Tests: Begay likely father of baby of adopted daughter

May 6, 2013

By JOSH NEWTON

Staff Writer

TAHLEQUAH — Prosecutors are asking a judge to nix a man’s second jury trial for child sex abuse after a criminalistics exam showed a 99.9 percent chance he is the father of the victim’s baby.

Stacey G. Begay was convicted of child sex abuse in 2012 and sentenced to 30 years in prison, but District Judge Darrell Shepherd granted him a new trial earlier this year when Stacey Begay’s adoptive daughter, Christina Begay – the alleged victim – claimed the two had been coerced into saying they had sex together.

Christina Begay testified to Shepherd that her father never touched her or did anything wrong, and said they both tried to tell authorities “the truth” in April 2011, when Stacey Begay and his wife, Terry, were arrested.

Police said they were called to the Begays’ home in Cherokee County in April 2011 after Terry Begay found her husband hiding in Christina’s room. Christina was in her bed, wearing only a shirt. Terry Begay then allegedly retrieved a gun and opened fire on her husband and adoptive daughter.

Stacey Begay and Christina Begay both provided written statements to investigators, admitting to having a sexual relationship. Statements indicated the two had sex several times over a period of months, and Stacey Begay’s statements provided intimate details of the alleged relationship.

After Stacey Begay was convicted, Christina Begay told the Daily Press authorities forced her and her father to say they had been having sex for several months. She also claimed staff of the District Attorney’s Office threatened her and prevented her from testifying on her father’s behalf. She said she was determined to bring the truth to light – that her father was innocent.

Christina, now an adult, later told her side of the story in front of Shepherd. After listening to Christina’s testimony, the judge determined Christina and her mom, Terry Begay, had made “outlandish” statements throughout the court process, and may have colluded “to pull some shenanigans with this case.”

Terry was arrested at the conclusion of her husband’s first trial and charged with perjury as a result of her testimony.

But Shepherd decided to give Stacey Begay a second jury trial, citing his concern that the defendant receive his right to a fair trial. The second trial was set to begin later this month.

After the judge’s ruling, prosecutors issued subpoenas for DNA swabs from Stacey Begay, Christina Begay, and Christina’s baby, who was born Dec. 19, 2011 - eight months after Stacey Begay was arrested for sexually abusing his adopted daughter. According to a copy of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation’s exam of the DNA, there is a 99.9 percent probability that Stacey Begay is the father of Christina’s baby.

In his motion asking Shepherd to reconsider the second jury trial, Assistant District Attorney Doug Dry says the DNA test results prove Christina Begay’s statements under oath were “blatant falsehoods.”

“… Christina Begay perpetrated a fraud upon these judicial proceedings… ,” Dry’s motion alleges.

Dry asks Shepherd to reinstate Stacey Begay’s previous guilty verdict with a sentence of 30 years.