News
Jurors Hear Third Day Of Testimony In Shifflet Trial
By: Megan Moseley
Posted on:
An alleged 9-year-old victim of a Glouster man accused of five counts of sexual molestation took the witness stand Wednesday afternoon.
From a separate room in Athens County Common Pleas Court via closed-circuit TV, the 4th grader described an incident when Thomas Shifflet, who she would call "Grandpa Shifflet", allegedly touched her front side.
"He did it while I was on his lap. I remember it made me feel uncomfortable," she said.
The girl also said she came up with the solution to "cross her legs" and "put her hands on her lap" whenever Shifflet, 76, would visit the daycare she attended that was owned and operated by one of Shifflet's daughters.
The defense questioned the 9-year-old's statement, asking her why she initially told Athens County Children Services back in 2011 that nothing had happened.
Shifflet’s attorney has been trying to raise doubts about the credibility of the alleged victims.
The parents took her to Children Services when she was seven after she responded, "yes" to their question of whether or not anyone has ever made her feel "uncomfortable" or "touched her inappropriately".
When she met with Children Services, she said nothing happened, but as the interview progressed she opened up about what she told her parents.
"I was scared. I didn't know her," she responded to the defense in reference to her interview with the Children Services representative.
The incident described by the 9-year-old girl is not included in Shifflet's charges.
This is day three of the trial.
Shifflet is charged with three counts of gross sexual imposition, one count of rape and one count of sexual imposition.