Loading ...Mistrial is Declared in Assault of Girl, 8
A case in which a mother was caught between her child and her boyfriend ended in a mistrial Wednesday night when a jury could not decide whom to believe.
Aaron L. Anderson, 27, of Clearwater was on trial this week on charges that he sexually assaulted his girlfriend’s 8-year-old daughter in December.
Anderson maintains his innocence and the girl’s mother now says she believes him.
“That’s not a sick man,” the 24-year-old mother of five said Wednesday, while waiting for the verdict. “He’s not like that. They should be looking for more evidence.”
The girl and her mother are not identified to protect the child.
A few days after the incident, the girl told detectives what happened.
The girl also described for the jury what she said Anderson did to her and circled the area where she said he touched her on a drawing of a nude girl.
But when she was interviewed in March by defense and prosecuting attorneys for a deposition, she said another man, not Anderson, sexually assaulted her. At the time, she said she lied about Anderson because she thought he was mean to her mother.
When questioned on the stand this week, she said she had lied at the time of the deposition and that it was, indeed, Anderson who assaulted her.
Assistant State Attorney Richard Stoffels said the girl changed her story only after being pressured by her mother, who did not want her live-in boyfriend to go to prison.
While Anderson was in jail, Stoffels said, the girl’s mother started missing him and his paycheck and began pressuring her daughter to recant.
Not only does the girl have to cope with what happened, “she has to deal with the secrecy, the guilt and the pressure that her mom had given her,” Stoffels said. “Her statements are consistent except for the time period in which pressure was put upon her.”
Assistant Public Defender Bjorn Brunvand said the girl’s story was not to be trusted since she already had lied once under oath. Brunvand said that perhaps the girl’s mother planted the original story in her head.
“Was (the girl) lying then or is she lying now?” he said. “This case is nowhere near proven.”
The girl’s mother is living with Anderson’s relatives. The girl, who was given up voluntarily by her mother, is in the custody of the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services.
“I gave them my daughter because I want her to get counseling. Somebody did it to her, but I don’t think it’s Aaron,” the mother said. “If they think I put up my daughter to say these things, they’re wrong.”
If convicted, Anderson could face life in prison.
Anderson cried and put his head in his hands when Stoffels described the reported incident to the jury.
When the case was declared a mistrial, Anderson was released to await rescheduling.
“I know I didn’t do it and the Lord knows I didn’t do it,” Anderson said. “But I got no way to go about proving I didn’t do it.”
St. Petersburg Times – St. Petersburg, Fla.
Author: Laura Griffin