s characterization that she was incapacitated. Linson maintained the woman was “coherent” and that the sexual contact did not rise to the level of intercourse.
Next steps
The trial continues with closing arguments scheduled for Thursday morning. The jury will consider the testimony, surveillance video showing Linson placing the victim in his Chevrolet Equinox, and forensic evidence presented by the state.
Both sides await the jury’s verdict, which will determine whether Linson faces a conviction for sexual assault.
Original reporting: FOX10 WALA Mobile (news) — read the source article.
