CLEARFIELD – The trial got under way Wednesday in Clearfield County Court for a Westover man who allegedly sexually assaulted two young girls beginning in 2017.
Moses C. Norris, 77, is facing two counts of rape of child, three counts of criminal attempt-rape of child, two counts of statutory sexual assault, three counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with child, eight counts of corruption of minors, eight counts of indecent assault- person less than 13 years old and three counts of aggravated indecent assault.
Norris “violated” the bodies of these two girls, argued Clearfield County Deputy District Attorney Trudy Lumadue in her opening statements.
She requested that jurors not pass judgment on the girls, if they are unable to recall specific details like dates or the number of incidents because they are just children.
Norris’ attorney, Josh Maines, only asked jurors to keep an open mind before stressing if there’s a reasonable hesitation, his client cannot be convicted of the alleged crimes.
The victims were interviewed separately by investigators at the Child Advocacy Center of Clearfield County in January and March of 2021.
The first victim testified on Wednesday morning and portions of her video- and audio-recorded forensic interviews with CAC Director Mary Tatum were played in court.
She said the first incident occurred while they were on the couch, and Norris started out by rubbing her back, but his hand moved down into her private area.
After that, the assaults escalated and Norris allegedly had her touch his private area and tried to have sex with her. They also engaged in oral sex, she said.
Though the victim felt what Norris was doing was wrong, she went along with it because Norris made death threats towards her family if she told anyone.
A prosecution expert testified that child sexual assault victims have a tendency to delay reporting of crimes, and also to provide more details over time.
The expert said it’s also not uncommon for child victims to “play along” because they are taught to listen and treat adults with respect.
The trial resumes at 8:30 a.m. Thursday in Courtroom No. 1 at the Clearfield County Courthouse with Senior Judge Daniel J. Milliron of Blair County presiding.
Online court documents indicate that Norris’ bail is set at $50,000 monetary, which he posted in April of 2021.