Testimony
began Monday in Warren County Common Pleas Court in the trial of a
Mason man accused of raping a toddler with a screwdriver.
Patrick
Parker, 49, is charged with two first-degree felony counts of rape and
two counts of gross sèxual imposition, third-degree felonies.
Prosecutors
say Parker used a screwdriver and his fingers to sèxually assault a
three-year-old child he was acquainted with and had access to on
overnight stays between July 2007 and June 2009.
The alleged crimes were reported about a year later, according to prosecutors.
The
girl’s mother testified Monday that she noticed behavioral changes in
the girl beginning in 2008 after overnight stays with Parker. In May
2009, she said the girl asked to give her a kiss on the mouth during
which she inserted her tongue in her mouth.
When she questioned her daughter, the girl reported Parker had kissed her in that manner, according to the mother’s testimony.
The
girl’s mother reported the incident to officials in Kentucky, where she
and her daughter lives. The alleged crimes occurred at Parker’s Mason
home, according to court documents.
Prosecutors
say the girl two years later disclosed to a licensed clinical
psychologist that during this time, Parker had digitally penetrated her
with his fingers and a device she described as a screwdriver.
The
Enquirer generally does not identify victims of sèx crimes and is not
identifying the mother to protect her daughter’s identity.
In
their opening arguments, defense attorneys denied the accusations and
say the girl’s story is riddled with inconsistencies and suggest she may
have been coached or asked leading questions by interviewers.
Psychological
testing performed on Parker in 2009 after the accusations were made
revealed no signs of sèxual deviancy, the attorneys told the judge.
Parker
faces a possible life sentence on the rape charges. The sentences for
the gross sèxual imposition charges carry a maximum penalty of up to
five years in prison on each count.
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