Alan Dunn

The defense attorney for a man charged with two counts of child rape said DNA evidence influenced his decision to plead guilty Thursday before the end of his trial.

There had been "ongoing negotiations" throughout the trial of Napoleon White, defense attorney Alan Dunn said.

"But those negotiations really cranked up when the prosecution introduced the DNA expert. I think that had a lot to do with Mr. White's decision," Mr. Dunn said.

The DNA evidence confirmed what the 9-year-old victim told Hamilton County jurors on Wednesday -- that Mr. White raped him on Dec. 19, 2006, while he was babysitting the boy and his siblings.

Authorities arrested Mr. White about four months later when forensic testing revealed the presence of his DNA inside the victim.

Mr. White will be sentenced to 20 years in prison pursuant to his plea deal with Hamilton County prosecutors, officials said.

Mr. White had maintained his innocence, however, and had gone through three defense attorneys before starting his trial Tuesday in Hamilton County Criminal Court. He decided to plead guilty about noon Thursday after the prosecution finished putting on its proof, his attorney said.

The victim, who was 7 when the incident occurred, confidently testified Wednesday about what Mr. White had done to him.

"He raped me," the boy answered when asked by prosecutors.

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

According to the boy's mother, who testified after her son, Mr. White had lived with her relatives on different occasions and routinely would babysit 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 police. Mr. White was on the couch sleeping the whole time, she said.