A man accused of molesting a 14-year-old minor by groping and fondling her on two separate occasions took to the stand to deny the allegations.
Sitting in the witness box on Thursday, 26 Jan., Gordon Aaron McLaughlin told the court that he and the child’s mother had been friends for several years, and that on the day in question he was left alone at the house with the child while her mother went out to gather supplies for a house renovation project.
“I told her I didn’t have much time… and that there wasn’t enough supplies for me to do all the work she wanted,” said McLaughlin. “So, I gave her a list of things to get and then I began sanding the ceiling.”
McLaughlin told the court while he was working, he was approached by the child, who had referred to him as ‘Uncle Gordon’, to confide in him about problems she was having in school.
“She told me she was being bullied by her friends at school, and I was worried that she was getting beaten up or in a fight,” he said.
McLaughlin told the jury he encouraged the child to tell either her mother or father about the incidents, but claimed the child refused and asked him not to tell them before leaving the room.
He went on to tell the court that he did not leave the room in which he was working because he was afraid of the mother’s pit bull that was caged in the house.
McLaughlin faces four charges of indecent assault on a minor which allege that he indecently fondled the child, and then used her hands to touch himself inappropriately. The most serious charge alleges that he held the child down on a bed while she was partially wrapped in a towel, but eventually released her after she screamed.
He has denied all the charges and the trial continues.
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