Wednesday, August 13, 2003
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Wednesday, August 13, 2003 |
Victim testifies Fayette man molested her 'numerous times'By JOHN
MUNFORD
A Dallas, Ga., woman, now 19, testified Monday that Craig Steven Ferrill molested her "numerous times" at his south Fayette home during a span of nearly three years that began when she was 11 years old. Ferrill, 43, is charged with three counts of aggravated child molestation and one count each of statutory rape, enticing a child for indecent purposes, child molestation, possession of a sawed-off firearm, possession of methamphetamine and possession of marijuana (less than one ounce). Testimony in the case ran into Tuesday afternoon before attorneys could present their closing arguments. The firearm and drug charges stem from contraband deputies recovered while executing the search warrant on Ferrill's residence, according to prosecutors. The victim said Ferrill would sometimes molest her with other children present, hiding the activity under a blanket. The assaults would usually take place after everyone in the house was asleep, the victim added. "I was scared of him but at the same time I trusted him and I didn't realize that was wrong," the victim said. Later, she added that Ferrill told her, "If I ever told, it would flip my world upside down.... He never threatened me but he did make it very clear that I could never tell." The victim told her mother about the incidents last year during an argument, she said. The victim said her family would spend three out of four weekends a month with the Ferrill family, often at the Ferrills' home. She also said that years later, she ran into Craig Ferrill at his East Point garage where her grandfather worked and he gave her $100, which she assumed was a payment to "keep quiet." Ferrill's attorney, Tom Cook, told the jury that his client denies ever having sexual contact with the victim. Cook admitted that Ferrill had the drugs, which he supposedly kept after finding them in limousines he serviced at the garage, and the shotgun, which was given to him as a teenager.
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