Alan Dunn

A confident 9-year-old boy did not hesitate when asked in court Wednesday what a longtime family friend did to him one night when his mother was away.

"He raped me," answered the boy.

The boy could not describe exactly what rape means, but he said there was "fiddling" involved as well as "private parts" with which defendant Napoleon White violated him.

The Hamilton County Criminal Court testimony marked the start of the trial of Mr. White, who is charged with two counts of child rape in connection with the incident alleged to have occurred in the boy's Chattanooga home in the early morning hours of Dec. 19, 2006.

The boy and his mother, who also testified, are not identified here in accordance with Times Free Press policy.

According to the boy's mother, who testified after her son, Mr. White had lived with her relatives on different occasions and routinely would baby-sit for her for cash. There had never been problems before, but when the boy was up at 4 a.m. on the night in question with an unfamiliar "look of fear" on his face, the mother said she knew something was wrong.

She testified that, after a conversation with the boy about what he said Mr. White did to him, she immediately went into her bedroom and called the police. Mr. White was on the couch sleeping the whole time, she said.

Authorities did not arrest Mr. White until about four months later when evidence came back from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation crime lab. Prosecutors said that evidence, expected to be presented today, proves that Mr. White's DNA was present inside the boy.

Mr. White has remained incarcerated since the arrest, unable to make his $200,000 bond. But he always has maintained his innocence and now is working with his third defense attorney in an effort to be acquitted of the charges.

On Wednesday, defense attorney Alan Dunn questioned why the victim seemed to be so scared on the night of the alleged incident. The woman admitted that she had "popped" her son on the back and threatened to give him "a whuppin'" when she saw how late he was up.

"There was no fear on (his) face until you popped him?" Mr. Dunn asked the mother.

She said there was not.