SAN ANTONIO — Family and friends of a Central Texas athlete who was convicted by a jury two weeks ago of sexually assaulting a 4-year-old boy are fighting to have his case reviewed.

Gregory Raymond Kelley, 19, who at one point was expected to receive a football scholarship at the University of Texas at San Antonio, was found guilty July 15 after a Williamson County jury deliberated for 11 hours.

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Gregory Kelley, expected to get a football scholarship to UTSA, was convicted of sexually assaulting a child.

The next day, he accepted a plea deal for his sentence that will put him behind bars without the possibility of parole for 25 years. He waived his right to appeal as a condition of the deal.

But the agreement is not stopping Kelley's supporters from taking their fight up Texas' legal chain of command in hopes of clearing his name.

Shortly after the conviction, supporters took to social media to voice their support for him. A fundraising account was established to pay for legal fees, events were scheduled to show support and a petition began circulating that implored officials to look into the case.

So far, it has more than 7,500 signatures.

Officials with the Williamson County district attorney's office have declined to comment on the case.

Jake Brydon, an organizer of the #FightforGK and #PrayForGK campaigns, which have garnered both support and derision from onlookers, said he and thousands of others believe that Kelley's case was mishandled.

“Kelley was never interrogated by the police” in the Austin suburb Cedar Park, a statement on the group's website states. “No other suspects were sought out, and the police department kept their investigation focused only on Kelley without admitting there could be other explanations.”

In an attempt to prove that assertion, supporters are asking Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott or Gov. Rick Perry to review the case, which they say is brimming with inconsistencies. On Aug. 15, Kelley's lawyer is set to ask the judge who oversaw the jury trial to set aside the verdict and start over.

“The No. 1 reason that we're fighting is because there was absolutely zero evidence in this case other than the testimony of a 4-year-old boy,” said Brydon, who also serves as a family spokesman. “That testimony was handled unprofessionally in every way.”

Prosecutors appeared to have a much different take.

“What parent would possibly program their kid to make that statement?” Assistant District Attorney Sunday Austin asked jurors during the trial's closing arguments, according to coverage by Austin's KVUE-TV. “What parent could possibly want this child to know about oral sex at the age of 4?”

According to a probable cause affidavit, between December 2012 and July 2013, Kelley lived in a residence that was used as an in-home day care. On July 12 last year, one of the children from the day care made a statement to his mother that indicated that a sexual assault had taken place, the document states.

The accuser was then taken to the Williamson County Children's Advocacy Center. During a forensic interview, he told authorities that he was assaulted by Kelley on two occasions.

Kelley turned himself in to police Aug. 9 after hearing that they planned to arrest him. He was released on bail. He was arrested a second time in the fall after a second 4-year-old boy made an outcry against him.

The second boy, however, later recanted.

Kelley, an all-district football player from Leander High School, was previously offered a scholarship to play football at UTSA after graduation this year, according to Brydon. UTSA Associate Athletics Communications Director Brian Hernandez said he was unable to confirm whether Kelley had been offered a scholarship.

Kelley has adamantly insisted he is innocent, Brydon said, explaining that he turned down a plea deal before his trial that — in exchange for a guilty plea — would have given him probation and no jail time.

“We're not saying that the child was not assaulted by somebody, but there were several other individuals living in this house that did not have clean records,” Brydon said. “He was just railroaded by the Williamson County judicial system just to label another sex offender. This kid is such a top-notch kid. He's not just innocent, he's special. He is a unique human being.”

Others aren't so sure. As social media blew up with support for Kelley, those who stand by the conviction also made their voices heard under the banners of #FightForGKVictims and #PrayForGKVictims.

A Fight4GKVictims Twitter account also provided a counter to the flood of online support.

“Popularity is not an alibi,” one tweet read. Another asked followers to take a stand “against the #FightForGK crowd's grandiose and grotesque displays of support for an abuser.”

mdwilson@express-news.net

Twitter: @MDWilsonSA