A 52-year-old man is on trial in the District Court on charges of sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl in southwest Washington after posting messages on social media and offering to be his “sugar daddy “.
Key points:
- Cleve Pain allegedly sent the teen explicit photos of himself
- The court heard him tell her to wear a bandage over her eyes when they met
- Mr. Pain denies the charges against him
Cleve Maynard Pain is supposed to have first sent the girl a sexually explicit video of himself via the Snapchat app, before arranging to pick her up at a friend’s house a few days later for sex. .
State Attorney Paul Dixon said Mr. Pain was said to have previously offered to help the girl with money and told her he could be “her sugar daddy in exchange for sex.”
Dixon said the girl was told not to tell anyone, but “she would just prostitute herself.”
The girl maintained that she told Mr. Pain her age, but she is supposed to have responded by saying “Great risk, it doesn’t matter.”
A girl ordered her eyes to be blessed
The court learned that when the girl was picked up and left on the day of the alleged abuse, she was told to wear a blindfold so she could see where they had taken her.
Dixon said the girl received more messages in the following days, asking when they could be found next and if she wanted to buy him something.
The court heard that Pain sent a message to the girl and offered to buy her clothes. (ABC News)
Although the girl apologized for not being found, Mr. Dixon said he did want clothes, including sneakers and a T-shirt.
Mr. Pain is supposed to have sent her messages telling her that he had ordered some items for her that were worth $ 500.
Five days later, the girl’s mother took her to the police and began an investigation that led to Mr. Pain’s arrest.
The court learned that the girl’s phone had been confiscated and Snapchat messages were found from two accounts: one in the name of “Adam Phillips” while the other was called “Chirpin444”.
A black sleeping mask was also confiscated at Mr. Pain’s home, and Mr. Dixon said his analysis found DNA traces that matched both his and the girl’s.
Mr. Dixon also alleged that the photos of the girl in her underwear were found in a folder recently deleted from Mr. Dixon’s cell phone. Pain.
Pain faces four charges: one of using an electronic device to get a child, two of sexually penetrating a child under the age of 16 and one of possession of child exploitation material.
He pleaded not guilty, alleging that the allegations were “a fantastic story”.
“(Mr. Pain) interacted with an account holder. There was nothing to suggest that he was a minor,” said his attorney, Abigail Rogers.
“He befriended her and offered her advice and support.”
The pain thought the boy was 16 years old
Pain admitted to sending the girl a sexually explicit message, but Ms Rogers said she “reasonably believed” she was over 16 years old.
“She had made him believe she was over 16, she hadn’t told him she was 14,” Ms Rogers said.
He said Mr Pain argued that the alleged sexual abuse “did not occur”.
“Mr. Pain says it never happened. It just didn’t happen,” he said.
Ms. Rogers told jurors that one of the questions they should decide is whether the photos of the girl found on her client’s phone were indecent.
He said the girl accepted that she had taken the photos herself and had posted them on her own social media account.
The trial is expected to last a week.