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Opening Statements Made In Shifflet Trial
By: Atish Baidya, Megan Moseley
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UPDATE 5:45 p.m. Testimony in the trial of a Glouster man accused of sexually assaulting five young children will continue Tuesday after the jury heard a graphic testimony from one of his alleged victims Monday.
After opening statements and a brief recess, the Shifflet trial reconvened with the prosecution calling their first witness to the stand.
The 16-year-old alleged victim was questioned by prosecutor Rob Driscoll, who asked the young female to describe what happened to her the day in question.
She claimed that Shifflet grabbed her "vagina", "butt" and "breast" in front of one of her siblings while at a store in Millfield owned by Shifflet's daughters. She also testified that her sister was a victim of Shifflet when months earlier he allegedly attempted to put his hands down her pants.
During the defense's cross-examination, Lavelle asked her to be more clear about where she was in the store when the alleged groping occurred, and continued to press her to be more precise about the timing of the days' events.
The trial will reconvene tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. with the prosecutors calling their second witness to the stand.
UPDATE 2:40 p.m. Opening statements were made Monday in the trial of a Glouster man accused of sexually assaulting five young girls.
Thomas Shifflet, 76, faces three counts of gross sexual imposition, one count of rape, and one count of sexual imposition.
The alleged victims were between the ages of three and 12 at the time.
Although the prosecution has no DNA or fingerprint evidence it contends the eye-witness accounts from the victims will be enough to convict.
“This is not an accident of behavior,” Athens County Prosecutor Keller J. Blackburn told the jury. “This is not an accident of someone picking someone up and accidentally grabbing them while trying to put them in a seat. As it shows, this is a pattern” he said.
The defense opening statement was made by John Lavelle who said there are too many problems with the stories of the witnesses.
“I expect throughout the course of this trial that the evidence will show that the stories have changed, and a changing of story reflects upon credibility,” Lavelle said.
Opening arguments are underway in the trial of a Glouster man accused of sexually assaulting five young girls.
Thomas Shifflet, 76, faces three counts of gross sexual imposition, one count of rape, and one count of sexual imposition.
The alleged victims were between the ages of 3 and 12 at the time.