The victim of an alleged kidnapping, sexual assault and attempted rape testified in front of a jury Tuesday.

Brandon Scott Nix, 27, is accused of grabbing a 17-year-old girl off Barrett Road and taking her to his Wood Creek Place residence in East Hall County.

Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Bagwell began the trial with a step-by-step account of Nix allegedly offering the victim a ride in his truck and then forcing her into the vehicle.

Nix allegedly put the victim in a chokehold to stop her from escaping, Bagwell said.

Nix’s attorney William Hollingsworth said in his opening statement to the jury that the victim had inconsistencies in her statement.

“This case was a rush of judgement from the get-go,” he said.

Hollingsworth criticized what he called a lack of thorough investigation by the Hall County Sheriff’s Office when making its charges.

The victim was the first of four witnesses called by the prosecution after opening statements, including the victim’s brother; the watch commander at the time of the incident; and Janice Hester, Hall County Sheriff’s Office crime scene investigator, who examined the victim at her home, swabbed her for DNA and conducted the search and investigation of Nix’s home.

Under questioning, the now 18-year-old victim explained in great detail the route she jogged that November 2014 morning, where she was allegedly kidnapped, and what happened thereafter.

Once at the Wood Creek Place residence, he allegedly forced her into the home and into a bedroom, she said, where she was sexually assaulted. She alleged Nix had forced her legs over his shoulders when he heard a car pull up outside.

“He started putting his pants on, and when he did, he said that he had a gun, so I wouldn’t leave,” she said. “He said, ‘I have a gun, so don’t try to do anything.’ He told me to stay in the room.”

In cross-examination, Nix’s attorney William Hollingsworth asked the victim, who was visibly upset, if she ever saw a gun or weapon, to which she said she did not.
The victim said she put her underwear, leggings and sweater back on — which she said had been removed by Nix — and heard a female voice outside the door. She said she exited and begged Nix’s girlfriend Brenda Baker for help.

“She looked at me and said, ‘Who the hell are you? What are you doing here?’” the victim said. “Questioning me.”

Finally, the victim said Baker let the victim in her car, where she found a baby in a car seat in the back. The victim said Nix also got in the car and they drove to the intersection of Truelove and Barrett roads, where Baker told her to get out of the car.

The victim said she ran in her socks, until she was about five homes away from her house. She said Nix allegedly returned in his vehicle, threw her shoes and shirt out the window, saying “sorry” and driving off.

“The family took one look at her and called police,” Bagwell said.

The trial will resume at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.