CLEARFIELD – The trial for a Curwensville man accused of molesting a child got under way on Monday.
Eric Queen is charged with rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, aggravated indecent assault of a child, statutory sexual assault, sexual assault and indecent assault of a person less than 13 years of age.
“This is serious stuff,” said Clearfield County District Attorney William A. Shaw Jr.
“These horrible things … did not happen at all,” said Defense attorney Philip Masorti. “It’s a complete … fabrication.”
Masorti indicated the allegations began with an incident in which the alleged victim spilled milk. He indicated the girl was scared of Queen’s wife’s reaction.
The alleged victim in the case took the stand and testified that on June 24, 2009, she was at Queen’s swimming. She said that later that evening while at Queen’s, the defendant touched inside her vagina.
She said afterward, she called her mother and she went home. She said that Queen told her not to tell anyone. She also said it was at this time that she told her mother that Queen licked her vaginal area.
One of the allegations was that Queen anally penetrated her. Under cross examination, the alleged victim agreed that Queen never put anything there. Masorti asked why she would tell the investigator that Queen put his finger there.
“I don’t know,” she said. ” I don’t know if I lied to him or not.”
The girl’s mother and father also testified. The father testified that he picked his daughter up while his wife was on the phone with her.
Under cross, the father was asked if her crying was unusual. Initially, he said yes. Masorti had him reference his testimony at a prior hearing, and he indicated that it was not.
The mother testified that once the girl was home, they took her to Clearfield Hospital where a sexual assault kit was done.
Janie Moore, who was an RN at the Clearfield Hospital emergency room testified that she was one of the people on duty who administered the sexual assault kit. She stated that the girl’s mother spoke with her, but the girl would not. She indicated, through the sexual assault kit report, that there were no findings that the girl had been penetrated and that no photos were taken because there no markings.
Children, Youth and Family Services Intake Caseworker Amanda Cole testified about an interview she did of the alleged victim. She testified that she went to the alleged victim’s residence on June 15, 2009 at about 11 a.m. She talked to the girl’s parents briefly before one of them went to wake the girl.
She said the girl was a little scared at first, and that the girl said she was a littel embarassed. She said the girl told her how Queen went about allegedly violating her.
Also questioned was Cprl. Jeff Lee with the Pennsylvania State Police. He testified that he interviewed Queen on two occassions, for roughly three hours, without the presence of Queen’s defense attorney. He testified that Queen initially showed up with his attorney, but that he spoke without his attorney present. He also testified that Queen denied touching the girl, and that his statements on both occasions were similar.
Micah Wilpula, a forensic scientist at the state police Erie Regional Crime Lab, testified that amylase, a component of saliva, was found in the crotch of the girl’s underwear. She pointed out that amylase is also found in fecal matter, vaginal secretions and in blood, but that it is found in higher concentrations of saliva.
Wilpula said she contacted the investigating trooper, Terry Jordan, to see if he wanted to pursue DNA testing on the underwear. She referenced an email that she sent to Jordan. In the email, she indcates a bucal swab would be needed from Queen to undertake DNA testing. She also read Jordan’s reply, in which he said he will get a swab, and “I very much want to go after this guy.”
Mary Hockensmith, a retired forensic scientist at the state police DNA lab, was certified as an expert witness in the field of DNA testing. She testified that she received the underwear and ran a DNA test against samples from both the alleged victim and Queen. She stated that a Y chromosome was present in the test, and that it matched Queen’s Y chromosome profile. She stated that Queen could not be excluded as the contributer, but also indicated that no other paternally related male could be excluded as well.
The defense questioned whether the chromosome in the underwear could have been transferred from a towel. Earlier in the trial, the defense indicated that when the girl was at Queen’s on the date in question, some picnic or party was going on in which other males related to Queen were supposedly present. it was insinuated that the alleged victim may have handled a towel used by one of the males.
Testimony, at least on Day1, was spotty on who may have been at the Queen residence on the day in question; one person testified that two of the alleged victim’s siblings and another Queen male were present, while another testified that only the victim and one of her siblings were present. The girl also testified that she showered after swimming. Hockensmith testified that while DNA was resilient, it can’t handle like a laundry cycle without being degraded or destroyed.
Day 2 picks up today at 2 p.m. The trial is slated for three days.