Posted: Aug 17, 2011 1:26 PM by Melissa Schroeder - mschroeder@kristv.com
CORPUS CHRISTI -- We have continuing coverage on the trial of a former Corpus Christi police officer whose charged with 3 counts of indecency with a child.
A 12-year old alleged victim claimed Raul Rodriguez fondled her last July during a family outing.
A woman later came forward and claimed Rodriguez also fondled her at school when she was a child.
This morning one of the victim's took the stand.
Rodriguez listened along with a courtroom packed with family and friends as a now 14 year old girl talked about how she was allegedly fondled.
When the girl walked to the witness stand she cried and breathed heavily.
She's related to Rodriguez through marriage and was 12 years old when the alleged incident happened last July.
She told the jury, "My family was having a get together and we went over to my aunt's house to be with them."
The girl says during the gathering, she got on a four-wheeler with Rodriguez and during the ride she testified, "Raul started touching me down here and on my chest. He used the left hand because the right was controlling the throttle."
She says it lasted for two to three minutes and when he was done she said, "He whispered into my ear and he said 'you're not going to say anything right?' I was scared so I said no."
She says she rode her bicycle back home from the gathering and when her mom got there she told her what happened.
She said, "I told her what he did because I knew it wasn't right. I felt scared because he was a cop and if my dad got mad he would go after him and we would lose everything."
The girl said it was hard to talk about it for other reasons as well, since Rodriguez is part of the family, she knew it would change things.
And they did.
Through tears and sobs she told the jury some of her family members no longer talk to her.
Testimony resumes this afternoon.
If found guilty Rodriguez faces up to 20 years in prison.
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