On January 26, a federal jury found a Depew man guilty of sexually abusing a child younger than 12 years old and sexually propositioning and inappropriately touching two teenagers.
Darrel Dean Guinn, 37, was convicted of aggravated sexual abuse of a minor under 12 in Indian Country; two counts of coercion and enticement of a minor in Indian Country; and abusive sexual contact with a minor in Indian Country.
“Darrel Guinn preyed on, manipulated and repeatedly sexually abused a young girl. He also made sexual advances toward two other minors,” said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “I want to thank federal prosecutors and our law enforcement partners for bringing this case to trial and the jury for delivering justice on behalf of those victims harmed by Mr. Guinn.”
Guinn’s crimes were reported to authorities after a child revealed to two older siblings that she had been sexually abused by Guinn. The two older siblings also disclosed that Guinn had sexually propositioned them on several occasions.
During trial, prosecutors brought forth evidence showing that Guinn sexually abused the young child on at least three occasions from approximately June 23, 2020, through Aug. 1, 2021.
The child stated that the abuse began when she was 10 years old. At that time, the two were watching a movie alone, and he sexually assaulted her. When he was done, he told her not to tell anyone. The final time he sexually assaulted her, he told the victim she was his “favorite” and that it was “their secret.”
The second victim stated that when she was 14, Guinn asked her if he could have sex with her. On another occasion when she was 14, he was watching a movie with the teenager, laid next to her, and began to push his pelvis against her buttocks, humping her.
Finally, a third victim disclosed that Guinn propositioned her for sex when she was approximately 16 or 17. She also reported that at one point, Guinn seemed to be rubbing his groin on her buttocks.
During the investigation, two other adults came forward stating they were sexually assaulted by Guinn when they were children and he was a teenager. One woman stated that Guinn exposed himself to her when she was five years old and he was 13. He began to ostracize the victim after she disclosed the incident.
After the exposure, Guinn began sexually abusing another child on a regular basis when she was between the ages of six and nine years old. He was approximately seven years older than the victim.
At trial, victims and witnesses also said that Guinn regularly commented to the victims that “incest was best,” that he was “bored and horny,” or called the victims “teases.” Experts testified that sexualized comments are often associated with grooming behavior, where perpetrators try to desensitize victims to sexual commentary and acts in order to exploit and abuse them.
In closing, federal prosecutors reminded the jury that five different people came into court to testify about the abuse they endured at the hands of Guinn at various times in his life. Prosecutors stated that “incest is best” and “bored and horny” were not simply immature jokes to Guinn, but rather were mottos Guinn lived by. They asked the jury to hold Guinn accountable for his criminal conduct.
The jury deliberated three hours and found the defendant guilty on all counts.
