Jury finds musician who was charged with raping a teenager in 2022 guilty on a lesser charge

A Springfield musician who was charged in 2022 with raping a 13-year-old “fan” in the driveway of her grandmother’s Hendersonville home was found guilty by a jury Friday of lesser charges of sexual assault and aggravated rape of a minor.

Brandon Whitehurst, also known as G-Hurst, was arrested on July 5, 2022 in Forrest County, Mississippi, following a multi-state manhunt.

Whitehurst, now 29, was charged with rape after a 13-year-old Hendersonville teenager told police he gave her a white powdery substance and sexually assaulted her in the early morning hours of July 2, 2022.

In September of that year, a grand jury indicted Whitehurst on charges of aggravated rape, aggravated rape of a minor, and casual exchange of a Schedule II drug (methamphetamine).

The jury deliberated for nearly six hours before reaching its verdict after a three-day trial that included testimony from forensic experts from the TBI and Hendersonville Police Department, an expert in investigating child sex crimes, and the victim, now 15. Whitehurst also testified in his own defense.

The two had met a year earlier when Whitehurst performed at the girl’s birthday party. At about 1 a.m. on July 2, they began communicating on Snap Chat. The victim said Whitehurst tracked her using the app’s tracking device and drove to her grandmother’s house. She arranged to meet him in her grandmother’s driveway, she said. There, he administered a drug to her, she lost consciousness and woke up in pain with Whitehurst on top of her.

Prosecutors showed text messages between Whitehurst and two adult women before he went to the teenager’s home. In both cases, he asked the women for sex but was rebuffed.

According to prosecutors, text messages between the victim and Whitehurst were deleted.

During his testimony, Whitehurst admitted he did not arrive at the Hendersonville home until after 4 a.m. He said he only came to help the girl, who he said was suffering from a mental health crisis and appeared suicidal.

Whitehurst denied giving the girl drugs, but said that when he played her one of his new songs, she went crazy and began to black out on her own. Whitehurst said he left the girl without having sexual contact with her.

When asked by Assistant District Attorney Nathan Nichols why his DNA was found in the girl’s bra and on her vagina, Whitehurst said he did not know.

In his closing statement, Whitehurst’s attorney Ethan Ingham portrayed the victim as a troubled, unsupervised teenager who made up the story that she had been drugged and raped “for self-preservation.”

Whitehurst was found guilty of sexual abuse and aggravated rape of a minor. He was found not guilty of supplying methamphetamine to a minor.

Nichols said the prosecution respects the jury’s verdict and appreciates the time and attention the jury gave to the case.

Whitehurst is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Dee Gay on September 20. He faces four to eight years in prison. The judge will also decide whether Whitehurst will be released on probation or must serve his sentence in prison.

Nichols said he would seek the maximum sentence.

“Brandon Whitehurst used his connections in the music industry and his status as a fringe local celebrity to gain the trust of a 13-year-old fan, whom he subsequently locked in his car and sexually abused,” he noted. “Mr. Whitehurst’s conduct in this case is truly disturbing and proves that he is a sex offender who belongs in prison for as long as possible.”

Court records show that Whitehurst pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual abuse of a minor in 2014.

“The Sumner County District Attorney’s Office will continue to prosecute those who exploit and harm children to the fullest extent of the law,” Nichols added. “We are grateful for the strength and courage shown by the victim and her family throughout this process and thank the Hendersonville Police Department for their thorough and outstanding work on this case.”

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